A blaze sparked by a faulty Christmas tree wire erupted in a luxury Manhattan high-rise Sunday, killing one man and sending terrified residents fleeing to their balconies to escape the acrid smoke, authorities said.
Daniel McClung, 27, and his new husband, Michael Cohen, 32, were trapped in a smoke-filled 38th-floor hallway. McClung died and Cohen was injured.
A witness saw another man pleading for help from his 20th-floor balcony at the 42-story condo, The Strand, on West 43rd Street at 10th Avenue.
“I came outside, and when I looked up, I saw a man on the balcony screaming,’’ said Eirik Mosveen. “A short time later, the flames were converging on the balcony.’’
Scientist Mickey Atwal, his model wife and their toddler son fled to their 26th-floor balcony, where he tweeted, “too much smoke on hallway.
Another tweet said he was “standing in balcony with wife and 2-yr old,’’ and then “one stairwell safe to walk down.’’
Atwal also tweeted pictures of smoke pouring from the building.
His wife, Nadja, later told The Post, “I was scared to death.’’
McClung was an administrative assistant at a law firm and aspiring playwright. Cohen, a former producer for AOL, was in serious condition.
The blaze erupted at 11 a.m. in a 20th-floor condo whose residents were out.
Boyd Olden, a lifeguard at the health club atop the building found Frank Reynolds, 75, in the shower and grabbed him and a receptionist. But “we got trapped in a smoke-filled stairwell. I was pretty sure we were all dead,” Olden said.
He broke a lock to escape to the sun deck, where they were rescued.
Additional reporting by Larry Celonaand Antonio Antenucci