2 Buffalo firefighters killed in floor collapse

[samanthajane13]

By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press Writer – 21 mins ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The first floor of a burning convenience store collapsed into the basement early Monday morning, killing two firefighters.

Flag-draped gurneys carrying the bodies were brought out of the two-story building shortly before 10 a.m. as fellow firefighters, some saluting, lined up and took off their helmets. Weeping and distraught people believed to be relatives had been escorted from the scene moments earlier.

Authorities could not immediately confirm reports that a third person — possibly a civilian the firefighters tried to rescue — was missing in the basement, a police spokesman said.

The fire at the Super Speedy deli was reported just before 4 a.m. The deli is on the ground floor of a corner brick building in a working-class neighborhood on the city's east side. Firefighters were still pouring water on the gutted building hours after the blaze began.

"I've been on 36 years and seen every situation happen. We still do what we have to do," said Fire Chief John McFeely. "It's always very, very tragic. The guys are so close together, but we've got a job to do. In another half an hour, if there's another fire down the street, we'll be there."

Mayor Byron Brown and Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo were expected to release more information at a midday news conference at the Erie County Medical Center, where the bodies of the two firefighters were taken. The firefighters' names were not immediately released.

There was no immediate information on a possible cause of the fire.

The last Buffalo firefighter killed in the line of duty was 31-year-old Michael Seguin, who died July 4, 1997, when a roof collapsed during a house fire.

The last time more than one Buffalo firefighter died in the line of duty was on Dec. 27, 1983, when five firefighters were killed in a propane tank explosion at a warehouse — the worst loss of life in the department's 129-year history.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090824/...ighters_killed

[samanthajane13]

Official: 2 firefighters killed in Buffalo fire

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Officials in Buffalo, N.Y., say two firefighters have been killed after the first floor of a burning convenience store collapsed into the basement.

The Rev. Derren Young, chaplain at the Erie County Medical Center, says the firefighters' bodies were recovered Monday morning and will be taken to the hospital. A police spokesman says authorities still can't confirm reports of a third person missing in the basement of the two-story building.

Firefighters lined up and took off their helmets, some saluting, as gurneys carrying the bodies were brought out. Weeping and distraught people gathered across the street and were escorted from the scene.

There is no immediate information on a possible cause of the fire and the firefighters' names have not been released.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090824/...hters_killed_2

[samanthajane13]

Buffalo mourns loss of 2 firefighters

(CNN) -- Flags were being lowered to half-staff Monday in Buffalo, New York, after two firefighters died inside a fire-engulfed building, city officials said.

The firefighters were responding to reports that at least one person was trapped in the building.

"Today is a very tragic day in the city of Buffalo," Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said at a news conference. "Our hearts are broken right now, and we are all saddened by this terrible tragedy."

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, and the remains of the building are being searched to determine if anyone else perished inside, Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said.

Emergency officials received a call around 3:50 a.m. that "someone [was] banging on a wall and calling for help" from inside the burning building, Lombardo said. Video footage showed the top level of the two-story brick building fully engulfed in flames. A convenience store was on the building's first floor.

Lombardo identified the two victims as Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy, 45, and Jonathan Croom, 34 -- two men he said he knew personally. They died when the first floor of the building crashed into the basement, trapping them both.

It is the first time Buffalo firefighters have died while on duty in more than a decade, according to CNN affiliate WKBW-TV in Buffalo.

Between 200 and 300 firefighters from the area showed up at the scene Monday morning to pay their respects, Lombardo said.

"This is a family, and we lost two members of our family today," he said.

Lombardo described Croom as "a young firefighter coming up." The 10-year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department is survived by his fiancée and a 9-month-old child.

McCarthy, a 22-year veteran of the department, leaves behind a wife, three children and a 6-month-old grandchild.

"Chip was always -- the place you could find him was in the fire, doing his job," Lombardo said of McCarthy. "There was probably nobody that did it better."


http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/24/buf...ion=cnn_latest

[samanthajane13]

Update: Firefighters killed in Buffalo deli blaze identified
by The Associated Press
Monday August 24, 2009, 2:31 PM

Buffalo, N.Y. -- Two firefighters -- one searching for a person reported to be trapped and the other responding to a mayday call -- plunged through the collapsed first floor of a burning building and died early Monday.

Rescue crews tried repeatedly to get to the two fallen firefighters, but were beaten back by fire and further collapses inside the corner brick building, Commissioner Michael Lombardo said.

The first firefighter to fall through the floor, Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy, was a 22-year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department who was assigned to a team whose members are trained to find and free trapped victims.

He had depleted one oxygen tank, came out to replace it and then re-entered the building just before the accident happened, said firefighter Vincent Gugliuzza, vice president of Local 282, Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association.

He pressed a distress button on his radio and radioed for help, saying, "Basement, I'm in the basement," said Daniel Cunningham, president of the firefighters union.

Firefighter Jonathan Croom, who was working on his scheduled day off, responded to McCarthy's mayday call and also fell through the collapsed floor, Cunningham said.

Firefighters continued to search the building Monday afternoon but had not yet determined whether anyone else was still inside, officials said.

The fire at the Super Speedy deli in a working-class neighborhood on the city's east side was reported just before 4 a.m. Flag-draped stretchers carrying the bodies were brought out of the two-story building shortly before 10 a.m. as fellow firefighters, some saluting, lined up and took off their helmets. Weeping and distraught people believed to be relatives had been escorted from the scene moments earlier.

Firefighters were still pouring water on the gutted building hours after the blaze began. The fire's cause was under investigation.

McCarthy was a 45-year-old married father of three. Croom, 34, had been in the department for 10 years and leaves behind a fiance and the couple's 9-month-old child. He was working on overtime on his day off to cover a staffing shortage, Cunningham said.

The two were among the first firefighters on the scene, Lombardo said.

"The hearts of the Buffalo Fire Department are broken," said Lombardo, who knew both of the victims. "This is a family and we lost two members of our family today."

