by Jonathan Lemire
Fire marshals do not believe arson was behind the fatal seven-alarm blaze that devoured four Chinatown apartment buildings, FDNY officials said Wednesday.
Investigators are zeroing in on the rear of a 99-cent store at 283 Grand St. and suspect the cause was electrical."We believe it was smoldering for a long time," a source said. "Once it reached the building's inner shafts, it exploded." The tenement-era building contained several dumbwaiter shafts that helped the flames spread quickly, investigators said.
"At this time, there is no reason to believe the fire is suspicious," said Frank Gribbon, the FDNY's top spokesman.
An 87-year-old man trapped in his sixth-floor flat at 285 Grand St. perished.
 |
