U.S.

No Answers In NYC Fire

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 18, 2001 / 8:32 AM EDT / CBS

Investigators continue to seek the cause of a five hardware store fire and explosion that killed three firefighters.

The blaze left three firemen dead — a tragedy all the more poignant on Father's Day because all three were parents. Dozens of people were hurt.

"What was a quiet Sunday turned into a terrible tragedy very quickly," fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said.

A police source speaking on condition of anonymity said Tuesday that two teen-age boys and others had been questioned but no arrests had been made.

The New York Post reported Tuesday that two teens might have tipped over a gasoline container behind the hardware store, possibly causing the flammable liquid to seep into the basement and reach a water heater pilot light.

Police would take over the investigation if fire marshals determine that arson or another crime was to blame for Sunday's blaze.

When the blast hit the hardware store with its propane gas and paint in the basement, reporters WCBS-AM's Allison Keyes, the force of the explosion buried two firefighters in bricks, knocked one into the basement, and sent flames roaring through the two-story building.

The store, the Long Island General Supply Co., had recently been inspected for safety hazards, and had never been cited for violations.

The business, in the Astoria section of Queens, had permits to store paint thinner and lacquer and did not need a permit to store 1-pound cylinders of propane because businesses are allowed to have up to 156 such cylinders, Von Essen said Monday.

But propane must be stored above ground, and Von Essen said boxes of the 1-pound cylinders were found in the store basement. The business will likely be fined.

Von Essen added that "we have no reason to believe at this point that that was the cause of the explosion or that it exacerbated the explosion."

Firefighters Harry Ford, 50, and John Downing, 40, were outside the building opening windows to ventilate it when the explosion occurred. They were crushed to death when the roof and facade tumbled onto them.

Sunday was supposed to be John Downing's last day at Rescue Company 4 in Woodside, Queens, before he, his wife and two children left for a vacation to Ireland.

But Sunday night, dozens of firefighters gathered at Rescue 4, to mourn the loss of Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford (left to right, above).

Firefighters at Rescue 4 had left their own Father's Day barbecues and families to remember the men.

"Fifty-five firefighters work here," Thomas DaParma, a retired firefighter, said at the gathering. "And 55 are here right now, every single one of them."

"There's no rhyme or reason to it. These were three experienced firefighters. They knew their jobs, they knew their jobs well," DaParma said.

One former paramedic who knew two of the men who died said: "They don't get the recognition or respect they deserve. They know the risks and still do the job. They're real heroes."

—AP

Firefighter Brian Fahey, 46, was inside the store. He fell into the basement and was trapped for hours; he died before rescuers could reach him.

Fahey radioed for assistance.

"He called for help twice - he said, 'I'm trapped, I'm downstairs. Please come and get me,'" recalled firefighter John Gaines. "Unfortunately, we did not get there in time."

A fourth firefighter, Joseph Vosilla, remained in critical condition Tuesday. Lt. Brendan Manning was listed in serious but stable condition. About 50 rescue workers and two civilians were also hurt; most were treated and released.

"Firefighters on the first floor said that the explosion caused them to be lifted up and thrown against the ceiling," Von Essen said. "So to lift up a 200-pound person and 100 pounds of equipment, it had to be a violent explosion."

He said the men might have survived if the building had been equipped with a sprinkler system, although one wasn't required because the 128-year-old building was erected before city laws required sprinklers.

"Even if the law doesn't require you to have a sprinkler, if you put a sprinkler in your basement, this doesn't happen," Von Essen said.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, rigid with emotion, tried to comfort the men's families. "You can only offer them your love, your support, your prayers, pray with them, express to them how brave and dedicated firefighters are," he told reporters in a quiet voice.

Between them, the three firefighters had eight children and 52 years of experience.

Downing, of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., was an 11-year veteran and father of a 7-year-old daughter, Joanne, and a 3-year-old son, Michael. Fahey, a 14-year veteran from East Rockaway, N.Y., was a father of three sons, Brendan, 8, and 3-year-old twins, Patrick and James.

Ford, a resident of Long Beach, N.Y., and a 27-year veteran who was decorated nine times for bravery, was remembered by neighbors for his devotion to his family — two sons, Gerard, 10, and Harry, 12, and grown daughter, Janna O'Brien.

Reuters

A makeshift memorial at the scene

"He was a good neighbor and a very good family man," neighbor Phyllis Ryan told the New York Post. "He was with his sons all the time."

A visibly shaken Giuliani noted the tragic circumstances during a hospital press conference.

"I can't think of a more tragic Father's Day," he said.

A fourth firefighter, Joseph Vosilla, 41, remained in critical condition Tuesday.

"It sounded like a charge when they detonate a building to demolish it," said Cleavon Wills, 27, who lives in an apartment above the store and was playing keyboard in the Lighthouse Church, next door to the hardware store. "I thought the whole building had collapsed."

Firefighters battled the blaze for more than 12 hours. It was reported at about 2:20 p.m. Sunday and declared under control at 2:40 a.m. Monday.

Worcester Remembers

Worcester, Mass., firefighters plan to attend memorial services for the three New York firefighters killed on the job Sunday, union officials said.

The New York City Fire Department was among the many that staffed Worcester fire stations in December 1999, when six firefighters were killed in a warehouse fire.

"They offered us a lot of support and were there for us when we had out tragedy," said Worcester union president Frank Raffa. "They suffered a tragedy and we're going to be there for them."

—AP/CBS

About 20 minutes after firefighters arrived, propane tanks and paint stored in the basement exploded, fire officials said.

Spencer Gordon, whose family owns the hardware store, said the business was filled with chemicals, including kerosene and paint thinner.

"It's a hardware store. The whole place is full of chemicals," he said.

Wills, the witness, said fellow churchgoers were thrown from their seats. He described the horrific scene outside the hardware store.

"There were firemen lying underneath a wall of bricks," he said. "They were unconscious and bloody, and their raincoats were torn."

The last time three U.S. firefighters were killed on duty was in Keokuk, Iowa, on Dec. 22, 1999, two weeks after a Massachusetts blaze killed six firefighters.

Ford and Fahey will be buried Thursday, and services for Downing are scheduled for Friday.