Aug.2,1978, Waldbaums Fire

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In My Prayers always. To the Families of these Firefighters we will never forget them.

? Lt. James E. Cutillo, Battalion 33
? Firefighter Charles S. Bouton, Ladder Company 156
? Firefighter Harold F. Hastings, Battalion 42
? Firefighter James P. McManus, Ladder Company 153
? Firefighter William O?Connor, Ladder Company 156
? Firefighter George S. Rice, Ladder Company 153
 

mack

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTzBg1YIZmI

RIP. NEVER FORGET.
 
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watch ......Turn up the volume & listen to this & play it & explain the heavy timber truss roof danger to a younger FF & how to spot the classic bow string hump ( any truss heavy or lightweight is a danger though ).....as much as i liked being in R*2 this day was not a day i liked at all because of the outcome & a day i will NEVER FORGET !....i was there & will NEVER FORGET it ! ... (another Member of my proby class gone along w/others ..not the first & not the last LODD from our class) ...our R*2 Roofman & good friend Tom V. was one of the FFs who fell thru the roof into the cockloft but luckily saw light in a hole in the ceiling & dove into the hole landing in the store below & although badly burned managed to escape
& become the only seriously injured FF to eventually return to full duty from this Fire...that night after getting off duty we went to Coney Island Hosp to visit him (no Burn Center back then)....as we were walking thru the wards there was a guy w/a basketball sized head waving as we walked by the glass windows ...we waved back & kept walking looking for Tom...when we got to the end of the corridor & had not found him we went back to the Nurse's Station & asked where he was ....it turned out that the basketball sized head guy was Tommy swelled up from burns ....after a long recovery he stayed OTJ & RET as a BC a few years ago but continued to suffer in the weather extremes mostly from the burns he received on his hands
 
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Continued Rest in Peace for the Six lost that day. Continued thoughts and prayers for their families at home and on the job.
 
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As a result of this very tragic fire, many fire departments changed their policy involving roof operations on "bow string truss roofs". Whether these bow sting roofs were tied together with cross members of wood or steel, once any one of those pieces failed, the entire roof section would come down. Not only presenting the danger to those members operating on top of it, but also to those operating under it as well.

A sad reality of firefighting is that so many times we have had to learn from tragedies like this. The loss of family members, fathers, sons, brothers, good friends, Brother Firefighters who were there when you needed them most.

Forty years later we remember the sacrifice that these Brave Firefighters and their families gave to us. We will NEVER FORGET THEM. And the lesson "they" taught us has no doubt saved the lives of many other firefighters as well.

Chief JK and the other members of the FDNY here who lost members and friends at this Waldbaum's fire, my personnel condolences to you on a day you will never forget. I remember watching it on the news with my own family members and my mother and wife crying as they watched it. I think every parent or wife who had a son or husband on the job and saw that event felt probably the same way.

May they Rest in Peace. 
 

mack

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nfd2004 said:
As a result of this very tragic fire, many fire departments changed their policy involving roof operations on "bow string truss roofs". Whether these bow sting roofs were tied together with cross members of wood or steel, once any one of those pieces failed, the entire roof section would come down. Not only presenting the danger to those members operating on top of it, but also to those operating under it as well.

A sad reality of firefighting is that so many times we have had to learn from tragedies like this. The loss of family members, fathers, sons, brothers, good friends, Brother Firefighters who were there when you needed them most.

Forty years later we remember the sacrifice that these Brave Firefighters and their families gave to us. We will NEVER FORGET THEM. And the lesson "they" taught us has no doubt saved the lives of many other firefighters as well.

Chief JK and the other members of the FDNY here who lost members and friends at this Waldbaum's fire, my personnel condolences to you on a day you will never forget. I remember watching it on the news with my own family members and my mother and wife crying as they watched it. I think every parent or wife who had a son or husband on the job and saw that event felt probably the same way.

May they Rest in Peace.


Same sentiments, Bill. 

It is also unfortunate that ten years later, on July 1, 1988, five Hackensack, NJ, firefighters were killed in the collapse of a wooden bow string truss roof at a fire involving an auto dealership.
 
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Dreadful Day; I was there for that one.  :'(

God Bless Those Who Serve, and Those Who Mourn. Eternal Rest In Peace.
 
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Had the honor to be in attendance at yesterday's memorial service and remembrance. God Bless those men that were lost, their families, and those members that operated at the fire that day. Had the privilege to know a few members that responded on the initial box, some no longer with us and some that still are, and others that responded after the 7-5 was transmitted. Always an honor to be in their presence and to listen and learn about that tragic day. Truly changed their lives forever. May they never be forgotten!
 
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TODAY 8-2-19 IS THE 41st ANNIVERSARY OF THE WALDBAUMS FIRE ......CONTINUED REST IN PEACE TO ALL.
 
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I remember the day well, waiting to be called for the FDNY, the news was very disturbing. May the Brothers continue to rest in peace.


 
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  God Bless Those Who Serve, and Those Who Mourn. Eternal Rest In Peace.
 
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Continued Rest In Peace to the six men lost that day. Continuing comfor.t for their families, their friends and those who responded to this fire.
 
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