3 bodies found in burned Bronx building

The burned bodies of three men were found Monday in a building in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx that had been ravaged by a fire a week ago, investigators said.

A fire Sept. 9 damaged the structure, and at the time fire officials didn't do a detailed canvas of the interior of the building because of its instability and the severity of the damage, an FDNY spokeswoman said.

It was after contractors arrived at 61 Buchanan Place to begin work that the bodies were found, police said. The location was said to be a known habitat for squatters, police said.

According to the FDNY, while the building wasn't inspected immediately after the blaze, investigators did make a check of missing-persons reports and found nothing that warranted further investigation for possible casualties.

The bodies recovered at the building were taken by the city medical examiner for a determination about the cause of death.

One task for police is to determine if the men died in the fire or were killed somewhere else, taken to the structure and then set ablaze.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday, the FDNY said.