``Firemen were walking in and out of the first floor of the building from a loading platform outside. Then a voice cried out: `Look out, there goes ......' The sentence was never finished.''
Excerpt from Juniper Park Civic Association
The date was October 26, 1962. The country and the world were concerned about the very real possibility of a nuclear war that could break out at any moment. As president John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev maneuvered warships and missiles, a local fire would have a huge impact on a half a dozen families.
At around 9:00pm a fire at the Sefu Soap and Fat Co. at 44-15 56th Road broke out from an unknown cause in the two-story brick, 73-by-50-foot building. By the nature of the business that occupied the building, the fire was intense and went to four alarms being declared under control at 10:50 p.m. As firemen were walking in and out of the first floor of the building from a loading platform outside a voice cried out: Look out, there goes... The sentence was never finished. The wall and ceiling tumbled down, burying the fireman under tons of bricks and other debris.
About 20 firefighters were trapped under at least 6 feet of debris. A fifth alarm was sounded to bring emergency equipment to the scene. Firemen Richard Andrews, James Marino, Captain William Russell of Engine 325, Firemen Richard Gifford, George Zahn of Engine 238 and Fireman Francis Egan of Ladder 115, were killed and many were injured.
John Killcommons, then a 28 year-old with only two years on the job worked at Ladder 128 on Greenpoint Avenue. The 128 was the first hook and ladder to arrive, when we got here the fire was roaring. "The more water we took out of the creek, the fire just got brighter," said Killcommons.
Killcommons was about 5 feet away from the men working under a garage shed when the right side wall of the two-story brick building collapsed. He was saved because he happened to be standing in a doorway of the building. "I knew all of the lost firemen, four of the dead joined me in FDNY in the spring of 1960. We were replacing guys who served in World War II," said Killcommons.
Captain Russell, a decorated WWII veteran, joined FDNY after the war. Probationary firemen, Richard Andrews, joined the FDNY four months prior. Killcommons was one of the firefighters digging out Andrews, who was crushed by the weight of the wall. Today probationary firemen are not allowed to enter buildings on fire.
FDNY Captain George Zahn Sr., Engine Company 324 in Corona arrived at the scene hours after the fire to see where his son died. Zahn Sr. approached Killcommons and said, I have only one son and now he's gone. "We were trying to comfort him but you can see he was totally devastated," said Killcommons.
Lives were lost, families were broken apart and life was changed for so many. But for New York City, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the news of the day. And the Maspeth fire which took six young lives faded from the headlines.
...
New York (AP) -- Six dead firemen were pulled early today from the debris of a collapsed wall at a fire-gutted soap factory in Queens.
More than 20 firemen were trapped Friday night when the side wall and part of the second floor gave way during the blaze. Five were hospitalized.
The whereabouts of the building's watchman and his assistant were not known, but firemen said they were not believed to be in the building.
The fire department identified the six dead as:
CAPT. WILLIAM RUSSELL, of Wantagh, N.Y.
Fireman FRANCIS EGAN, Merrick, N.Y.
Fireman GEORGE ZAHN, Jackson Heights.
Fireman RICHARD GIFFORD, Belrose.
Fireman JAMES MARINO, Corona.
Probationary Fireman RICHARD ANDREWS, all of Queens.
The fire broke out from an unknown cause around 9 p.m. in the two-story brick, 73-by-50-foot building housing the Sefu Fat and Soap Co.
The four-alarm fire was brought under control at 10:50 p.m., and shortly thereafter the wall fell. A fifth alarm was sounded to bring emergency equipment to the scene.
Firemen were walking in and out of the first floor of the building from a loading platform outside.
Then a voice cried out: "Look out, there goes ......"
The sentence was never finished.
The wall and ceiling tumbled down, burying the fireman under tons of bricks and other debris.
...
New York (AP) -- Six dead firemen were pulled early today from the debris of a collapsed wall at a fire-gutted soap factory in Queens.
More than 20 firemen were trapped Friday night when the side wall and part of the second floor gave way during the blaze. Five were hospitalized.
The whereabouts of the building's watchman and his assistant were not known, but firemen said they were not believed to be in the building.
The fire department identified the six dead as:
CAPT. WILLIAM RUSSELL, of Wantagh, N.Y.
Fireman FRANCIS EGAN, Merrick, N.Y.
Fireman GEORGE ZAHN, Jackson Heights.
Fireman RICHARD GIFFORD, Belrose.
Fireman JAMES MARINO, Corona.
Probationary Fireman RICHARD ANDREWS, all of Queens.
The fire broke out from an unknown cause around 9 p.m. in the two-story brick, 73-by-50-foot building housing the Sefu Fat and Soap Co.
The four-alarm fire was brought under control at 10:50 p.m., and shortly thereafter the wall fell. A fifth alarm was sounded to bring emergency equipment to the scene.
Firemen were walking in and out of the first floor of the building from a loading platform outside.
Then a voice cried out: "Look out, there goes ......"
The sentence was never finished.
The wall and ceiling tumbled down, burying the fireman under tons of bricks and other debris.
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