Metro

Repairs leave owner in a fix

It was the repairman, not Sandy, who nearly destroyed this Queens home, the owner says.

Roberta Klein, 59, claims her home on Beach 141 Street in Belle Harbor caught fire due to shoddy electrical work done by the FEMA-funded Rapid Repairs program.

She hired contractor Tutor Perini through the city program after Sandy struck.

But on Feb. 3, four days after the work was done, “I was in my kitchen when I heard fireworks going off in my basement,” she said.

Klein called firefighters, who told her that corroded electrical wires filled with salt had caused a small fire in her basement.

When Klein hired the contractor, she said, the workers were supposed to replace all the old wiring. But, apparently, they didn’t.

Rapid Repairs spokesman Spencer Peter said, “The tenant refused to allow Rapid Repairs crews to remove all of the wall coverings so they could access all of the electrical wires submerged in saltwater.”