The last Buffalo firefighter killed in the line of duty was 31-year-old Michael Seguin, who died July 4, 1997, when a roof collapsed during a house fire.

The last time more than one Buffalo firefighter died in the line of duty was on Dec. 27, 1983, when five firefighters were killed in a propane tank explosion at a warehouse -- the worst loss of life in the department's 129-year history.

"I've been on 36 years and seen every situation happen. We still do what we have to do," said Fire Chief John McFeely. "It's always very, very tragic. The guys are so close together, but we've got a job to do. In another half an hour, if there's another fire down the street, we'll be there."


http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.s...efighters.html

[samanthajane13]

UFD Chief Brooks: "I can't imagine the agony and remorse"
By EMMA WRIGHT
Story Created: Aug 24, 2009 at 4:41 PM EDT
Story Updated: Aug 24, 2009 at 6:04 PM EDT

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - A sad day for fire fighters around the state as early Monday morning, two of their own died battling a blaze in Buffalo.

Utica Fire Chief Russ Brooks says the mood in fire stations across the state Monday was a somber one.

"I can't imagine the agony and remorse the firefighters from Buffalo have to be experiencing," Brooks said.

The two Buffalo fire fighters died after the floor of a corner convenience store collapsed, sending them into the basement.

It goes without saying that firefighting is a dangerous job. Chief Brooks says safety is always a number one priority.

Brooks says fighting fires in cities with old buildings like Buffalo and Utica poses a greater challenge. In an old building, not only are firefighters battling a blaze, they're also fighting the unknown. Building modifications, rotting floors and ceilings, all add another element of danger.

"Firefighting is not an exact science," Brooks said.

Over the course of the Utica Fire Department's 134 years, six firefighters have died on the job.

Chief Brooks said Monday's deaths in Buffalo brought back memories of the 1996 Bleecker Street fire, where seven Utica firefighters were injured. They became trapped in a building and some had to jump out of a second-story window.


http://www.wktv.com/news/local/54594892.html

[samanthajane13]

Governor Paterson statement on the deaths of two Buffalo firefighters
August 24, 2009 6:06 PM

STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON

“I was deeply saddened to learn today of the tragic death of two firefighters who were killed in the line of duty while responding to an early morning alarm in Buffalo. Lieutenant Charles McCarthy and firefighter Jonathan Croom died in service to their community, performing duties firefighters think of as routine but we know are heroic. These brave men repeatedly answered the call to serve in harm’s way, putting their own safety on the line to protect others. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Lieutenant McCarthy and firefighter Croom.”


http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/div-1...-paterson.html

[wind149]

Having had a brave firefighter for a cousin who died on 9/11 this just brings it home how dangerous a job they have and even with all the safety technology they have now, if the building collapses on them, there is no hope. I remember on December 9th in 1999, 6 Worcester MA firefighters died when an abandoned warehouse where homeless people were crashing caught fire and it was a horrible fire, It went to 5 alarms which means every unit was on the scene trying to battle the blaze because the Chief was told that there were people in there and they all went in and tried to find them and the smoke was so bad and they had limited oxygen in their Scott packs and then the whole building seemed to explode and the Chief was ordering everyone out and all of them came out but the six that were trapped in various areas of the building and others wanted to go back in and try to find them, but no one was answering the Chief's panicked radio transmission and he had to make the toughest call of his career, he had to tell all the others that they could not go back in as it was too late and too dangerous.

Now the two homeless people,. both mentally challenged and the girl is all of 19 and the man was 41 with 6 counts of manslaughter because the DA claimed that they had knocked over a candle and then just left, but the young girl, also pregnant told him thatshe left to go spend the night with a friend as it was really cold that night and that she had knocked it over but thought it was out. As it turns out, the charges were dropped against them because it was determined that it was an accident and these people are not all there and believe it or not, a couple in Maine saw her picture in a Worcester paper and realized she was the sister of the retarded girl they had adopted and they bailed her out a couple of days after the fire and she went to live with them and the woman said that her mentality level was about 11 and her sister who was 16, was at about a 9 and they ended up adopting the girl too and she gave her baby up for adoption to a couple they knew and 48 hours did a show about her and the fire and the fireman. They left behind 17 children and one had 6 boys and the oldest are now firefighters like their dad and in the same ladder house. I went to Worcester about three days after the fire and firefighters were still at the scene as it took about 5 full days before it was completely out and then they could search for their fallen brothers and I went down near the scene and I was so sad for these brave men and their families.

They truly died heroes because they could have simply just fought the blaze from outside the building but they KNEW homeless people crashed there and they had heard that at least two people were actually living there and that is why they went in and it mattered none that these people were street people, they were doing their job and as a result, they lost their lives. Just like my cousin, he knew that there were many people trapped in Tower II and he knew that many people were probably already dead, but he went up anyway and he lost his life. Now as a firefighter this is the risk you take every day, but 9/11 was not just a high rise fire, it was terrorism and no one knew that those buildings were going to collapse and some had learned from the first time those towers were bombed that it could take hours to reach the top floors, but these brave men and women along with the Port Authority cops and civilians that worked there too went in for the long haul and they all died and this still kills me that here it is almost 8 years and we have not caught that warped, scumbag terrorist POS that was responsible for the deaths of 2,979 innocent people and I don't believe we are even actively looking for him, I know during the Bush regime we weren't!!

He was more concerned with Iraq and how Sadaam had threatened his Daddy more than he ever was about Bin Forgotten!! The weapons of mass destruction that were never found? What a load of crap!! There never WERE ANY, that was his lame ass excuse to go after Sadaam and made a lame attempt to put soldiers in Afganistan just to make it look like we were looking for him!! And if you think that scumbag is not going to pull something else, think again!!! So today, I put up my flag at half staff that I have on the wall, this was a flag I got at my cousin's ladder house and since these brave fellows died in the line of duty, they deserve it.

[samanthajane13]

Thank you so much for honoring our fallen Buffalo Firefighters, Wind.

They died doing what they loved, just as your cousin did.

