Waldbaum's, Avenue Y and Ocean Ave, Brooklyn, NY - August 2nd 1978

August 2nd 2006, will be the 28th Anniversary of the Waldbaum's grocery store fire. 

For those younger members of The Secret List, 6 firefighters lost their lives at the Waldbaum's fire on August 2, 1978. This was the largest loss of firefighters in a single fire in Brooklyn. The firefighters died at the fire when the roof collapsed, and 34 others were injured. At the time, it was the worst single disastrous fire for FDNY.
The heroic firefighters who died are FF George Rice, 38, Ladder 153, FF James McManus, 48. Cov. Lt. James Cutillo, 39, 33rd Batt., FF Harold Hastings, 40, 43rd Batt., FF Charles Bouton,38, L. 156 and William O'Connor,29 of L. 156. Critically injured were FF's Richard Smicuska and George Costanza.
The fire started at 8:40 am in the "under renovation" Waldbaums supermarket on Ocean Avenue in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. Dozens of electricians and plumbers were renovating the building when the fire started in the mezzanine area. The "all hands" signal was transmitted for the working fire at 8:49, the 2nd alarm at 9:02. Shortly after 9:20, with 20 firefighters operating on the roof, a crackling sound was heard and the center portion of the roof fell into the smoke and flames. Some of the firefighters were seen running toward the edge of the roof, some made it, others nearby fell into the hole....a nightmare. At 9:18 the 3rd alarm was transmitted and it went to a 5th.

Laborers and firefighters managed to pull out some firefighters who were near walls, some crawled out. Several holes were made into the wall to pull out injured survivors and victims. Some wives were at the scene when their husbands fell. It was a horribly tragic and sad day-one we need to remember as those firefighters gave their lives-but so many have lived since that fire as we have learned about.

I was working in New York City for I.S.O. at the time and with my partner, a retired FDNY truck Captain and real character named Angelo Puleo listened in our office fire radio to that horrible fire as it unfolded from the first alarm in 1978. It was incredible radio traffic that day to say the least. And as we were listening, Angelo started to tell me about that building that he knew from experience and proceeded to spend nearly the rest of the day teaching me all he knew about truss construction and the inherit dangers for firefighters.

Courtesy, Billy G and the Secret List, 8/1/2006, www.firefighterclosecalls.com 

Ok, so you read the Waldbaum's story. Guess what most of us have this same type of construction in our towns. Its called a roof truss, but more specifically the bow string roof truss. Do you know where they are ?, Do you know ahead of time what you would do, or better what not to do faced with this type construction ?.

Two factors contributed to the collapse of this bowstring arch truss, a double roof (rain roof) alteration and the extent and severity of the fire.

This roof collapsed 32 minutes after the initial units arrived.

This is a bowstring arch truss.