The Fire Department is still trying to determine what caused a fire in a Grand Street building in Chinatown to turn into a seven-alarm fire spreading to many buildings that killed one, injured dozens, and left over 200 people homeless. One of the buildings apparently had many Department of Building violations, including ones for flame-retardant materials.
According to the Daily News, an inspector for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development "spotted holes in the walls of 283 Grand... and the city cited the owner, Fair Only Real Estate Corp. of Flushing, Queens, on June 23 for the 'broken or defective fire retardant material' in the walls." While the building later said the wall was repaired, "returning inspectors later found the 'work that was done wasn't up to the standard.'" There were also previous citations for missing smoke detectors and the city had sued Fair Only numerous times, for not providing heat or hot water (a hearing is scheduled for tomorrow).
Now the building, along with 285-287 Grand Street, will be torn down because of the extensive damage; demolitions may take two weeks. The two buildings, which have both market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments. had also been on the market. The News says many residents lost their passports, immigration papers and green cards; one resident said, "We didn't think this was going to be as big a fire as it was. So many people just left their stuff inside." And one resident whose family lost their life savings in the blaze is getting support from the gaming community.