May they all rest in peace.

[samanthajane13]

Investigators continue probe into deadly Buffalo fire

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Fire investigators in Buffalo continue their probe into the cause of yesterday's early morning fire that killed two firefighters.

Authorities say Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy Jr. and Firefighter Jonathan Croom died when the floor of a corner store collapsed while the two-story building was on fire. Investigators say they believe the fire began in the basement.


http://www.whec.com/article/stories/....shtml?cat=565

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters leave many
memories behind
Fellow firefighters remember McCarthy
and Croom

Updated: Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 6:27 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 12:33 AM EDT

* Michele McClintick

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Lieutenant Charles "Chip" McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom leave behind more than three decades of combined service to this city and many, many memories.

Piles of flowers keeps growing where Jonathan Croom worked.

Both of the families are too grief stricken to talk about their loved ones, but fellow firefighters are taking the time to remember two of their brothers.

Buffalo firefighter Lieutenant Ronald Bourgeois said, "An outstanding firefighter, an outstanding civilian, and overall great human being."

Firefighters are mourning the loss of a fellow brother.

34-year-old Jonathan Croom, a ten-year veteran of the department, was considered a daredevil by his family. His brother says it was only fitting that he became a member of the Buffalo Fire Department. His work family is remembering his smile and his courage. He was working overtime early Monday morning when he was called in as part of the firefighter rescue and survival team.

Lt. Bourgeois said, "At a moment's notice our lives are on the lines, just like in the military, but this is on the homefront."

Croom's brother told News 4 that he graduated from Buffalo Visual and Performing Arts High School and Buffalo State College. He leaves behind a fiancee and little girl. Croom and his fiancee are expecting a son in the next few weeks.

Lieutenant Charles "Chip" McCarthy was a well-respected firefighter with over twenty years of service.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said, "The place you could find him was in the fire, doing his job, and there was probably nobody that did it better."

A firefighters memorial stands outside the house at Jefferson and Kingsley. Lt McCarthy's name will be added to it, right below Donald Herbert, who was also there at the fire house, along with Christopher Dill, a firefighter and Army reservist, who lost his life in Iraq in 2005.

A sign of mourning, a purple and black banner hangs outside the door of Lt Charles McCarthy's truck, Rescue One.

Lt. Bourgeois said, 'Ut Vivant Alii,' so others may live, that's our motto. We stand by it."
It has been twelve years since the Buffalo Fire Department lost one of it's own in the line of duty.

On July 4, 1997, 30-year-old Michael Seguin died battling a house fire sparked by illegal fireworks.

Two years earlier, fellow firefighters pulled Don Herbert from a burning building after a roof collapsed on him. He slipped into a coma, awoke a decade later for three days, only to slip back into a coma and die the following year.

In February 1988, a wall collapsed on four firefighters battling a massive warehouse fire on Kensington Avenue. Lieutenant Mike Gerrie did not make it out alive.

But the worst day in department history came in December 1983; the South Division Street propane explosion. Firefighters Mike Austin, Mickey Catanzaro, Red Lickfeld, Tony Waszkielewicz and Matty Colpoys all died in the blast, along with two civilians.

Out of respect for the victims of Monday's tragedy, the organizers of the National Buffalo Wing Festival have postponed Tuesday's kick-off ceremony at Niagara Square. The actual wing festival itself will go on in September, with a special fundraiser for the victims' families.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/firefig..._behind_090824

[samanthajane13]

In The Line of Duty: Officials Comment on the Death of Two Buffalo Firefighters
By Allen Leight
Story Published: Aug 24, 2009 at 1:00 PM EDT
Story Updated: Aug 24, 2009 at 1:12 PM EDT

(Buffalo, NY) -- 34-year old Jonathan Croom and 45-year old Charles (Chip) McCarthy died this morning while fighting a blaze on Buffalo's East Side.

Croom, a 10-year veteran of the force, leaves behind a fiance and a 9-month old child, while Lt. McCarthy leaves behind three children, his wife and 6-month old grandchild.

Officials just wrapped-up a press conference sharing available information from the scene this morning. It is still unclear if a civilian was trapped inside the basement of the burning building.


http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/54555912.html

Video-

http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/54555...?video=YHI&t=a

[samanthajane13]

Congressman Brian
Higgins statement

Updated: Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 4:35 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 4:35 PM EDT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Congressman Brian Higgins issued the following statement in response to the death of two Buffalo firefighters:

"Every day our firefighters enter the most dangerous of situations and selflessly, with little fanfare or recognition, go to work doing what many would never consider. Today two of our bravest, Lt. McCarthy and Firefighter Croom, paid the ultimate sacrifice as they kept guard over this city. We are inspired by their bravery, grieving for their families and profoundly grateful for their service to this community."


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/congres...atement_090824

[samanthajane13]

Third fire victim not
likely

Updated: Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 5:21 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 2:34 PM EDT

* Luke Moretti
* Posted by: Emily Lenihan

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - It is looking less likely that a third person was in the building during the Genesee Street fire.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said, "It certainly looks less and less likely, that doesn't mean there's not a corner there that we have not been able to get into."

However, people did hear screaming.

"The Police Department has interviewed those people, and for whatever the reason those people must have heard something, if it turns out there is not someone in the building or if someone was in the building and left the building, I don't know if we'll know that," said Lombardo.

"Our firefighters were doing their duty to get in there and find them, and if it turns out that no one was in there, it doesn't diminish one bit what they did or the sacrifice of what they did," Lombardo said.

Detectives are still searching for the cause of the fire.

"It looks like the fire started in the basement, because of the way the burn pattern is."

Lombardo says, McCarthy and Croom "were pretty much together when they went through."


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Third_f...ikely_20090825

[samanthajane13]

[samanthajane13]

Still No Sign Of 3rd Buffalo Fire Victim
BUFFALO, N.Y. (CBS) ―

Fire investigators continue to search a burned-out convenience store where two Buffalo firefighters died, but haven't found evidence anyone else was inside.

