HEATHER CASEY, DAVE J. IANNONE
PETER MATTHEWS and LON SLEPICKA
Firehouse.com News
Father's Day turned tragic in Queens Sunday afternoon when an explosion at a building fire
killed three New York City firefighters who leave behind eight children and left
a fourth fighting for his life, officials said. At least 80 other emergency workers were
injured, officials said.
The blast tore through the hardware store and apartment building on Astoria Blvd. Sunday
afternoon, showering bricks down on dozens of firefighters and rocking those inside.
Firefighter Harry Ford, 50, a 27-year veteran assigned to Rescue 4 in Queens
, and Firefighter John Downing, 40, an 11-year veteran assigned to Ladder 163 in Queens were killed
when the facade of the building rained down on them. They were venting windows when
the blast occurred. Both were quickly pulled from beneath the rubble and taken
to Elmhurst Hospital where they were pronounced dead, officials said.
AP World Wide Photos/Robert Mecea
With Rescue 4 in the background, NYPD officers and EMS personnel carry
an injured firefighter from the scene.
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Firefighter Brian Fahey, 46, a 14-year veteran also from Rescue 4, was
inside the building when the propane tanks and paint exploded in the basement
of the hardware store, 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.
14th Division Deputy Chief Terrence Roche told
Firehouse.com News late Sunday that Fahey was "blown" into the basement. He added that
there was radio contact with Fahey for a short period after the explosion
but "then we lost contact."
Fahey was "trapped for a number of hours," according to an FDNY
press information officer. Firefighters said Fahey was an instructor at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy.
One rescue worker described the scene shortly after the blast as a ''war zone.''
As smoke poured from the building, dozens of firefighters, some wielding
pick axes and chain saws, attempted to cut through the rubble to reach Fahey as he lay in the burning basement.
"What was a quiet Sunday turned into a terrible tragedy very quickly," fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said at a press conference.
All three men were married. Ford, a highly decorated firefighter, leaves behind three children - a daughter, 24-year-old Janna O'Brien, and two
sons ages 10 (Gerard) and 12 (Harry). Fahey has 3-year-old twin boys, Patrick and James, and an 8-year-old son, Brendan.
Downing leaves a 7-year-old daughter, Joanne, and 3-year-old son, Michael.
"This is one of the most tragic days I can remember in the city," city Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said at a press conference at Elmhurst Hospital late Sunday night.
"We lost three very, very brave and dedicated firefighters."
A moment of silence was held for the firefighters at the Yankees-Mets game at 8 p.m.,
a firefighter said.
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Peter Matthews/Firehouse Magazine
The facade of the building hours after the last firefighter was pulled from the rubble
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Firefighter Joseph Vosilla of Ladder 116 was listed in critical condition late Sunday at
Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. A hospital spokesperson said he underwent emergency surgery.
Vosilla was "blasted out of the front of the building," according to Roche.
He was suffering from a pelvic fracture and serious internal injuries.
Another firefighter, Lieutenant Brendan Manning, was in serious condition at Cornell University Hospital.
Roche said he was suffering from second and third degree burns to the face and a jaw
fracture.
Sources on the scene said an explosion happened as crews intially appeared to have
the blaze under control before several small explosions were followed by a larger one that leveled one side of the building. Five alarms were called to the scene, in addition to multiple special calls for relief and support crews.
A firefighter on the scene said four engines, three trucks, a squad and a rescue from
the first alarm had all arrived and were going to work when the blast occurred. A second
alarm had just been, or was about to be dispatched.
All five of the city's Rescues were on the scene, firefighters said. All of FDNY's squads,
the Collapse, Mobile Emergency Response Vehicle and High Rise units were also on the scene, bringing the total number of firefighters to about 350 staffing some 70 units. Numerous
police and emergency medical units also supported the long operation.
By 2:30 a.m. Monday, just over 12 hours after the blaze started,
the debris continued to smolder but the fire was considered extinguished and
most of the firefighters first on the scene had been relieved.
Dozens of Rescue Personnel Injured
Some 80 emergency workers were injured, with at least 62 transported to area hospitals,
officials on the scene late Sunday said. The transported included 54 firefighters,
five police officers and three EMS workers, Some of the injuries occurred during
the rescue efforts. Others were treated on the scene. Three civilians were also injured.
Elmhurst Hospital in Queens bore the brunt of the firefighters injured.
A hospital spokesperson said 19 firefighters were transported there, including the
three dead.
Fifteen firefighters were transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Neighborhood resident Spiro Colovos, 55, said he heard the explosions, ran to
the scene and saw firefighters administering CPR to their colleagues.
AP Photos/Patrick M. Reed
New York City firefighters search through rubble.
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"They looked like they were in terrible shape," he told the Associated Press.
The two-story housed the Long Island General Supply Company, a hardware store, and
had apartment units on the second floor, the Associated Press reported.
"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, located next door to the hardware store. "I thought
the whole building had collapsed."
Memorial and funeral information is not available. It is requested that you do not
contact the department for information. It will be made available as soon as details
are worked out.
Five Have Died in New York This Year
The FDNY last lost three firefighters on December 18, 1998 when three were killed
in an apartment fire in Brooklyn.
The deaths marked the third, fourth and fifth of the year for the FDNY, the largest
fire department in terms of manpower in the United States.
On January 13, Firefighter Donald L. Franklin, 42, of Ladder 44 was killed while searching a
burning apartment building in the Bronx where two residents died.
On Jan. 4, Firefighter Gregg J. McLoughlin, age 39, of Engine
Company 302 in Queens suffered cardiac arrest in his firehouse.
AP Photos/Robert Mecea
New York City Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, left, describes the five-alarm
fire as New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani looks on.
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The deaths were the first time three U.S. firefighters died at the same incident
since three were killed in a house fire while searching for children trapped inside
in Keokuk, Iowa on Dec. 22, 1999. Three children also died in that blaze.
The Keokuk blaze was just a few weeks after six Worcester, Mass. firefighters
died searching the Cold Storage Warehouse on Dec. 3 of that year. That blaze
was the deadliest for America's firefighters in a structure fire in 21 years.
In August of 1978 the FDNY lost six firefighters when the roof collapsed at a structure
fire, another 34 firefighters were injured in that incident. On Oct. 17, 1966, 12
FDNY firefighters were lost when a four-story building collapsed.
A total of 777 firefighters have died in the line of duty in the department's
140-year history.
Condolences Come From Across Country
Condolences have already begun to pour into Firehouse.com's forum where they will
be forwarded to the families at an appropriate time.
"I must say that when we lose one it hurts, when we lose two it scars,
but when we lose three or more it jolts our family nationwide," wrote Jason Myer,
United States Forest Service firefighter from Susanville, Ca.
"Yet again we have been reminded of the dangers of our work, and quite
brutally," wrote Dana Kennedy of the Brunswick, Maine Fire Department.
"The loss of these brave firefighters weighs heavily on my heart and those of my family."
Firehouse.com News is on the scene and will have added details throughout the night
and Monday.
Lon Slepicka and Peter Matthews
are reporting from New York. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Eight Fatherless After Blasts Rip Queens Building, Killing Three FDNY Bravest