BRAVEST DIDN’T HAVE TO DIE
Flammable film set, confusion caused tragedy
A toxic blaze that was fed by highly combustible movie-set materials and raged unseen behind false plywood walls directly contributed to the tragic death of Firefighter Michael Davidson in a Harlem basement last year, the FDNY has concluded.
Davidson, 37, a veteran firefighter and father of four who was posthumously promoted to lieutenant, got separated from his fellow Bravest while fighting the fire on March 23, 2018, inside a former jazz club that had been converted into a set for “Motherless Brooklyn,” a star-studded film based on a Jonathan Lethem novel featuring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Edward Norton, who also directed.
Choking black smoke overtook Davidson as his air ran out and he couldn’t find the door, according to the 117-page FDNY Safety Command report obtained Wednesday by the Daily News.
Communications issues and chaos inside the cluttered space, which had been modified to include new partitions the Fire Department didn’t know about, also contributed to the tragedy, the report said.
The movie set materials included carbon-based Art Deco panels, which are extremely flammable and produce toxic smoke when burned, the report said. Film producers also added plywood framing covered by polyurethane foam, a known fire and explosion hazard that generates large volumes of dense black smoke when burned.
“The movie production placed highly combustible materials on the walls throughout the first floor,” the report said. “These movie set walls created voids which initially concealed fire. The first units were unaware that these false walls were not (part) of the fire building.”
Those voids, the report concluded, helped hide the fire as it grew — concealing from the FDNY that the small blaze they first responded to was rapidly expanding.
It erupted into an uncontrollable conflagration that overcame Davidson and eventually engulfed the entire structure, causing a full interior collapse, according to the report.
Davidson’s unit, Engine 69, arrived at the scene about 10:52 p.m., when the FDNY still thought it was battling a small blaze.
“Ready for water,” Davidson said over the radio three minutes later as he prepared to lead four firefighters into the flames with the first hose.
Immediately, the crew ran into problems. The sprinkler system in the old townhouse didn’t go off, and firefighters couldn’t tell if the flames sprang from the basementlevel movie set that was inside the old jazz club, or from the building’s cellar, accessed through stairs at the back of the club.
Wearing his mask and air tank, Davidson navigated through the “Motherless Brooklyn” set and went down the cellar stairs to spray water
on what he thought was the source of the fire.
Just minutes later, FDNY officers who moved to a different vantage point above ground got a horrifying look at the extent of the flames.
“Fire burning between the first-floor wall and the movie prop wall now became visible out the rear first floor double window,” the report said. “This was not apparent to units operating in the cellar, first floor or in front as the movie prop wall blocked the double window.”
Unaware of the danger raging above him, Davidson moved to the base of the cellar stairs at 11:17 p.m. and communicated to colleagues he was out of air and had to get out.
Roughly a minute later, fire erupted through the false movie set walls and up the sides of the building.
“Fire suddenly spread through the movie-set walls in the rear,” the report said. “Dense black pressurized smoke suddenly appeared.”
FDNY command ordered an immediate evacuation.
“Well, uh, the s—- hit the fan up here, we want everybody out, brother,” a commander said.
Davidson made it to the basement-level jazz club but no further. Overcome by the rush of toxic fumes and trapped in the confusing clutter of the movie set, he had just enough time to hit the talk button on his radio, the report said.
But he never said anything. And soon he stopped moving. He collapsed near the bar of the defunct club — likely disoriented and sick from ingesting the heavy carbon monoxide in the air before passing out, the report concluded.
One firefighter told investigators he thought he’d heard a radio call for help through the inferno. “I picked up a mayday … seconds ago,” a firefighter transmitted. “It was not acknowledged.”
At 11:26 p.m., FDNY command realized Davidson was not out of the building and ordered a search.
“Command to Rescue 3 and Ladder 23 … we’re missing 69 Nozzle [Davidson]. Last seen in the basement.”
Twelve minutes later, Davidson was found face-down, with his head pointing toward the door to the street.
“I have a down fireman right by the bar just as you come in that door,” a firefighter transmitted. “I need a hand.”
Medics rushed the young father to Harlem Hospital but couldn’t save him.
“Davidson was exposed to high levels of hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and other noxious gases,” the report said.
The FDNY report concluded that in the future, the city’s Office of Media and Entertainment should notify the Fire Department when it issues a permit for film or television production — and tighten rules on the use of certain materials.
“The usage of highly combustible materials within structural buildings by movie production should be made known to the [FDNY],” the report stated.
The deadly blaze spawned a range of lawsuits filed by tenants, neighbors and Davidson’s family against the city, Norton’s film production company and building owner Vincent Lampkin. The FDNY traced the origin of the fire to a faulty boiler flue in the aging townhouse — but one of its own fire marshals, Scott Specht, the lead investigator in the case, disputes that conclusion. He alleged in two notices of claim filed with the city last year that the movie company alterations played a more significant role and more probing was needed.
Specht alleges his investigation found instances where nails hammered into the building walls may have cut into electrical lines and high-energy lights used in the production may have also played a role.
The report did not address any of Specht’s allegations.
The report included a series of best-practice recommendations for firefighters, including hitting the emergency alert button as soon as air tanks get close to empty and working in pairs or groups, and never alone.
Many firefighters also stopped battling the flames when the order came to look for a fallen comrade, the report noted.