A 911 caller reported someone banging on a wall and yelling for help early Monday morning, leading firefighters to rush in and search the burning store. Lt. Charles McCarthy Jr. and firefighter Jonathan Croom died after falling through the collapsed first floor into the basement below.

Their bodies were removed several hours later, but no civilian victim was found. The search is continuing Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, separate funerals for the firefighters have been planned for Friday at St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Buffalo. The funeral for McCarthy is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Croom's will be at 1 p.m.

There is no immediate information on a possible cause of the fire and the names of the dead were not released.

The Buffalo Fire Department has 20 firehouses.


http://wcbstv.com/local/buffalo.fire...2.1143545.html

[samanthajane13]

FATAL FIRE: 2 Buffalo firefighters killed in floor collapse

BY CAROLYN THOMPSON

The Associated Press

BUFFALO — Two firefighters — one searching for a person reported to be trapped and the other responding to a mayday call — plunged through the collapsed first floor of a burning building and died Monday.

Rescue crews tried repeatedly to get to the two fallen firefighters, but were beaten back by fire and further collapses inside the corner brick building, Commissioner Michael Lombardo said.

The first firefighter to fall through the floor, Lt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy, was a 22-year veteran of the Buffalo Fire Department who was assigned to a team whose members are trained to find and free trapped victims.

He had depleted one oxygen tank, came out to replace it and then re-entered the building just before the accident happened, said firefighter Vincent Gugliuzza, vice president of Local 282, Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association.

He pressed a distress button on his radio and radioed for help, saying, “Basement, I’m in the basement,” said Daniel Cunningham, president of the firefighters union.

Firefighter Jonathan Croom, who was working on his scheduled day off, responded to McCarthy’s mayday call and also fell through the collapsed floor, Cunningham said.

Firefighters continued to search the building Monday afternoon but had not yet determined whether anyone else was still inside, officials said.

The fire at the Super Speedy deli in a working-class neighborhood on the city’s east side was reported just before 4 a.m. Flag-draped stretchers carrying the bodies were brought out of the two-story building shortly before 10 a.m. as fellow firefighters, some saluting, lined up and took off their helmets. Weeping and distraught people believed to be relatives had been escorted from the scene moments earlier.

Firefighters were still pouring water on the gutted building hours after the blaze began. The fire’s cause was under investigation.

McCarthy was a 45-year-old married father of three. Croom, 34, had been in the department for 10 years and leaves behind a fiance and the couple’s 9-month-old child. He was working on overtime on his day off to cover a staffing shortage, Cunningham said.

The two were among the first firefighters on the scene, Lombardo said.

“The hearts of the Buffalo Fire Department are broken,” said Lombardo, who knew both of the victims. “This is a family and we lost two members of our family today.”

The last Buffalo firefighter killed in the line of duty was 31-year-old Michael Seguin, who died July 4, 1997, when a roof collapsed during a house fire.

The last time more than one Buffalo firefighter died in the line of duty was on Dec. 27, 1983, when five firefighters were killed in a propane tank explosion at a warehouse — the worst loss of life in the department’s 129-year history.

“I’ve been on 36 years and seen every situation happen. We still do what we have to do,” said Fire Chief John McFeely. “It’s always very, very tragic. The guys are so close together, but we’ve got a job to do. In another half an hour, if there’s another fire down the street, we’ll be there.”


http://www.lockportjournal.com/local...236232242.html

[samanthajane13]

Funeral Services Set for Two Buffalo Firefighters Who Died In The Line Of Duty
By Allen Leight

Story Published: Aug 25, 2009 at 1:17 PM EDT

Story Updated: Aug 25, 2009 at 3:51 PM EDT

(Buffalo, NY) -- Lt. Charles McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom died yesterday battling a 3-alarm fire on Buffalo's east side.

Earlier today, the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association released information on the funeral services for the two firefighters.

Viewing for Lt. Charles McCarthy will be held Thursday, August 27 from 2-8pm at James Cannan Funeral Home located at 3155 Orchard Park Road in Orchard Park, NY, while the Funeral will be held on Friday, August 28 at 9:30am at St. Josephs Old Cathedral at 50 Franklin Street in Buffalo.

Viewing for Jonathan Croom will be held Thursday August 27 from 2-8pm at Amigone Funeral Home at 1132 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, while the Funeral service will be held Friday, August 28 at 1pm at St. Josephs Old Cathedral at 50 Franklin Street in Buffalo.

There will be a collation to follow at the HSBC Arena in downtown Buffalo.


http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/54784792.html

[samanthajane13]

Two of Buffalo's bravest
mourned
Firefighters rushed into burning
convenience store

Updated: Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 5:48 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 24 Aug 2009, 5:35 PM EDT

* Luke Moretti

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Western New York mourns two of Buffalo's bravest. Two firefighters who rushed into a burning convenience store have lost their lives.

The three-alarm blaze started early Monday morning on the city's east side.

As the delicatessen smouldered from a raging fire, the flag-draped bodies of two Buffalo firefighters were carried out of the building.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, "Our hearts are broken right now."

Fellow firefighters lined up, took of their helmets and saluted their fallen brothers.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said, "This is a family, and we lost two members of our family today."

45-year-old Lieutenant Charles "Chip" McCarthy, a 22-year Buffalo Fire Department veteran, fell through a collapsed floor into the building's basement, 34-year-old firefighter Jonathan Croom of Ladder Company 7, had 10 years on the job. He also fell into the basement.

Daniel Cunningham of the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association said, "Jonathan came in looking for Chip because Chip was giving a mayday, man down button, and they were searching and somehow Jonathan, he ended up in the basement also."

The call for the two-story burning building came in at 3:49 Monday morning. There were reports from the initial 9-1-1 call that someone was banging on the wall asking for help.

Hamood Abdulla, who lived upstairs, heard the building's alarm, and thought there was a break-in, "Knock on the wall, we heard somebody inside say, 'help, help.'"

At this point, fire officials cannot confirm a third person trapped in the building. They only know of the two firefighters who lost their lives.

