by Sarah Armaghan and John Lauinger
Flames tore through an apartment in the South Bronx early Monday, claiming the life of a young man, police and Fire Department officials said.
Police did not immediately identify the victim, who was described as being in his 20s. He was alone inside a first-floor apartment on E. 149th St. when the fire started in a kitchen a few minutes before 5 a.m., Fire Department sources said.
Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.
Neighbor Marie Spicer, 33, who lives on the building's fifth floor, said she was jarred awake by a fire alarm.
"I smelled the smoke and I told my husband to get up," Spicer said. "It was a thick, grey, almost black smoke. By the time we looked outside, the Fire Department was already here. They had it out really quickly."
A total of 65 firefighters extinguished the flames in 25 minutes, Fire Department officials said.
Police and Fire Marshals are investigating the cause, which was not thought to be suspicious, officials said.
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