TREMONT — A person was found dead in a fire at an abandoned Tremont home where squatters had been living Tuesday morning, police said.
The fire erupted about 1:07 a.m. inside 1981 Crotona Ave., near East 178th Street, where at least three squatters had lived, according to officials and neighbors.
(Video courtesy of Josephine Diaz)
Neighbors woke to the smell of smoke and called 911 while heading for safety, they said.,
"Pieces fell off the side of the house. We were worried it would fall on a car and something would blow up," said neighbor Rosa Quinones, 55.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control at 1:44 a.m. and found the person's body, police said.
BX 2-ALARM 1981 CROTONA AVE, VACANT PRIVATE DWELLING FIRE IN BASEMENT WITH EXTENSION TO 1ST FLR, UNDER CONTROL
— FDNY (@FDNY) January 26, 2016Fire marshals will determine the cause of the blaze, officials said.
The person, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The building had fallen into disrepair and neighbors complained to the city.
Buildings inspectors also said the building was not vacant, but occupied in 2013, records show. But they issued a violation a year before for the being unoccupied and unguarded, records show.
Department of Buildings officials visited the building nearly a year ago to the day because they got a report that the building was a fire hazard and unstable, records show.
They weren't able to get to inspect it because the gate was padlocked, records show.
Neighbors believe the body may belong to a squatter named David who would sell odds and ends from the steps of the building which was regularly surrounded by heaps of junk, they said.
David and two others lived in the building, one person on each floor, neighbors said.
"[David] used to sit right there on the step. He used to sit there everyday," said neighbor Orlando Jimenez, 52.
"He would say hello. He was friendly. Everybody used to talk to him," Jimenez added.
