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3 Injured in Electrical Fire at UES High-Rise Construction Site, FDNY Says

By Shaye Weaver | April 19, 2016 2:09pm
 An electrical fire injured three workers on Tuesday morning at the Easton, which is under construction.
An Electrical Fire Injured Three on Tuesday Morning
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YORKVILLE — An electrical fire at the construction site of an East 92nd Street luxury apartment tower injured three workers on Tuesday morning, FDNY officials said.

The fire broke out on the 23rd floor of the Easton, at 205 E. 92nd St. between Second and Third avenues, at about 9:48 a.m., according to authorities.

Firefighters arrived at the scene ten minutes later and the fire was under control by 10:12 a.m., according to the FDNY.

The three construction workers, who are with New Jersey-based company Top Shelf Electric, suffered minor burns and two of them were taken to New York-Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Medical Center, officials said. One of the workers refused transport. 

After the incident an electrician at the site, who declined to be named, said his co-workers were burned on their sides and arms and one man was burned on the neck.

"One of them touched a panel and it was hot, and then 'boom,' an explosion," he said.

Top Shelf Electric did not immediately return a call for comment.

The building was closed for the FDNY investigation and a number of electrical workers were sent home after the fire.

Con Edison was on scene but did not have to shut power off to the building, according to a spokesman for the utility.

A spokesman for the Department of Buildings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Easton, which reaches 39 stories high and will have 47 below-market-rate apartments, is expected to open in May.

"It was an isolated incident within a small confined area and it was put out very quickly," a spokeswoman for the Easton said.