NEW YORK, NY – The alarm came in at Box-598 at 2136 hrs and before the shift was over, 12 Firefighters would be dead in the deadliest building collapse in the history of the FDNY aside from the 9-11 Tragedy. The fire started innocently enough in a four story Brown Stone at #7 East 22nd Street. The rear and side walls butted up to a 3-story white brick commercial building to the West at 3940-948 Broadway and to a 5-story brown brick building to the North at 6 East 23rd Street.

There was little evidence smoke and even smaller evidence of fire on the main floor of the drug store at #6 East 23rd Street. On the floor are very experienced fire officers. A Deputy Chief, a Battalion Chief as well as two Lieutenants in charge of two Companies began to hack away at the walls as well as bringing in two hose lines to gain access to the fire. All at once with a thundering crash, a 20-by-5 foot section of the floor gave way. A resulting burst of flames rolled along the ceiling of the drugstore and flared out into the street. Ten men were at the rear of the drugstore attacking the wall that abutted the brownstone to the South fell into the fire below and perished. Two other Firefighters were trapped by the burst of flames caused by the collapse of the floor and were incineratedon the main floor of the drugstore.

The men that were killed are listed as:
Deputy Chief Thomas A. Reilly – Division 3
Battalion Chief Walter J. Higgins – Battalion 7
Lieutenant John J. Finley – Ladder Company 7
Lieutenant Joseph Priore – Engine Company 18 (Covering)
Firefighter John G. Berry – Ladder Company 7
Firefighter Rudolph F. Kaminsky – Ladder Company 7
Firefighter Carl Lee – Ladder Company 7
Firefighter James V. Galanaugh – Engine Company 18
Probationary Firefighter Joseph Kelly II – Engine Company 18
Firefighter William McCarron – Aide to Chief Reilly
Firefighter Bernard A. Tepper – Engine Company 18
Probationary Firefighter Daniel L. Rey – Engine Company 18

Here is a first hand account of the blaze by Firefighter Joseph D’Albert – Engine Company 24, from the 2nd issue of WNYF Magazine 1973.