Four-alarm Trump Tower fire caused by overloaded power strips, says FDNY

The four-alarm fire that broke out on April 7 on the 50th floor of Midtown’s Trump Tower, killing one resident and injuring six firefighters, was caused by overloaded power strips, reports the New York Daily News.

The city’s Fire Department confirmed on Twitter that the cause of the fire was an accident, citing “electrical- sequenced power strips powering multiple components” as the cause. It was also noted that a smoke alarm was not present in the apartment where the fire broke out.

Todd Brassner, a 67-year-old art collector and dealer, lived on the 50th floor of Trump Tower and was killed in the Saturday evening blaze.

In the wake of the fire, President Donald Trump sent out a tweet acknowledging the accident and its containment, which he chalked up to Trump Tower being a “well built building”; he also thanked the “firemen (and women)” that worked to put out the blaze.

Trump’s reaction drew criticism from those who recalled a time when Trump lobbied against a law in the 1990s that would have required older residential buildings in New York City to be retrofitted with sprinkler systems.

• Fatal Trump Tower fire caused by electrical overload, FDNY says [New York Daily News]
• Trump fought law requiring retrofit of sprinklers in New York City high-rises [Curbed]