Today marks the anniversary of a tragic 1994 fire in Manhattan that claimed the lives of three members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), forever known as the “Watts Street Fire.”
On March 28, three FDNY firefighters trapped in the stairwell of a brownstone at 62 Watts Street were burned when they were enveloped in fire while attempting to force their way through a heavy steel door to a second floor apartment.
Captain John Drennan of Ladder 5 and Firefighter James Young and Firefighter Christopher Seidenburg of Engine 24 were conducting a search when the hot air and toxic gases that collected in the stairwell erupted into flames as other fire crews forced entry into the first-floor apartment where the fire had originated. The fire exhibited characteristics of both a backdraft and a flashover. Firefighter Young, 31, in the bottom position on the stairs, was burned and died at the scene. Firefighter Seidenburg and Captain Drennan were rescued by other firefighters. They were transported to a burn unit with third and fourth degree burns over 50 percent of their bodies. Firefighter Seidenburg, 25, died the next day, March 29. After 40 days in a burn unit, Captain John Drennan, 49, passed away on May 7, 1994.
Per the U.S. Fire Administration report, the cause of the fire was determined to be a plastic bag left by the residents on top of the stove of the floor apartment.
According to Firefighter Hank Molle, the trio apparently saw the flashover coming and tried unsuccessfully to break through a 1 1/2-inch thick metal door to safety. Molle told the Associated Press that the fire never got into the apartment, and that everything on the other side of the door was incinerated.
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