The family living in the Tracey Towers apartment destroyed by a fire last month says the incident could have been prevented if management had responded to prior repair requests.

The Asantes, who lived in 24D with their four children, charge that Tracey’s owners ignored city orders to fix the unit’s window and failed to address persistent electrical problems. They believe that a faulty outlet, not a space heater, caused the blaze that destroyed their home and everything they owned.

“If they did what they should have done, this never would have happened,” said Kofi Asante, 33, about R-Y Management, which runs Tracey. “They treat us like animals.”

The three-alarm fire broke out on Feb. 26 on the 24th floor of Tower A, and traveled all the way up to the 30th floor. The blaze was fanned by strong winds and air coming from the hallway after the Asantes fled their apartment, leaving the door open.

“If you have a fire in your apartment, close the door behind you,” advised Roger Montesano, a Fire Department representative, while discussing the situation during a Community Board 7 meeting last week.

The Asantes, who are from Ghana, escaped unharmed. The Red Cross helped them find temporary housing in Harlem, and they are now living in another apartment at Tracey. Their old unit is uninhabitable.

Montesano said the blaze was caused by a space heater that ignited the Asantes’ bedroom curtains. But Stella Asante, Kofi’s wife, saw the fire coming from behind the bed, not the heater. “It was an electrical fire,” she said.

There was another fire in 24D before the Asantes moved in six years ago, and the electricity has suffered ever since, they said. Some switches don’t work. When they plugged a 75-watt bulb in various lamps or fixtures around the apartment, it would instantly blow out, the Asantes explained. “We had to use little bulbs made for the refrigerator,” said Kofi Asante, who has worked as a handyman for 13 years. While R-Y sent building staff to examine the issues, Asante says he could never get an electrician to actually fix the problem.

R-Y did not respond to requests for comment.

Tracey tenants suspect that a fire in January was also related to electrical problems. The blaze erupted on the 33rd floor in a kitchen, and its refrigerator had reoccurring power problems, according to residents.

Asante says he wouldn’t have needed a space heater in the first place if R-Y had replaced their bedroom window, which chronically leaked cold air. “The apartment never got warm,” he said. “My children would have to wear jeans and sweaters at night.”

The city Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) mandated that R-Y refit all of the apartment’s windows after an inspection in October, according to HPD records, which are available on the Internet. Asante said R-Y refused to make the renovation. “They said if they repaired my window, they’d have to fix all of them in the building,” he said.

The issue went to Bronx housing court in November, and Asante said R-Y was told to fix his windows. Still nothing happened.

Tenants have long complained that Tracey’s maintenance staff is slow with repairs and lacks adequate supplies. Three building supers were overheard in an elevator last week griping about the situation. “Why would anyone want to work in this place,” said one to the others.

The fire has left tenants boiling about the buildings’ conditions. A new tenant group held a standing-room-only meeting earlier this month, and they are petitioning for the official association to take a more aggressive stance with management.

Asante is getting a lawyer to pursue R-Y. He’s relieved that his family is safe, but the loss of everything — from his wife’s wedding ring to photos of their children — is a bitter pill to swallow. “We had just bought this couch from Seaman’s,” said Asante, standing next to a blackened shell in their old apartment. A few scraps of cloth and a heap of black ashes is all that’s left of their possessions.

The Asantes were planning to visit Ghana in May, and had amassed gifts for all their family members. Their presents, along with their passports, are gone. “All our money is going to this,” he said, referring to the new furniture and clothing his family desperately needs.