Three people remained hospitalized in serious condition Friday. Nine others suffered burns and smoke inhalation in the Thursday blaze, including four firefighters.
Fire investigators received reports that 24 pesticide cans, which release gas to kill bugs, were deployed at once in the first-floor beauty salon of the five-story brick building. The poisonous flammable fumes ignited, possibly from a pilot light or a spark from an electrical appliance. Fire officials were still investigating the blaze but believe it was accidental, spokesman James Long said.
Firefighters remove debris from the back of a building in the aftermath of a fire on Thursday, July 11, 2013
The devices cause between four and eight explosions every year in New York City, and about 300 nationally, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and a 2009 letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from the city's director of poison control urging tighter restrictions on the pesticides.
"Failure to read, understand or follow label instructions is widespread," according to the letter. "The use of foggers results in regular catastrophic events."
