By REUVEN FENTON and JENNIFER FERMINO
June 18, 2008
Cops believe they've traced the origins of the fatal Father's Day arson in Queens: a pool of flammable liquid - likely a carpet cleaner - spread on the floor of an apartment in the building, a source said yesterday.
The source added that investigators believe they also have a witness who heard a woman inside the apartment yell, "Just kill me!" before the blaze, although that could not be confirmed.
The horrific blaze, which killed three family members living in the Middle Village building, likely began inside the second-floor apartment near the front door, said a utility inspector.
Crime-scene cops investigating the arson found a "liquid pattern" near the door, said the source.
That pattern around the heavily burnt area indicates that some kind of fluid was used there to start the blaze, which quickly spread out of control. One of the injured, William Salazar, 31, runs a carpet-cleaning business, and cops are trying to determine if the flammable material came from his work.
Law-enforcement sources said they believe the inferno began as part of a couple's argument.
Salazar and his ex-girlfriend, Agnes Bermudez, 48, were both badly burned in the fire and remained unconscious yesterday.
