Mark Morales – Artist Dies After Fire Inside Gramercy Park Apartment: NYC Officials

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL NEW YORK

METROPOLIS
11:31 am ET
Feb 23, 2015 CRIME

The burned-out kitchen of Ed Albers, 59 years old, is shown in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan. Inside the third-floor apartment, Mr. Albers was found early Monday suffering from smoke inhalation and burns. He was later taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. Peter Foley for The Wall Street Journal
An artist died early Monday after a fire engulfed his apartment in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan, New York City fire and police officials said.

The fire started inside an apartment on the third floor of the four-story building on East 16th Street, Fire Department of New York officials said. There was only one person in the building when the fire started and firefighters put out the blaze before it could spread to other floors, a law-enforcement official said.

Firefighters found the victim, Ed Albers, 59 years old, face-down, unconscious and unresponsive, authorities said. Mr. Albers, described by a neighbor as a professional artist, suffered smoke inhalation and burns and was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire, fire officials said, but a preliminary investigation found the fire originated with an electrical cord about three feet from the front door, and spread to a wall and combustible materials inside the apartment, a law-enforcement official said.

The cause of the fire has been deemed accidental, the official said.

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2015/02/23/man-dies-after-fire-in-gramercy-park-apartment-nyc-officials/