FDNY CAPT SCOTT LAPIEDRA L176 LODD 7/4/1998

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FDNY Line of Duty Death​

July 4, 1998 - LODD
Captain Scott LaPiedra, 40
Ladder 176
FDNY. Brooklyn, New York




On June 5, 1998, Captain LaPiedra and Lieutenant Blackmore, along with other firefighters, were conducting a search on the second floor of a commercial/residential structure. A civilian fire victim had been reported to be trapped in the area. Without warning, the second floor collapsed into the fire area on the first floor, trapping firefighters in a live fire on the first floor. Two firefighters died and four were seriously injured. The civilian fire victim had escaped through a back entrance. Captain LaPiedra suffered severe burns (70%) and died on July 4, 1998, the cause of death was thermal burns resulting in cardiac arrest. Lieutenant Blackmore was pronounced dead at the hospital that day after being recovered by other firefighters, the cause of death was crushing trauma and burns resulting in a heart attack.


RIP. Never forget

 

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NEW YORK

NY Times​

2d Firefighter Dies, 1 Month After Brooklyn House Fire​

By Charlie Leduff

July 5, 1998

Capt. Scott LaPiedra, the New York City firefighter who had been unconscious and struggling for his life for nearly a month after being engulfed in an inferno in a Brooklyn fire, died last night at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

Captain LaPiedra, 40, a Staten Island resident and a father of four children, had been unconscious in a hyperbaric chamber designed to flush out carbon monoxide from his charred lungs, as doctors tried in vain to entice skin to grow.

Two days ago, his condition worsened because of infections, hospital officials said, adding that Captain LaPiedra's family was at his side when he died at about 9:30 P.M.

He was the second firefighter to die as a result of the June 5 blaze, a five-alarm fire that engulfed a row of small, wood-frame houses.

A group of firefighters led by Captain LaPiedra ran to the second floor of one of the houses, a tar-shingled home at 2530 Atlantic Avenue in the East New York section. A woman had screamed to them that her elderly mother was trapped in the house, and the firefighters ran up a flight of stairs.

Suddenly, a ball of flame burst from the ground floor, and the second floor caved in beneath the firefighters, casting them into a crucible of burning timber on the first floor. The men were buried beneath radiators, beams and searing embers.

The elderly woman had been standing on the street all along, it was later discovered.

Lieut. James W. Blackmore, 48, died in the fire from a heart attack, and eight others were injured, Captain LaPiedra most seriously.
Doctors had given him less than a 10 percent chance to survive, and said that a strong heart, conditioned by marathon running, enabled him to survive for as long as he did.

A ranking officer in Ladder Company 176 in East New York, he is the third firefighter to die in the line of duty this year.

Besides Captain LaPiedra and Lieutenant Blackmore, Raymond Nakovics, 49, died of a heart attack at a fire in Manhattan last April.

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was at Jacobi last night and expressed sorrow and condolences to Captain LaPiedra's wife and children, and to the captain's colleagues in the Fire Department.

''Captain LaPiedra is a hero who died attempting to save the lives of other people. He dedicated his life to doing that,'' the Mayor said.
Speaking of Captain LaPiedra's family, the Mayor added, ''I hope that the strength that they have will get them through this.''

Captain LaPiedra joined the Fire Department in 1979 and was a member of a ''civil service family.''

His father is a retired police officer, and his brothers are in the Police, Fire, Sanitation and Correction Departments.

2d Firefighter Dies, 1 Month After Brooklyn House Fire (Published 1998)

www.nytimes.com

 

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NY Times​

Funeral for Firefighter Who Battled Burns for Month​

By David W. Chen
July 10, 1998

This was a tough one for the New York City Fire Department, maybe tougher than some of the others.

Not just because Capt. Scott LaPiedra, who died on the Fourth of July, left behind a wife and four young children. Or because he was twice cited for bravery. Or because he was a member of a family that counted among its ranks a father who is a retired police officer and brothers who are now in the Police, Fire, Sanitation Departments.

For some firefighters, Captain LaPiedra's funeral yesterday on Staten Island was especially difficult because the Captain, a veteran marathoner, had died after running the bravest, and most spectacular, marathon of his 40 years.

Despite burns to 70 percent of his body, Captain LaPiedra, with big lungs and a big heart, defied medical logic by surviving for a month. And in the process, firefighters often found it difficult to cope with what became an emotionally draining roller coaster, day after praying day, week after hoping week.

