Electrical fire hurts Sharpton offices

NEW YORK -- An electrical fire spread through the headquarters of the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network on Wednesday, gutting a reception hall one day after Sharpton formally became a Democratic presidential contender in 2004.

Fire investigators were focusing on an extension cord as the cause of the Wednesday morning blaze, Chief Fire Marshal Louis Garcia said. The cord may have been hooked up to a computer, fire officials said.

The fire was reported at about 8:30 a.m. on the second floor of the three-story building in Harlem.

Fire officials said the reception hall where Sharpton holds weekly rallies and news conferences was gutted. The fire also spread to the third floor, occupied by the Israeli Church of UPK.

A 23-year-old man hanging from a third-floor window was pulled to safety by firefighters and treated for smoke inhalation.

Sharpton toured the damaged offices with a fire marshal after arriving from Washington on Wednesday afternoon. He later declared that the blaze would "in no way abate in any shape or form" his run for president.

"These are the people that built the House of Justice, and we will build it again," Sharpton said, pointing to a crowd outside that had been shouting "No justice, no peace!"

Officials said an office where the group's financial records are kept was mostly spared in the fire.

Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger said the fire was discovered by a National Action Network office manager who had unlocked the office about 8 a.m., then heard a popping noise and smelled smoke.

Fire marshals said they were interviewing the office manager Wednesday. They also were interviewing the man who was rescued and a cook from the West Indian restaurant that occupies the first floor.

On Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had joined Sharpton at the offices for a forum commemorating the life of the slain civil rights leader.

Sharpton formally filed papers the following day seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2004 presidential race.

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On the Net:

National Action Network: http://www.nationalactionnetwork.org