Commissioner Lombardo said, "It was very difficult for us to reach them. We had to do a lot of breaching into the building."

Commissioner Lombardo says many attempts were made to get to the firefighters, but he says crews were beaten back by flames and collapsing floors. By late Monday afternoon, demolition crews were already taking down the burned- out brick building.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/two_of_...mourned_090824

[samanthajane13]

Making the ultimate sacrifice, 2 firefighters are mourned
By Lou Michel
News Staff Reporter

Buffalo firefighters carefully hung their drapes of mourning outside two firehouses on Jefferson Avenue and Main Street on Monday, out of respect for Lt. Charles W. "Chip" McCarthy Jr. and Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom.

But the black and dark blue bunting was only one of the signs that fellow firefighters were just beginning to come to terms with their loss.

Eyes were rimmed red from tears, stories about McCarthy and Croom from happier times made the rounds, and colleagues collected personal effects from their fallen comrades during the early hours of grief.

Yet just beneath the hard reality of sudden death was an unmistakable sense of pride among the living for the bravery demonstrated by McCarthy and Croom, who had selflessly charged into a burning building on Genesee Street on Monday morning after getting word that someone might be trapped inside.

"Chip was a great firefighter, very brave. He inspired me to want to become a lieutenant," said Lt. John W. Keohane of Ladder 7, on Main Street near Bennett High School. "[And] when it came to going on calls, Jon was always a professional, just a high-quality individual."

That just scratches the surface in getting to know Croom and McCarthy.

'The best of the best'

"McCarthy" is believed to be the most common surname among Buffalo firefighters, so it was no surprise when fire officials and their supporters pointed out that Lt. McCarthy came from a family of firefighters.

His father, Charles, and his uncle James were both firefighters. The lieutenant's brother, Danny McCarthy, serves as a lieutenant at Engine 2 at Virginia Street and Elmwood Avenue. Their cousin Patrick McCarthy is a lieutenant at Ladder 6, which is stationed at the same firehouse on Jefferson Avenue at Kingsley Street where Chip McCarthy was assigned to Rescue 1 — the department's most elite unit because it responds to every serious fire call and accident in the city.

McCarthy also is survived by his wife, Terry, three children and a 6-month-old grandchild.

"Pat's locker is just four lockers away from his cousin Chip's locker," Rescue 1 Capt. William E. Clotfelter said, pointing to the narrow vertical lockers that hold turnout gear and personal property.

Two firefighters hunched beside the open door of 45-year-old Chip McCarthy's locker and, with reverence, removed his items, stowing them in his gym bag, as Clotfelter described him as the "best of the best."

Devoted to the family

In pointing out the abundance of McCarthys in the department, the captain smiled and said, "I don't think there's even a close second to the last name of McCarthy. Some of the McCarthys are related to each other, and some aren't."

But he and others all agreed that firefighting runs in the blood of the McCarthys whether or not they're officially related.

While "Croom" may not be common name on the Fire Department rolls, there was no question he was loved as a fellow firefighter at Ladder 7. "He was loving life, looking forward to raising his young daughter and another child that's on the way," Keohane said. "When we'd work nights and his platoon came to replace us in the day, Jon always had a smile and a "hi, hello' for us."

At the end of his shift, Croom headed to his second-floor apartment in North Buffalo, where he lived with his fiancee, Ingrid, and their 14-month-old daughter, Joanna. Ingrid, according to their landlady, is due to give birth to their second child in a few weeks.

Adding joy to being the father of a young, growing family was the fact that the 34-year-old Croom had known heartbreak and was now getting a second start. For earlier in the day, fire officials said Croom had lost a young child a few years back.

"He was beyond amazing. I always felt safe with him living upstairs from me. He's the only reason I kept the house," said Kelin Ryan, owner of the 2½ -story home.

Croom was so devoted to his family, Ryan said, that he gave away his pet dog, Marley, several months ago so he would have no distractions in caring for his family. "He had just bought his own house in Amherst, and they were going to be moving there," Ryan said, gazing at the flower bed in her front yard. "I keep looking there at the sunflowers he and Ingrid had planted. They were planning to transplant them at their home in Amherst."

'In his dad's footsteps'

At Ladder 7, Firefighter Mark E. Robinson said Croom's cheerful disposition was such that it was impossible to disrupt it, even when others tried to stir up some good-natured mischief among one another.

"Teasing never bothered him. He was lighthearted," Robinson said of Croom, whose official department portrait shows a man whose smile would surely brighten any firehouse.

Speaking of McCarthy, Keohane recalled his first day at Ladder 11, formerly on Fillmore Avenue near Broadway, and climbing up into the tiller seat at the back of the rig, where a second firefighter helped steer the extended ladder truck.

"I wanted to learn how to drive it, and Chip came down and said, "Don't get too comfortable up there. That's my seat. You get it when I'm off,'" Keohane said, breaking out into laughter on a day filled with so much sadness.

Robinson recalled that McCarthy worked a second job doing house painting.

"One time years ago, I was painting a kitchen door at the firehouse, and he noticed how I was painting and he said, "Take longer strokes and buy yourself a better brush,'" Robinson said. "I had to listen to him. He knew what was right. He knew his paint, but he was kindly when he corrected."

Keohane remembered that McCarthy's dad had also done house painting on the side.

"Chip followed in his dad's footsteps as a firefighter and a painter as well," said Keohane, making a big point out of such tradition and seeming to find some solace on such a tragic day.


http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/773931.html

[samanthajane13]

NIAGARA FALLS: City firefighters answer bell to provide grief relief to their brothers in Buffalo
By Rick Pfeiffer

As news that two Buffalo firefighters might be lost inside a burning Buffalo deli was relayed on morning radio and TV news programs Monday, Falls Fire Chief William MacKay reached for his cell phone.

He dialed Buffalo Fire Commissioner Mike Lombardo.

“I was able to get through to him on his cell,” MacKay said, “and he said it didn’t look good.”