It was standing room only inside the 850-seat church, with relatives occupying most of the front pews to the right of the aisle, and city officials, including Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, sitting to the left.

Mr. Giuliani was one of several people to eulogize Captain LaPiedra. And to let Captain LaPiedra's four children -- Scott Jr., 13, Buddy, 12, and twins, Megan and Shannon, 10 -- know how much their father was revered and respected, the Mayor asked the congregation to stand, salute the Captain and applaud.

But it was Richard LaPiedra, the Captain's brother and a fellow firefighter, who delivered the most heartfelt of the eulogies.

''Scott, I would've felt privileged if I had only known you as a friend,'' he said, his voice quivering with emotion. ''I am honored for 30 years to have been your brother.''

Several people lingered after the funeral, talking quietly, sighing heavily.

Dennis Keating, a firefighter with Ladder Company 37 in the Bronx, reminisced about how he and other firefighters had prepared french toast, sausages and eggs every morning for the last month for Captain LaPiedra's family, who had maintained a vigil at Jacobi Medical Center.

But now, there will be no more breakfasts.

Funeral for Firefighter Who Battled Burns for Month (Published 1998)

Over 12,000 people attend Staten Island funeral for Capt Scott LaPiedra, firefighter who died on July 4, a month after being burned in Brooklyn fire; photo (M)

www.nytimes.com

 

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Scott J. LaPiedra​

Captain​

Along with other firefighters, Lieutenant Blackmore and Captain LaPiedra were conducting a search on the second floor of a commercial/residential structure. A civilian fire victim had been reported to be trapped in the area. Without warning, the second floor collapsed into the fire area on the first floor, trapping firefighters in a live fire on the first floor. Two firefighters died and four were seriously injured. The civilian fire victim had escaped through a back entrance. Lieutenant Blackmore was pronounced dead at the hospital after being recovered by other firefighters, the cause of death was crushing trauma and burns resulting in a heart attack. Captain LaPiedra suffered severe burns (70%) and died on July 4, 1998, the cause of death was thermal burns resulting in cardiac arrest. More information related to this incident is available in NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation 98-F-17.



Scott J. LaPiedra was honored on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was included in the USFA’s annual report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States.

Department information​

FDNY, New York City Fire Department
9 Metro Tech Center

Brooklyn, New York 11201-3857
Chief: Commissioner Thomas Von Essen
View NIOSH Report

Age:	40
Rank:	Captain
Classification:	Career
Incident date:	June 5, 1998 19:46
Date of death:	July 4, 1998
Cause of death:	Caught or Trapped
Nature of death:	Burns
Activity type:	Search and Rescue
Emergency duty:	Yes
Duty type:	On-Scene Fire
Fixed property use:	Residential

Notice of Firefighter Fatality

Scott LaPiedra with the FDNY, New York City Fire Department in Brooklyn, New York died June 5, 1998, while on duty. Find out more about this incident at https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/fatalityData/detail?fatalityId=228.

apps.usfa.fema.gov

 

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Sudden Floor Collapse Claims the Lives of Two Fire Fighters and Four Are Hospitalized with Serious Burns in a Five-Alarm Fire - New York​

Death in the Line of Duty…A summary of a NIOSH fire fighter fatality investigation​

Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Report F98-17 | NIOSH | CDC

Sudden Floor Collapse Claims the Lives of Two Fire Fighters and Four Are Hospitalized with Serious Burns in a Five-Alarm Fire - New York

www.cdc.gov

 

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AGENCY’S BLUNDERS MAY HAVE DOOMED 2 FIREFIGHTERS
By
Philip Messing
July 14, 1999 4:00am

Two hero firefighters may have died because a city agency did an incompetent job rebuilding a Brooklyn row house – and then ignored an inspector’s warning that the structure might collapse, a scathing Fire Department report says.

Lt. James Blackmore, 48, Capt. Scott LaPiedra, 40, and six other firefighters ran into the burning East New York building on June 5, 1998, to search for a woman on the second floor – not knowing she already had escaped.

And beneath their feet was an unknown danger – the second floor had not been properly shored up when the Department of Housing Preservation and Development renovated the building four years earlier, according to the report, which was obtained by The Post.

The floor collapsed beneath them, plunging the firefighters into the flames below.

