The FDNY announced Friday morning that the disastrous fire that consumed the 160-year-old Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Manhattan last month was caused by accident. Fire officials tweeted that the cause of the May 1 four-alarm fire was started after Easter candles were not fully extinguished.
The fire at the West 25th Street church — which was built in the 1850s and became a historic landmark in 1968 — began just before 7 p.m. that Sunday just hours after hundreds of parishioners celebrated Orthodox Easter Mass. RELATED:Metro-North fire fueled by chemicals stored without permits: Report It took firefighters about three hours to bring the blaze under control and the following day the FDNY was still extinguishing fire that was left over.
The building’s caretaker was reportedly treated for smoke inhalation and four firefighters also were treated for minor injuries.
According to the New York Post, investigators discovered evidence in the remains of the church the proved Slobodan Ljubenko, the 69-year-old caretaker, had failed to put out the candles that caused the fire. No charged are expected to be filed, the Post reported.
Fire that destroyed landmark Manhattan Serbian church caused by candles: FDNY
Getty Images/Spencer Platt
