By Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo News Editor
EAST VILLAGE — A welder repairing an exhaust duct sparked the fast-moving fire that wiped out a handful of businesses on East 14th Street Wednesday morning, the FDNY said.
The workman had been fixing a range hood in a pizzeria on the block near Avenue A when his electric welder ignited grease inside the duct, fire officials said.
Earlier reports stated that the worker, from Brooklyn-based Ideal Fire Safety Systems, had started the fire while installing a door at the pizzeria.
The three-alarm fire swept through four adjacent stores, including a hair salon, tax preparer, vacant store and longtime deli that had become a favorite of local neighbors.
“They’re the ones that caused it,” Numan Hauter, 49, owner of the Stuyvesant Convenience Inc. Deli and Grocery, told DNAinfo about the welder. “I don’t know if they hire people that have the ability or experience.”
Hauter, whose family-run, 24-hour deli had been a go-to for Stuyvesant Town residents for two decades, said he saw the workman's attempt to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher prior to firefighters arriving.
The blaze started inside the pizzeria, Pete’s-A-Place at 502 E. 14th St., just after 10 a.m. Wednesday and quickly spread to the neighboring stores that share a common roof and basement, the FDNY said.
Nearly 140 firefighters responded to the three-alarm call, and three firefighters sustained minor injuries battling the fire, the FDNY added.
