Several residents had to be rescued, but it wasn't until hours after fire started that one person was discovered dead inside the building.
"If anything, we're lucky it happened now instead of three years from now, when there are thousands of people living in the building."
Officials said the investigation remains ongoing as engineers determine the root cause of the failure and develop a long-term repair plan.
The fire broke out after 9:30 p.m. Saturday on the Manhattan-bound side of the span.
NewsCopter 7 was over the massive three-alarm fire that broke out at a waste management station in Greenpoint just before 4 p.m.