NEW YORK, June 18 -- A five-alarm blaze in a hardware store in New York City Sunday left three firefighters dead and at least 15 injured as explosions propelled firefighters across the street and toppled a brick faade. . "I can't think of a more tragic Father's Day," New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said in a news conference. "All three of the firefighters who died were fathers, and eight children are now fatherless."
Firefighters Harry Ford, 50; John Downing, 40; and Brian Fahey, 46, died when the roof collapsed in the explosion. Fahey fell in the basement and was trapped there for hours. The building was destroyed.
"About 50 firefighters, police and emergency medical technicians were injured in the fire -- two seriously," a spokesman for the Fire Department of New York told United Press International.
A fourth firefighter, Joseph Vosilla, 41, was fighting for his life in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. A fifth firefighter, Brendan Manning, was in serious condition at Cornell University Hospital. Two civilians suffered minor injuries.
The fire at the Long Island Supply Store in Astoria, Queens, began before noon and rocked a neighboring church where services were being held. Apartment residents above the hardware store escaped. They have been relocated by the Red Cross.
The explosions, which may have been the result of propane tanks stored in the basement in the store, occurred after firefighters had begun fighting the blaze, the New York Fire Department said. Paints and fertilizers may have also fueled the fire.
About 350 firefighters battled the blaze that grew to five alarms over several hours. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
