He lost his life saving our lives
Hero FDNY veteran killed in Harlem blaze Fire started on set of Ed Norton movie
THERE WERE TEARS and theories but no answers Friday in the probe of a devastating five-alarm Harlem building blaze that killed a heroic FDNY veteran.
Firefighter Michael Davidson, a father of four, lost his life fighting fierce flames inside a 98-yearold building on St. Nicholas Ave. and W. 149th St.
Hours later, fire officials were still waiting to survey the charred interior to figure out what sparked the inferno.
“It’s going to be a while before they get in there,” said an FDNY source familiar with the investigation. “There was a collapse, so they have to dig down to the basement and get to the source of what happened.
“There are a lot of possibilities, but electrical is always one of the first theories.”
The building’s lower floor was being used as a set for “Motherless Brooklyn,” a movie version of the Jonathan Lethem novel of the same name.
Crime scene investigators focused their attention Friday on a black “junction box” at W. 149th St., a device brought in by the film crew to provide power throughout the set.
A man who lives in the building and was trapped on the second floor before the FDNY rescued him, is taking Davidson’s loss hard.
“My heart is broken,” said a sobbing Spelman Beaubrun, 54. “He’s a hero. He lost his life saving our lives . . . . It’s like my heart goes out to the whole FDNY.”
While what caused the fire is still a mystery, one department sources provided a working explanation for what went fatally wrong after firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday.
“The fire started to get away from them,” according to an FDNY source. “They ordered everyone in and out of the building, but it was already difficult to get in and out.”
Davidson, 37, as the nozzle man for Engine Co. 69, manned a hose at the front of the line of firefighters — and was supposed to be the last one out.
But things went awry as the flames and choking black smoke forced the FDNY members out of the basement.
Davidson disappeared as they pulled back, setting off a frantic search that ended when he was discovered unconscious from smoke inhalation.
“You can’t see in a fire,” the source explained. “By then, he was lost in the smoke.”
Davidson, who came from a firefighting family, died a short time later at Harlem Hospital.
The 15-year veteran’s body arrived at the Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home in his town of Floral Park, L.I., where more than 100 firefighters stood outside as an honor guard.
Many embraced one another after their comrade was brought inside by members of his engine company and Ladder Co. 28.
It was film crew members who called 911 after smoke began to waft into their set at the end of a long day of shooting, according to “Motherless Brooklyn’s” production company.
“It was like pandemonium,” said Donald Bowers, 55, who was driving a camera truck for the movie.
“Everything happened so quick. When we heard there was a tragedy, everyone was just beside themselves.”
Actor Edward Norton, the star and director of the film, was on site when the fire started.
Three building residents suffered minor injuries before the fire was brought under control.
Two firefighters remained hospitalized on the morning after the blaze: One with serious but not life-threatening burns and injuries, the other with minor injuries.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro visited the scene Friday, joined by Mayor de Blasio, after Con Ed crews capped off a gas line to prevent any further tragedy at the site.
“My heart goes out to his family,” said de Blasio, who spoke earlier with Firefighter Davidson’s widow.
“This good man saved lives last night. There’s no doubt about that.”