MacKay immediately offered Lombardo whatever assistance the Falls Fire Department could muster.

“I told him whatever they needed, they just needed to ask,” MacKay said. “I offered anything the Niagara Falls Fire Department could do.”

After the call, MacKay and Battalion Chief Greg Colangelo drove to the scene in Buffalo, Shortly after they arrived, Buffalo firefighters recovered the bodies of Lt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy, a 22-year veteran, and Firefighter Jonathan Croom, a 10 year veteran of the department.

In that moment of crisis, Lombardo asked for grief counselors from the Falls Fire Department.

“We’ve always had an in-house ability to do peer-to-peer counseling,” MacKay said. “This was a natural extension to do it for a neighboring fire department with critical needs.”

Three Falls firefighters immediately responded to Buffalo to begin the counseling efforts. Three more replaced them on Monday night.

MacKay said 10 members of the Falls department have undergone specialized training to act as counselors. The chief declined to identify the firefighters by name, saying he wanted them to concentrate on helping their brother firefighters in Buffalo.

“They have their mission and that’s what we want them to focus on,” he said.

The Rev. Patrick Bradley, the chaplain for the Falls Police Department and one of several chaplains that serves Falls firefighters said having fellow firefighters perform counseling for the Buffalo Department is a good idea.

“The firefighter fraternity is not just within departments, but reaches across departments,” Bradley said.

Bradley said in firefighting, peers may be uniquely able to help the Buffalo firefighters to deal with their loss.

“The type of support that’s needed is (support) that acknowledges the depth of the loss, and let’s them know the overwhelming grief they are feeling is normal with what they are facing,” he said. “They are giving the firefighters in Buffalo a chance to talk about what they saw, heard, smelled and talking about how they are affected by that.”

The veteran chaplain said the Falls counselors will also help their Buffalo peers with coping mechanisms that will allow them to get through the next few days and weeks.

“It’s important that they take care of themselves,” Bradley said of the Buffalo firefighters. “They need to sleep, eat and exercise normally. It will help them cope.”

MacKay said the Falls firefighter counselors have been in place for a long time.

“This (program) was in existence for years, fortunately, we haven’t had to use it for in line of duty deaths,” the chief said. “We have used it to deal with some of the other horrific things (firefighters) see.”

Lombardo said McCarthy, who was assigned to a team whose members are trained to find and free trapped fire victims, was in the burning structure because of a report of someone in the basement screaming for help. He fell into the basement when the floor beneath him collapsed.

When McCarthy pressed a distress button on his radio, Croom responded to the mayday call and also fell through the collapsed floor.

Rescue crews tried repeatedly to get to the two fallen firefighters, but were beaten back by fire and further collapses inside the building.

“This was one of those times when, until the floor collapsed, this was just a routine fire,” MacKay said. “(McCarthy and Croom) knew when they joined the fire department the day may come when they may make the ultimate sacrifice.”

Knowing that day could come and actually facing it, MacKay said, is a burden for a chief.

“This is this the day that no chief wants to face. We spend our entire life trying not to deal with this situation,” he said. “We went down there to talk to our brother firefighters. It’s something we do. It’s the nature of the beast. We know that if a tragedy strikes us, (the Buffalo firefighters) be there for us as well.”


http://www.niagara-gazette.com/local...237001232.html

[samanthajane13]

In a mystery, two firefighters die
Tragedy is darkest day for Fire Dept. in 25 years
By Gene Warner and Brian Meyer
News Staff Reporters

A mysterious scream for help and a knock on the wall of a Genesee Street deli may provide investigators with clues about the origin of a fire that killed two Buffalo firefighters early Monday.

An ashen-faced Fire Commissioner Michael S. Lombardo identified the firefighters as Lt. Charles W. "Chip" McCarthy Jr., 45, of Rescue 1, and Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom, 34, of Ladder 7.

"Our hearts are broken," Lombardo said, fighting back tears during a brief news conference outside Erie County Medical Center. "This is a family, and we lost two members of our family."

McCarthy, a 22-year veteran of the department who comes from a family of Buffalo firefighters, is survived by his wife, Terry, three children and a 6-month-old grandchild. Croom, a 10-year veteran, leaves a 9-month-old child and his fiancee; fire officials said he lost a young child a few years ago.

The loss of two lives Monday represented the darkest day for the Buffalo Fire Department in more than 25 years. On Dec. 27, 1983, five firefighters and two civilians were killed in a propane explosion on North Division Street.

"This underscores how difficult and dangerous the work is that our firefighters do," Mayor Byron W. Brown said at the scene. "Every day they go to work, they're heroes."

An estimated 300 to 400 on- and off-duty firefighters watched in horror as their colleagues pulled the two bodies from the basement of the Super Speedy Deli, 1815 Genesee, at about 9:40 a.m., almost six hours after the fire broke out. The building is at Genesee and Burgard Place, a block west of Bailey Avenue.

The firefighters apparently fell through holes in the first floor while searching for a possible civilian victim.

McCarthy, assigned to a team whose members are trained to find and free trapped victims, was the first firefighter to fall through the floor.

He had depleted one oxygen tank, came out to replace it and then re-entered the building just before the accident happened, said Firefighter Vincent R. Gugliuzza, vice president of Local 282, Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association.

McCarthy pressed a distress button on his radio for help, saying, "Basement, I'm in the basement," said Daniel M. Cunningham, president of the firefighters union.

Croom, who was working on his scheduled day off, responded to McCarthy's mayday call and also fell through the collapsed floor, Cunningham said.

Just before the bodies were removed on gurneys draped with American flags, firefighters and civilians alike took off their helmets or hats in respect of the fallen firefighters.

While fire officials and fellow firefighters paid tribute to the men Lombardo described as "two tremendous firefighters," investigators are trying to determine how the fire started inside the delicatessen.

McCarthy and Croom were among a legion of firefighters responding to a 3:49 a.m. alarm who were told that someone appeared to be trapped inside the basement of the two-story brick building.

