NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says a man is in custody in connection with the deadly 5 alarm blaze, Thursday evening. The 45-year-old suspect, who lives on the second floor of the building at 41 Spring St., has been taken to New York Downtown Hospital for bruises he sustained while allegedly fighting with first responders as he tried to keep them from entering the building.

A police officer was also taken to the hospital for a broken hand he sustained in the confrontation, Browne said.

Witnesses said they saw the suspect start the fire in the second-floor hallway about 6:40 p.m., after he got into an argument with a woman described by officials as the mother of his child.

The fire quickly spread to the roof, and by the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the back of the building was fully engulfed, according to FDNY Chief of Fire Operations James Esposito. The fire wiped out the entire stairwell between the second and fifth floors of the building.

The person who died was on an upper floor at the time of the fire, Esposito said. Law enforcement officials said the body was so badly burned they haven’t been able to identify the deceased person.

The suspect’s child and the child’s mother are accounted for and at the 5th Precinct.

About 200 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was declared under control after about three hours. Two civilians and seven firefighters suffered minor injuries.

A source familiar with the investigation said a firefighter from Los Angeles who was on vacation in New York City first noticed the fire from across the street and rushed over to help. The suspect tried to keep him out, and proceeded to fight with the first responders who arrived on the scene.

(Source: NBC New York)