One Person Killed After Mattituck Fire Rips Through Apartment & Four Stores

MATTITUCK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A raging fire on Long Island ripped through four businesses and claimed the life of a man on Friday night.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, parishioners at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Greenport were mourning the death of their handyman and cook, Paul Mittleman.

Listen to Mattituck Fire Rips Through Four Stores, Leaves One Person Dead

Police detective Kenneth Richert said the fire started in the 51-year-old's apartment on Main Road in Mattituck. The fire quickly spread to four attached businesses.

"He was found just inside the door of the apartment. I don't know if he was trying to get out or we don't know. But he was just inside the door of the apartment," said Richert.

At least nine fire departments struggled through the night to contain the fast-moving fire, CBS 2 reported.

Several firefighters who responded to the blaze suffered minor smoke inhilation.

Officials told Hall the cause of the fire was an electrical problem in Mittleman's apartment. Richert said the apartment did not have a smoke detector.

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