Bravest survived ’66 blaze to become leader

Retired FDNY Capt. Manuel Fernandez, the only member of his engine company to survive the infamous 23rd St. fire that tore through a Flatiron District brownstone and killed 12 firefighters in 1966, has died. He was 89.

Before the 9/11 attack that killed 343 FDNY members in 2001, the 23rd St. fire inside the Wonder Drug Store was the worst loss of city firefighters in the line of duty, officials said.

Fernandez was behind the wheel of Engine 18 on Oct. 17, 1966 when the company responded to a fivealarm nighttime fire at the corner of E. 23rd St. and Broadway.

Fernandez’s firefighter brothers, FDNY members of nearly every rank from deputy chief to probationary firefighter, perished when the ground floor of the Wonder Drug Store collapsed under the assault of the searing flames.

Fernandez, the driver, had stayed outside the building, following protocol, according to reports. After the collapse, he tried crawling inside on his hands and knees but the heat was too intense.

It took firefighters 14 hours to dig out the rubble and reach their dead comrades. The fallen firefighters left behind 12 widows and 32 children.

Despite the unimaginable emotional loss, Fernandez went on to serve for 29 years in the department, rising to the rank of captain in a storied career highlighted by his role in the FDNY’s Hispanic Society.

“Manny Fernandez bravely served our city for three decades and was there on one of our darkest days, when 12 firefighters’ lives were lost in a horrific tragedy,” Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement.

“Despite the painful loss of his fellow members, he continued to serve, climbed the ranks to become a highly respected captain and inspired so many Hispanic men and women to join our ranks as co-founder of our Hispanic Society. The entire department mourns his loss.”

Fernandez joined the department in 1960 and cofounded the FDNY’s Hispanic Society before serving as its second president.

Fernandez established the Hispanic Society Memorial Medal. He was then instrumental in the medal’s redesign in honor of his colleagues who made the supreme sacrifice in 1966, renaming the medal the Hispanic Society 23rd St. Fire Memorial Medal.

The newly designed medal was first awarded in 2015, and continues to be awarded annually at the FDNY Medal Day Ceremony.

Fernandez also organized the FDNY boxing team.

Wakes for Fernandez will be held Wednesday and Thursday at Ferenga Funeral Home in Astoria. Fernandez’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Astoria.