"Flames, sweeping through the antiquated building with incredible rapidity, threatened to raze Public School 89, 135th street and Lenox avenue, Tuesday afternoon and left part of the edifice a mass of charred ruins. The blaze reached such a height that three alarms were turned on, bringing out 11 engines and five hook and ladder trucks and traffic at the busy intersection of 135th street was tied up completely for almost two hours... Although the exact cause of the blaze is not known, authorities advanced the theory that it had its origin in defective wiring on the fourth floor of the building."