FLATIRON — Candles left smoldering sparked a blaze that destroyed the landmarked Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava last month, the FDNY said.
Two days after a fire tore through the church at 13 W. 25th St., between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, on May 1, officials were focusing their investigation on a caretaker who accidentally placed still-smoldering candles in a box following an Easter celebration.
The FDNY confirmed that as the cause Friday.
FDNY Fire Marshals: Cause of 5/1 4th alarm at Serbian Orthodox Cathedral 15 W 25 St was accidental, candles had not been fully extinguished
— FDNY (@FDNY) June 3, 2016
No charges have been brought against the caretaker, the FDNY said.
Built as an Episcopal church known as Trinity Chapel in 1850, the cathedral became St. Sava when it changed hands in 1944, the church's website said.
The cathedral's congregation has vowed to rebuild the church.
A GoFundMe page set up to aid that effort had raised $14,880 as of Friday morning.
