As the fire that gutted a historic Manhattan cathedral began to rage Sunday, a man seemingly in disbelief of the blaze had to be pulled across the street from the flames by a police officer, video shows.
The video -- taken before fire crews first started to extinguish the blaze -- shows the man standing in front of the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Sava as flames engulf the front doors.
The man buries his face in his hands, then throws them in the air in apparent disbelief as the fire crackles.
A police officer then yells to him and forcibly pulls him across the street to safety.
More than 700 parishioners had celebrated Easter earlier in the day and enjoyed a luncheon, but the cathedral was empty when the fire started.
A building caretaker attempted to rush inside when he noticed the fire, but was turned back by the flames, fire officials said. He suffered from minor smoke inhalation.
Fire officials are looking into whether candles used in Easter services might be to blame for the fire.
Fire officials said Tuesday they were looking into whether caretakers might have accidentally placed candles that hadn't been snuffed out in a cardboard box Sunday, sparking the blaze that destroyed the cathedral.
