Aug 30, 2007 5:30 pm US/Eastern
2 Boston Firefighters Killed In Restaurant Fire
WEST ROXBURY (WBZ) ―
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Warren Payne (L) and Paul Cahill (R).
CBS
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The four-alarm fire started at about 9 p.m. in the Tai-Ho Mandarin and Cantonese restaurant.
WBZ
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It took firefighters an hour to contain the flames.
CBS
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A crane lifted the AC unit out of the blackened building as investigators continued to search for a cause.
WBZ
The restaurant fire which claimed the lives of two Boston firefighters Wednesday night was burning for more than an hour before employees called 911, Fire Chief Kevin MacCurtain said.
Killed were Paul Cahill, 55, of Scituate, and Warren Payne, 53, of Canton, who served on Engine 30, Ladder 25, the first unit to respond to the fire.
Payne, a 19-year veteran, leaves behind two children. Cahill joined the department in 1993. He leaves a wife and three children.
Nine other firefighters and one paramedic have been released from area hospitals. Another firefighter, Ken Gibson, is still being treated for smoke inhalation but could be released Friday.
(Click here for the complete list of injured firefighters)Boston Fire Department Medical Director Dr. Mike Hamrock was one of the first on scene trying to save the firefighters, including Payne.
"We immediately started CPR and brought him to the ambulance," Hamrock said. "We continued aggressive life support measures until we got to Brigham and Women's Hospital."
Hamrock said no one could predict the intense heat and flames that had been building in the walls for an hour.
"You really can't see in front of you. You have to feel the walls," he said. "Ideally you should feel for the hose line and work your way out the same way you came in, but with that much fire and that much heat, it's easy to get disoriented and get lost in the building."
The initial investigation points to a grease fire in the kitchen of the Tai-Ho Mandarin and Cantonese restaurant.
MacCurtain said the flames were burning in a ceiling crawl space for about an hour before employees became aware of the fire, called 911 and evacuated the restaurant around 9 p.m.
But while the fire smoldered unnoticed in the ceiling crawl space, toxic and flammable gases collected, MacCurtain said, and what looked at first like a routine fire quickly turned deadly.
"When they started to extinguish the fire, something unexpected happened," he said. "Very quickly and very suddenly the entire ceiling was blown down under force and a volume of fire was pushed down that had accumulated in that crawl space."
The firefighters likely became disoriented and were unable to find their way out, he said.
The blaze spread to adjoining businesses in the row of yellow-brick storefronts, and at least four other stores were damaged. A 3-ton air conditioning unit fell partially through the roof, providing a burst of air to help fuel the blaze, authorities said.
"The flames were coming out of everywhere, through the roof, out the windows," said George Hines, 72, who walked to the fire scene after listening to the scanner. "I saw three firefighters pull one guy out -- just dragged him right through the flames. He was in bad shape, you could tell."
All of the employees and customers managed to escape unharmed. The owner was in China due to the death of a relative.
A police station was at the end of the block, but was not affected by the fire.
Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser has appointed a board of inquiry to further investigate the tragedy.
Donations can be sent to:
West Roxbury Fire Fund
c/o Boston Firefighters Credit Union
60 Hallet Street
Dorchester, MA 02124
617-288-2420
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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