Whether there was such a person inside remained a mystery late Monday. Witnesses making the original 911 call said they heard a man scream for help, but authorities have not found another body.

Investigators late Monday still were trying to determine whether the three-alarm fire was sparked by an arsonist, a burglar trying to flee or some other cause.

"We do not know yet," Lombardo said in the news conference. "It is under investigation."

City inspections officials said they interviewed the owner of the building Monday, a man they identified as Adel Abdulla of Lackawanna.

A former owner of the building, Ehmed Mallahi, who still lives in an adjoining structure, said he was jolted awake by alarms of some sort. Based on what he observed shortly after the fire broke out, Mallahi said, he thinks the building was unoccupied at the time.

"It's a shame they risked lives, because I don't think there was anyone in there at the time," Mallahi said.

However, Hamood Abdulla, who lived upstairs from the deli, said he heard what appeared to a burglar alarm. He went outside, didn't see anything, called the owner and later smelled smoke. That's when he called 911.

Meanwhile, a passer-by came by and yelled, "Does anybody need help?" according to Abdulla. "Somebody from inside said, "Help me!'" he added. "He kept saying, "Help me.'"

That's the information that emergency crews were given as they approached the burning building.

"On a 911 call, there were reports of someone banging on a wall and calling for help," Lombardo told reporters.

It's possible that both neighbors were correct — that a civilian was inside the building but fled before firefighters arrived.


Continued...

[samanthajane13]

Abdulla, the upstairs neighbor, provided his own theory about what might have happened to a possible intruder in the deli.

"Probably when the alarm went off, he tried to find his way out [in the dark], and he probably tried to light something to get out," Abdulla said.

Authorities did not confirm or deny that scenario.

Cunningham, the fire union president, said the fallen firefighters were following standard operating procedures.

"Their jobs were to search — to look for victims who were reported in that building," he said.

Cunningham added that venturing into a burning structure can be terrifying.

"The smoke, the heat and the fear are sometimes unbearable," he said. "You're going somewhere where you don't know where you're going to end up."

Lombardo said efforts were made to rescue the men.

"Crews made multiple, multiple attempts to try to get into the place where those firefighters were trapped. Unfortunately, they were beat back by fire at the time, as well as [by concerns] about further collapse of the floors," he said.

Demolition crews started to dismantle the building piece by piece at midafternoon, a process city officials estimated will take a couple of days.

By nightfall, much of it was down.

"What they don't knock down are the possible areas of origin," Buffalo Police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said late Monday. "They're clearing space to get to the possible areas of origin."

"Progressive" demolition will allow crews to continue checking for an additional body in the event a third person perished, said James W. Comerford Jr., city inspections chief.

Investigators said they believed that the fire began in the basement.

Mohammad Alwi, who identified himself as a relative of the deli's current owner, said he believed that cigarettes and T-shirts were among the items that were stored in the basement. There also might have been cigarette lighters on the premises for sale, both Alwi and Mallahi said. Mallahi owned the building for 15 years, he said, before he sold it last year.

As news of the trapped firefighters circulated through the city, the scene turned into an agonizing wait for friends and co-workers of the fallen firefighters. Many of them stood near the burned-out building, arms folded, heads down, waiting for word.

Grief was written all over the faces of an ever-growing contingent of off-duty firefighters, most dressed in shorts and blue Buffalo Fire Department T-shirts or sweat shirts, as they waited for the inevitable news.

The deaths were confirmed at about 9:50 a.m. by the Rev. Derren L. Young, ECMC trauma chaplain.

It is very difficult when anybody loses a loved one, especially when they serve our community as police or firefighters, Young told reporters. "They're ministers to our community," he said. "To lose them, I can't explain. ... We need much praying for all the families and everyone involved. But for the grace of God, it could have been any of them."

Young then turned to the subject of the grieving families.

"They're traumatized by the whole event, as we all would be," Young said. "We just lift them up and tell them God still loves them."

The site of Monday's tragedy is almost directly across the street from Wende Street, a block and a half from where Firefighter Mark P. Reed lost his right leg after being critically injured in an arson in June 2007. He also suffered a skull fracture, broken ribs and a punctured lung when a brick chimney from the vacant house toppled on his head and body.

Several firefighters said Reed was at the scene Monday paying his respects.

Cunningham said that when emergencies occur, firefighters are "dedicated" to protecting lives and don't even think about long-festering labor disputes.

"When that bell rang this morning, nobody was thinking then that the city hasn't [given raises] in seven years," Cunningham said. "... What they thought about was getting on that rig, getting on the scene and protecting the citizens of the City of Buffalo."

The Rev. Francis X. Mazur, an ECMC chaplain, met Monday with the victims' family members. All of them want to know why, he said, adding, "We have no answers for them."

The Associated Press and Staff Reporters Peter Simon and T.J. Pignataro contributed to this report.


http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/773936.html

[wind149]

Donna, I would guess that the Worcester Dept will probably be there for the public memorial service as after their tragedy, thousands and thousands of firefighters came to their memorial and to the private services as well and they also went to Ground Zero and helped with the recovery efforts. One of the brave men that died, Jeremy Lucie, his cousin is the comic and actor Dennis Leary and he spearheaded a cause for more safety equipment for firefighters like all those bleeping alarms that were going off at Ground Zero, they are used to locate firemen that are trapped or are too injured to get out on his own speed and he raised millions of dollars so many depts in this country would be safer and that they could be located alive or dead and had the brave six had these, their brothers might have been able to locate them in the building before it exploded on them and when I saw that happen, I knew then, that they were lost and the Chief had to make that tough call, he could not risk more lives and that the situation was hopeless and I remember crying and I did not even know these guys, but they were fellow New Englander's and we take that very seriously.

