Fatal fire at Trump Tower was started by an overloaded power strip, authorities say

Overloaded power strips sparked the deadly Trump Tower fire in New York City that sent flames and thick, black smoke pouring from windows of the president’s namesake skyscraper, authorities said on Monday.

The New York Fire Department said the April 7 fire, which started in the 50th floor flat of Todd Brassner in the building on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue was accidental, caused by “sequenced power strips powering multiple components”.

Brassner, 66, died after he was pulled from the flat, which did not have sprinklers or a smoke alarm. He was an art collector who spent time with Andy Warhol.

Four firefighters suffered “non-life threatening” injuries before the blaze was brought under control, authorities said at the time.

The 58-story tower opened in 1983 at a time when building codes did not require the residential section to have sprinklers – a requirement Donald Trump once fought against as a real estate developer. He later changed his views.