Two firefighters were pulled from beneath collapsed rubble last night, as a building undergoing demolition burned in Jamaica, Queens. The two men were partially pinned by debris when the landing between the second and third floors of the building on 95th Ave. and Sutphin Blvd. collapsed. Both were taken to a hospital along with a third firefighter, but all three were in stable condition and none suffered life-threatening injuries.
ABC's Eyewitness News reports that the fire department was initially content to fight the fire without sending anyone inside a building that was determined to be vacant and under demolition. Two firefighters were killed a month ago battling a blaze at the Deutsche Bank Building on Liberty St. in Manhattan, which was also being demolished. A deputy chief at the scene, Michael Halderman, told ABC that while the Deutsche Bank building fire was at the forefront of people's minds, not sending people into a burning building under demolition when lives were at risk was a standard operating procedure for the FDNY. Why co-workers had to "[fight] flames and smoke to rescue two firefighters" last night then, was a question that went unasked.
Investigators believe that it was a construction worker's blowtorch that started the blaze.