An HPD inspector who checked the renovations in 1994 realized there was something wrong and asked for a “load survey” to study possible structural problems in the city-owned building.

“There is no record of a load survey being completed,” the report says.

Because of HPD’s mistakes, there was no wall supporting the section of the second floor that collapsed underneath the firefighters, the report says.

HPD officials “did not adequately address existing structural problems” in the building – a fact that the report cites as an “indirect” cause of LaPiedra’s and Blackmore’s deaths.

As “direct” causes of the tragedy, the report cites the building’s “deteriorated state due to alterations” and the lack of support for the second story – all problems HPD could have fixed in its renovations.

Officials from HPD did not respond to a request for comment last night. The Fire Department said the report will be made public today.

The FDNY report asks for better communication among city agencies about building renovations – and says the Fire Department itself could improve its record-keeping about buildings with hazardous conditions.

Blackmore, a decorated Vietnam veteran and a 21-year-firefighter, died at the scene. LaPiedra, a 20-year Fire Department veteran whose father was a city cop, died of his burns 29 days later.

Lt. Timothy Stackpole, one of those injured in the collapse, spent nearly a month in the hospital being treated for his burns.

“The building was still coming down on top of us, and we were all burning and we were all praying,” Stackpole recalled after he was released last summer.

Several other firefighters were injured in the collapse. Investigators labeled the blaze suspicious

CITY AGENCY’S BLUNDERS MAY HAVE DOOMED 2 FIREFIGHTERS

Two hero firefighters may have died because a city agency did an incompetent job rebuilding a Brooklyn row house – and then ignored an inspector’s warning that the structure might colla…

nypost.com

 

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Signal 5-5-5-5 For The 766th Time​

For the second time this year the Red Devil struck an awful blow to New York's Bravest. Signal 5-5-5-5 was transmitted for the 766th time.
77-55-2044 Friday 6/5/98

It started routinely in the Brooklyn Central Office. A single phone call at 2022 hours reporting a fire in the basement of 2530 Atlantic Avenue in the East New York section. The caller was relatively calm about it.

Engine 332 & ladder 175 were assigned first due. The firehouse is a mere 8 blocks and 1 avenue away from the 3 story frame 20 x 75 multiple dwelling. They arrived in roughly 3 minutes and went immediately to work.

The basement of the structure was well involved within minutes. Unbeknownst to them the fire had started in the adjoining building, 2528 Atlantic Avenue. Despite the efforts of the Bradford Street fire fighters, the Devil continued to spread upward and outward.

As the fire spread, second and third alarms were transmitted. The members of engine 332 and ladder 176 were searching the top floor of 2030 when it collapsed onto the 1st floor. Cpt. Scott LaPietra, Lt. James Blackmore, Lt. Timothy Stackpole, FF. Terence Quinn and FF. Brian Baiker were plunged into the Devil's pit; flaming debris falling on top of them. Scores of fire fighters rushed in to rescue their fallen comrades.

Lt. Blackmore was pulled from the rubble with severe head and chest trauma. He was transported in cardiac arrest to a nearby trauma center, Brookdale Hospital, but it was too late. The 21 year veteran was 48 years old, decorated 5 times, and leaves behind a wife and 5 children.

Captain Scott Lapiedra, 40, was very seriously burned. He was airlifted to the burn unit in Jacobi Hospital with 3rd degree burns to over 70% of his body. As of June 16, he is still in extremely critical condition. He is a 19 year veteran and has a wife and 4 children. Lieutenant Timothy Stackpole, FF. Brian Baiker and FF. Terence Quinn also received severe burns and they are in critical condition in the burn center.

The fire building was a row of 5 frame houses with 2530 Atlantic Avenue being the rightmost unit. All that remains of the structure is the 2 leftmost units - the fire completely gutted the other 3, and bulldozers razed the remains. It is believed the fire began as a mattress fire in the basement of 2528 Atlantic Avenue.

Addendum: On July 4th, 1998, Capt. Scott Lapiedra became the 767th fire fighter to make the Supreme Sacrifice.

Signal 5-5-5-5 For the 766th Time

 

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Rooms in Staten Island University Hospital Burn Unit Dedicated to Five FDNY Firefighters​

Rooms in Staten Island University Hospital Burn Unit Dedicated to Five FDNY Firefighters