Harlem

Crime & Mayhem

Blaze on Madison Avenue in Harlem Started in Mattress, FDNY Says

By DNAinfo staff
February 21, 2012 8:19am | Updated February 21, 2012 8:19am
Firefighters responded to a burning mattress at 1992 Madison Avenue on Feb. 21, 2012.
Firefighters responded to a burning mattress at 1992 Madison Avenue on Feb. 21, 2012.
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DNAinfo/ Yepoka Yeebo

By Sonja Sharp and Wil Cruz

DNAinfo Staff

HARLEM — A mattress caught fire early Tuesday in the hallway of a Madison Avenue building, FDNY officials said.

Firefighters responded to 1992 Madison Avenue just after 6:30 a.m., where the mattress was ablaze in the building's first-floor hallway, FDNY officials said.

The fire was under control about 30 minutes later. There were no reported injuries.

Resident Angelita Ortega, 70, said the building has drawn several squatters over the years. She said she has cleaned the building repeatedly after another fire last summer.

"The squatters left, but they came back again in a few days," she said. "They had cardboard boxes all around here. It's disgusting."

The cause was under investigation, fire officials said.

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