Manhattan- 3rd Alarm P/D townhouse 10-13-06

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Fire ravages Upper East Side building

The Associated Press

October 13, 2006, 7:18 AM EDT

A three-alarm fire ravaged an unoccupied Upper East Side townhouse building early Friday morning, forcing nearby residents to evacuate and sending flames and huge amounts of smoke into the air.

"I saw flames going all the way to the moon," eyewitness Keya Morgan said.

Firefighters placed the fire under control three hours after the call about the five-story building first came in around 2:30 a.m., a fire department spokesman said.

There were no reports of major injuries, but one firefighter suffered minor injuries.

The spokesman said the fire's cause is under investigation, but that it is considered suspicious.

The building is located at 115 E. 70th St. near Park Avenue.

WABC-TV described it as a historic, six-family townhouse building more than 80 years old. About 140 firefighters responded to the blaze.

"There was a tower of flame coming out of the building ... it looked like the finale of the fireworks on the Fourth of July," neighbor Kathy Slowne said.

The American Red Cross and other emergency crews helped provide temporary shelter for nearby evacuees, including putting some on a bus to stay warm.

It was not immediately clear how many people had to leave their homes.

The fire occurred not far from the high-rise building at 524 E. 72nd St., an apartment tower into which a small airplane carrying New York Yankee Cory Lidle crashed on Wednesday

From WABCTV NY:

Sources say the building, a six-story Neo-Georgian townhouse that dates to the 1920s, was under renovation for a new owner.

In early 2005, the townhouse was bought by real-estate developer Dominion Management last year for $11.4 million.

The 17,000-square-foot property was being converted into a luxurious, single-residence mansion. Neighbors said the home was recently purchased by a fashion designer, who was planning to soon move in.

The home was originally built for I.Townsend Burden, the cousin of iron and steel magnate James Burden, and features high ceilings, original moldings, hardwood floors and intricate iron work.

For restoration guidance, Dan Kingsford of Dominion said he looked back to the original floor plans, obtained for him by The New York Times' "Streetscapes" columnist and architecture expert, Christopher Gray.

Kingsford, apparently, planned to restore the staircase that was removed in the 1930's when the building was converted into separate apartments.

Dominion will also gut the house, removing barriers that were erected to compartmentalize the townhouse for several different occupants.

Kingsford said the project was expected to take about nine months.

Investigators have called the fire suspicious and remain on the scene as they try to figure out what caused it.

Hmmmm, I suppose saves him the "house gutting" work......

Edited October 13, 2006 by hoss

[Iceemt21 0]

will anybody be able to get the run down of this box?

[mfc2257 464]

Wow, the boys and girls on Engines 39 & 44, Truck's 16 & 13 have been busy the last few days.

[JBE 328]

And the same dispatchers who had the plane crash had this job.