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CNN Live At Daybreak

Investigators Search for Cause of Deadly Queens Fire

Aired June 18, 2001 - 07:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, we've been telling you this morning about a terrible hardware store fire in Queens. New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani calls it one of the most tragic days that he can remember.

Emily Francis from CNN affiliate WPIX joins us now with the latest on this. Emily, this morning any closer to knowing what caused this fire?

EMILY FRANCIS, WPIX REPORTER: Well, right now arson investigators are on the scene. They've been here pretty much constantly since the fire was knocked down yesterday. They do not know if it was intentionally set, but what they do believe happened -- if you could pan over with me, Scott -- you can see all of the debris over there. In the midst of all of that debris are some cans of kerosene as well as propane and they do believe that was the cause of the explosion which ended up killing all three firefighters and critically injuring another one.

MCEDWARDS: (AUDIO GAP) know now about the condition of that fourth firefighter?

FRANCIS: The fourth firefighter is in critical condition at this point. They won't give any more information on that. There's also another one in the burn unit at Cornell Medical Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He is in stable condition.

Also, I do want to go over a little bit about the three men who were killed. They were all long-time veterans of the New York City Fire Department.

The first one that we're going to talk about is Brian Fahey. He was 46 years old. Now, he was the only firefighter who was killed inside the hardware store. He was in the basement, which is where the source of the fire was. He was trapped underneath the rubble for several hours and was killed inside. He is a 14-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department. He has an 8-year-old son and two 3- year-old twin boys. So he was obviously looking forward to finishing his shift and going home for Father's Day.

Also, the longest veteran of the three people who were killed was 50-year-old Harry Ford. He has been with the New York City Fire Department for 27 years and has received nine citations for bravery. So, he has an excellent record with the fire department. He has three kids age 24, 12 and 10.

Then 41-year-old John Downing was with the New York City Fire Department for 11 years. He has a 7-year-old daughter and a 3-year- old boy.

Now, both Downing and Ford were actually killed outside of the building. When the explosion took place, the debris literally went flying and they got crushed by that debris right here on the street.

So, a very sad day for the families of these men.

MCEDWARDS: Indeed. Emily, was there anyone inside that hardware store when that explosion went off?

FRANCIS: No, there was no one inside. We do understand that the hardware store was closed yesterday when the fire broke out. But as you can -- actually, you can't see too well but there are a couple of apartments attached to the building, but firefighters were able to evacuate the residents inside before it got completely out of control.

MCEDWARDS: And at the height of it, Emily, I mean, how many firefighters, how many crews were call to the scene?

FRANCIS: There were -- believe it or not, it was a five-alarm fire. There were 350 firefighters on the scene at the height of what was going on. And actually, 50 firefighters were injured, but the rest of those 50 were able to be treated and released. Also two civilians and five police officers were injured as well. So, it was a very, very scary situation.

MCEDWARDS: Did fire spread at all or were they able to keep it under control?

FRANCIS: They were able to keep it under control. Fortunately -- you may be able to tell that this is pretty much an industrial block, so there are were not a lot of residences. The fact that the building is made out of brick was a good sign because there's not a lot of wood which created a lot of fuel.

But the hardest part was just simply the basement because that's where the fire was. But because of what happened, firefighters obviously had to retreat. So even now, the people who are still on the scene cannot go inside that basement. So, they're having to knock down any hot spots that flare up from outside.

MCEDWARDS: All right. Emily Francis, thanks very much.

FRANCIS: You're very welcome.

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