One killed in Upper East Side apartment fire, FDNY reports

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- One person was killed after a fire tore through a high-rise apartment on the Upper East Side, FDNY reports.

The fire broke out Friday around 9 p.m. in the building on 351 East 84th Street near First Avenue.

Officials say two other people were injured in the fire - one serious and one minor injury.

Sources say the victim, a 76-year-old man, is a smoker, and believed to have started the fire.

He was later identified as Joel Beeler and was found with burns lying in his bed.

A woman was reportedly in the apartment with him at the time and noticed the fire too late to do anything.

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