Police Identify Man Killed In UES Apartment Fire

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Police identified a man who died during an Upper East Side apartment fire on Valentine's Day that also injured two others.

The fire broke out in a 25th-floor apartment of 351 E. 84 St., located on the corner of First Avenue, shortly after 9 p.m. Friday, police said. Medics responding to the scene pronounced 76-year-old Joel Beeler dead after finding the man in an apartment bedroom suffering severe burns, an NYPD spokesperson said.

Eighty firefighters battled the flames to put the fire under control. The two other people hurt during the fire, who have not been identified, are expected to recover from their injuries, police and fire officials said.

The fire was ruled an accident caused by smoking and working smoke alarms were found in the apartment, city fire marshals announced Tuesday.