Playwright Daniel McClung Killed in Hell's Kitchen High-Rise Fire

According to published reports, playwright Daniel McClung was killed yesterday, January 5, in fire in a Manhattan high-rise. An apartment on the 20th floor of The Strand (500 W. 43rd St) caught fire yesterday at 11:02AM. 27 year-old McClung, who lived on the 38th floor, was later found dead in a stairwell after having suffered 'severe smoke inhalation.'

McClung's 31 year-old husband was also found in the stairs and is currently in critical condition at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.

What caused the fire remains unknown. According to FDNY spokesman Danny Glover, it took over 130 firefighters to get the flames under control at 12:58 PM.

McClung had been a Production Assistant at Rattlestick and Clubbed Thumb, and his plays include Inamorato, Flimsy Things, and The Paper Nautilus, which have been workshopped in various capacities with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, PS 122 and AliveWire Theatrics.