Bronx apartment fire 'possibly suspicious': fire department

Officials Sunday night were investigating the cause of a Bronx apartment fire Saturday that killed one man, injured seven people and left dozens homeless.

A spokesman for the fire department said it was “possibly suspicious” but nothing was official and fire marshals were still investigating.

The victim was 46-year-old barber Juan Marte, the New York Post reported, but neither the police nor the fire department could confirm the victim’s name.

The fire broke out Saturday around 10 p.m. at a five-story apartment building at 131 E 169th St, police said. Firefighters found the victim unconscious in a stairwell, and EMS responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

The Red Cross set up a shelter at PS 64 for those who lost their homes in the blaze.

According to the Post, Marte eerily told co-workers “he never wanted to die in a fire.” 

“We were talking about it after watching a story on the news [a couple months ago],” Ernesto Batista, 28, told the Post. “He didn’t want to be burned.”

The seven injured were transported to Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center. Five were reportedly critical as of last night.