23rd Street Fire - The Incident

The Incident

A fire was reported shortly after 9:30 pm at an art dealer located at 7 East 22nd Street, just off Broadway, in a four-story brownstone. A FDNY report after the incident showed that the dealer had stored highly flammable lacquer, paint, and finished wood frames in the basement. By the time the first firefighters arrived, the intensity of the smoke and heat made it impossible to enter through the 22nd Street side of the building.

Firefighters attempted to approach the burning building through Wonder Drug, a store located at 6 East 23rd Street in a five-story, 45x100 commercial building that abutted the burning art dealership. As part of a recent construction project, a common cellar under the two buildings was renovated, removing a load-bearing dividing wall that had supported the floor above. The removal of the wall allowed the art dealer to increase their storage space and move some of their supplies into a space that was now under the drugstore.

The building at 7 East 22nd Street had a two-story extension adjoining the rear of the building at 6 East 23rd Street. The cellar of the 22nd Street building extended about 35 feet under the drug store. The drugstore's floor was supported by 3" x 14" wood beams. 3/4" wood planking atop these beams was covered with five inches of concrete finished with terrazzo. The fire underneath the store weakened the wooden beams, while the thickness of the floor prevented firefighters from feeling the extreme heat below.

A 15 by 35 foot section of the floor collapsed at around 10:40 pm, causing ten firefighters to fall into the burning cellar. Two other firefighters on the first floor were killed in a flashover. In all, twelve firefighters were killed: two chiefs, two lieutenants, and eight firefighters. It took firefighters 14 hours to dig out the rubble and reach their dead comrades. The dead men left behind 12 widows and 32 children.