Trump Tower fire claims the life of Harrison native

<p>A fire that ripped through a Trump Tower apartment claimed the life of a Westchester native.</p>

News 12 Staff

Apr 8, 2018, 8:44 PM

Updated 2,228 days ago

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A fire that ripped through a Trump Tower apartment claimed the life of a Westchester native.
Todd Brassner lived on the 50th floor of the Fifth Avenue luxury high-rise, and was in his apartment when the fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
First responders found the 67-year-old unconscious. He later died at Mount Sinai West Hospital.
Brassner was an art dealer who had roots in Harrison and attended school in New Rochelle before enrolling in Pace University.
He bought the spacious unit back in 1996 and had reportedly fallen on harder financial times, recently declaring bankruptcy.
The fire occurred at the building where President Donald Trump has a three-floor residence.
Four firefighters were injured in the inferno Saturday.
The cause of the blaze is unknown, but there were no sprinklers in that unit or on the upper floors of Trump Tower. Reports say that they were not required in New York City high-rises when the tower was completed in 1983. Owners of older residential high-rises are still not required to install sprinklers unless the building undergoes major renovations.


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