A sushi chef has been arrested after a soy sauce container he had filled with gasoline ignited at a restaurant close to Sutton Place in Manhattan, starting a blaze that severely injured three people.
The fire, which occurred about 10 p.m. Friday, raced through the kitchen of Eno Asian Bistro and Lounge on 1066 First Avenue at East 58th Street, the Fire Department said.
Authorities said the sushi chef, identified as Fei Teng, 42, of Queens, had asked a dishwasher to carry a five-gallon soy sauce container filled with gasoline through the kitchen to his car. Mr. Teng, fire officials said, acquired the gasoline a day earlier from an acquaintance and had stored it in the restaurant's basement.
Somehow, as the dishwasher was carrying the gasoline through the kitchen, it spilled and ignited. Another chef was immediately engulfed in fire, receiving first- and second-degree burns to his face, neck, arms and legs before bystanders extinguished the flames, the Fire Department said.
A busboy and another woman also sustained second- and third-degree burns to their legs. As of Saturday, the victims were still recovering at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Fire marshals arrested Mr. Teng at the scene. He was charged with reckless endangerment.
It is unclear why Mr. Teng was storing gasoline at the restaurant. Fire officials said he had purchased 10 gallons of gasoline on Thursday and transferred it into two five-gallon soy sauce containers. He used one container to fill up his car and stored the other in the restaurant's basement until the fire, fire officials said.
Lenny Pan, a cashier at Eno Asian Bistro and Lounge, said by telephone that most of the damage from the fire had been repaired. The restaurant, she said, would be closed for at least two weeks pending an inspection by the Fire Department.
She said that she was unaware of the circumstances of the fire and said a supervisor would o nly be available for comment on Monday.
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