MIDTOWN — Fire marshals have arrested a Norwegian tourist for allegedly starting two fires at the New Yorker Hotel in Midtown on Tuesday.
In a statement, fire officials said Tore Brox, 29, allegedly started two separate fires — one in a hallway and the other on a housekeeping cart — on the 20th floor of the hotel on Eighth Avenue near West 34th Street just before 5 a.m.
Firefighters contained the blazes and transported Brox, who is in New York on vacation, to Bellevue Hospital after he posed as a victim of the two fires.
An investigation after the incident led fire marshals to arrest Brox later that evening. He has since been charged with two counts of arson and two counts of reckless endangerment.
“Arson is a very serious crime with potentially deadly consequences,” said Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano. “The quick actions by our firefighters at this fire prevented a potential tragedy, and the tremendous investigative work by our fire marshals quickly brought this individual to justice.”
