The FDNY has determined the cause of the fatal three-alarm fire that tore through an Upper East Side building, killing one man and injuring several firefighters earlier this week.
Fire marshals said faulty electrical wiring was the cause of a deadly fire at an apartment building on E. 82nd St. near York Ave. around 8 p.m. on Monday.
On Friday, Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Currao said the fire started on the building’s fifth floor and spread to the fourth and sixth floors.
Firefighters found the victim collapsed outside an apartment on the fifth floor “overcome with smoke,” Currao said. “The victim was found in a hallway area and identified right away.”
Most of the building’s 23 units were damaged as residents gathered outside were left looking on helplessly at the violent blaze.
“I smelled smoke and people were banging on the door, screaming, ‘Fire! Fire! Fire!’” second-floor resident Matthew Myers, 31, said. “I ran outside and it was a blaze on the fifth floor. It blew out the windows. I was worried for the rest of the building.”
Six firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Police said the fire was brought under control in an hour.
