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Fire marshals are placing the blame on an overheated electrical junction box in the seven-alarm Chinatown fire that killed one person and injured 30 others.
According to officials, sparks or heat from the metal box that connected electrical cable feeding power to the building started the fire. The box was located in the storage area of a 99-cent store on the ground floor.
More than 250 firefighters from 66 units responded to last month's fire. Some had to be pulled out while fighting the fire, because of conditions in the building - which also forced fire marshals to be extra careful during their investigation.
"It was very difficult to get in there for weeks because of the demolition, the danger of being in there, but once it was cleared for the marshals, they found the cause," said FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano.
Two violations were issued to the building's owners over the last several years - one in 2009 for an obstructed exit and another in 2008 a blocked fire escape, according to Asian Americans for Equality.
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