‘HE WAS A STAR’
FDNY chief killed in tragic Bronx drug-house explosion:
FOR BATTALION Chief Michael Fahy, a bright future as both father and firefighter disappeared in a single explosion.
Fahy, struck by flying debris when a blast blew apart a Bronx drug house, died Tuesday morning despite desperate rescue efforts by fellow first responders.
The 17-year FDNY veteran — a second-generation firefighter — was on the street directing operations when he was struck in the head by pieces of the two-story home in the 7:34 a.m. blast, just over an hour after a passerby reported a gas odor.
Cops rushed the married father of three to the hospital as the seemingly routine call went horribly wrong.
“It’s a sad day, a sad day,” said a distraught Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, a former colleague of Fahy’s father, Thomas.
“We lost a hero today, and our members are all saddened.”
Cops said the home at 300 W. 234th St. in Kingsbridge was under investigation as a marijuana grow house before the blast — and neighbors said the secretive tenants drove luxury cars around the blue-collar neighborhood.
A man attached to the destroyed house was arrested hours after fleeing the scene, according to law enforcement sources.
Julio Salcedo, 34, (inset, above) believed to be a renter at the Bronx address, was nabbed in Cliffside Park, N.J., after a short manhunt.
Salcedo was seen leaving the home as firefighters responded to the gas odor, police sources said. Investigators believe that he worked at the grow operation and had been arrested on narcotics charges before. His most recent arrest was in April for attacking his girlfriend in the Bronx, cops said.
No charges had been filed against Salcedo Tuesday night. ENDNU
“If you want to get our attention, blow up your marijuana grow house,” said a high-ranking police source. “You get the full attention of the NYPD. Doesn’t matter if you go to Indiana or Bali, we’re going to find you.”
It was unclear if the pot production contributed to the blast or if there was a gas leak inside the home.
Fertilizer was found on what was left of the second floor, along with a number of marijuana plants — each in a large plastic pot insulated with styrofoam panels.
Another 20 people, including nine firefighters and six police officers, suffered minor injuries as the blast scattered pot plants, roof shingles, wood and brick into the street and adjoining homes.
None of the other injuries was life-threatening.
“I felt something so strong, like a boom!” said local resident Porfiro Paulino, 64, who awoke to the explosion.
Fahy, 44, became the first FDNY member killed in the line of duty since July 2014, when Lt. Gordon Ambelas died while fighting a fire in a Brooklyn high-rise.
Fahy worked with Battalion 19 in the Bronx.
The rental property was targeted by the NYPD as a possible drug spot after a tip two weeks ago, said Police Commissioner James O’Neill.
A neighbor said the current renters, unlike past years when Manhattan College students lived there, were low-key and drove high-end vehicles like Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs.
“This definitely wasn’t college students,” said Mike Garcia, 28, an electrician. “We didn’t hear any commotion or see any people. We thought it was shady.”
An investigation by the NYPD arson and explosion squad was underway.
“It’s a crime scene, and it will be for a few days to come,” said Nigro.
Fahy’s dad, Thomas, was a decorated FDNY battalion chief during a 33-year career that ended with his retirement two months after Sept. 11, 2001.
Michael Fahy was the father of two boys — Michael, 11, and Cormac, 6 — and a daughter Anna, 8.
“One of our rising stars,” Nigro said of Fahy. “He was on the rise, he was a star, he was a brave man . . . . It’s a loss, a terrible loss, not just for the Fahy family but the Fire Department family.”
Fahy was pronounced dead at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Allen. His parents and widow, who rushed separately to the hospital, returned later to Fahy’s Yonkers home on a street lined
with police and fire vehicles.
A priest accompanied the parents as they walked — their heads down — into the house.
Neighbor Jackie Sutton choked back tears after hearing the crushing news.
“There’s nothing but kind words to be said about this man and his family,” she said. “He was just a very wonderful neighbor. He was a pleasant, pleasant man . . . a model in every way.”
Another neighbor recalled Fahy as the coach of the baseball and basketball teams at Annunciation Church in Yonkers. His namesake son played on both teams.
“He was so good with the kids,” said the 69-year-old woman, whose 11-year-old son played for coach Fahy. “He was such a gentleman. He was so easygoing with the kids. They all loved him.”
Onesimo Guerrero, the owner of the Bronx home, knew little about the blast or the current renters.
“It was a very bad accident,” he told the Daily News. “I didn’t know the people living there. It was a starter house.”
Asked about the weed operation, Guerrero replied, “Nobody told me anything about that.”