I might live in the Mid-West now, but my heart will always be in NE. Also the widow of Jeremy Lucie met with the Worcester mayor and other politicians to make abandoned building owners tear the buildings down or if no owner was listed, the city would tear them down to discourage street people and junkies from calling them home and this sounds harsh, but you can't have human beings living in a building that is not safe, no utilities and that warehouse used to manufacture solvents and paint thinners and that is what exploded and killed the men. The flames could be seen 25 miles away as they shot up at least 60 feet in the air and when I went down there, 3 days later, it smelled like acetone along with the smog, but I did not let it bother me, I was down there to pay my respect for these brave men and I saluted some firefighters when I was down by the scene and one guy shook my hand and thanked me on behalf of the Worcester dept. All those men in the interviews afterward had that same look your firefighters do, red rimmed eyes, soot covered turn out gear and a fierce determination to not let their brother's deaths be in vain. Now it sounds like these guys did the same.

They had a report that someone was in there and they answered the call without thinking about their own lives. And it is so sad to know that they had children, that is the worst part, that these brave people whose kids look up to, leave behind devastated families who have to go on, Paul Brotherton left behind six boys and a wife he had been happily married to for 25 years and his poor widow was a stay to home mom and this poor woman has had to be the mom and dad and she did not however, stop her two oldest from becoming firefighters too in honor of their Dad and I bless her for that. My cousin's wife married another firefighter whose wife was a Port Authority officer and she perished on 9/11 and they met at a support group that was founded by the victim's families and I was glad for her, she was only 38 when he died, too young to wear the widow weeds for years and while she will never forget the 15 years she had with Tommy, they were childhood sweethearts, she was able to put the pain and agony behind her and I admire Jackie so much for this.

Their young son Nick, was only two when his Daddy died, and he knows how he died, but Joe has been his father since 2003 and has formally adopted him with my aunt and uncle's blessing as they love Joe too. The two girls however, had it rough Especially Tiffany, she was Daddy's girl and at 13, girls really want their Dad in their lives and she ended up in therapy as she had a hard time accepting his death and was very angry at this government as she blamed them for the terrorist attack and who can blame her there??? Christina who was 9 always was outgoing and a tom boy and wanted to be a firefighter too, withdrew from the world, Jackie could not get her to go to school because people kept treating her like they could not talk about the horror and she did not want people feeling sorry for her, so Jackie home schooled her for about two years till she decided she wanted to be among the living again and I remember at the memorial, she would not cry, she stood there stoic and I went over to her and held her hand and she looked at me and so much like Tommy, my heart was breaking even harder and I told her that she could call me 24 hours a day, e-mail me, if she wanted me to come down to NYC I would and she kissed me and then we had to listen to Rudy.

She emailed me weekly and we IM'd and I would call and talk to all of them and especially her. Today, she is in college going for a degree in sports medicine and she still e-mails me and Tiffany is married and has a little boy she named Thomas Patrick and her husband is a correctional officer at Riker's Island. Jackie works as a counselor at a group home for girls, a far cry from being a mortgage broker like she was until that awful day. She would do work from home and had not been in the Towers for months, luckily, that day she wasn't there otherwise these kids would have been orphans. Nick is a typical 10 year old and wants to be a firefighter too and he goes to the ladder house often and hangs out and that is good for him. He is with both his daddies. I am so glad that these wonderful people were able to go on and live their lives and now, they are happy and they are the only ones I have in my life from the adoptive family. We stay in touch because we do consider ourselves family and they do not talk to the witch anyway because she made some smarmy remark about Jackie, when she started dating Joe and Jackie told her to go to hell and mind her own business, that is her, can't keep her mouth shut and doesn't care if it hurts anyone or not and these guys are thrilled I found my bio family too!!

[samanthajane13]

Oh, Wind!!

I'm so happy that your cousin-in law found happiness for herself and her children.

I wish peace for the families of 9/11 and the families of the Buffalo firefighters.

I hope that in the end, they find what your cousin-in-law and her children have found.

[samanthajane13]

No evidence found of 3rd fire victim in convenience store where 2 Buffalo firefighters died
Associated Press
Last update: August 25, 2009 - 4:48 PM



BUFFALO, N.Y. - Fire investigators spent Tuesday searching a burned-out convenience store where two Buffalo firefighters died a day earlier, but found no evidence anyone else was inside.

A 911 caller reported someone banging on a wall and yelling for help early Monday morning, leading firefighters to rush in and search the burning store. Lt. Charles McCarthy Jr. and firefighter Jonathan Croom died after falling through the collapsed first floor into the basement.

Their bodies were removed several hours later, but no civilian victim was found.

Cadaver dogs were led through the rubble Tuesday, but Commissioner Michael Lombardo said crews found no human remains.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement of the two-story brick building. The cause remains under investigation.

Separate funerals for the firefighters have been planned for Friday at St. Joseph's Old Cathedral in Buffalo. The funeral for McCarthy is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Croom's will be at 1 p.m.


http://www.startribune.com/nation/54830517.html

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters Pay Tribute to Two of Buffalo's Bravest

"This is a family. We lost 2 members of our family," Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo said Monday as he announced the identities of 2 firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy, 45 and Jonathan Croom, 34 went in to the basement of a deli on the corner of Bailey Avenue and Genesee Street to answer a 911 call. The initial calls indicated there was someone in the building, banging on the wall and calling for help.

Fire Commissioner Lombardo says the firefighters were following procedure when they went in to help. The floor collapsed under them.

Commissioner Lombardo says firefighters did everything they could to try and get to their comrades, but fire beat them back and other parts of the building were collapsing around them. In the end, Buffalo firefighters could do nothing more than pull the bodies of two of their own from what's left of a building.

Firefighters from firehouses across the city came to the scene to show their support. A line of firefighters saluted the fallen men as they were pulled from the building.

Mayor Byron Brown ordered all city flags to be flown at half staff in memory of the two firefighters.

Lt. Chip McCarthy leaves behind a wife, 3 kids and a 6 month old granddaughter. We're also told he has a brother and cousin who are Buffalo firefighters.

Jonathan Croom leaves behind a fiance' who is pregnant, and a young child. McCarthy was assigned to Rescue 1, Croom was assigned to Ladder 7.

Recovering firefighter Mark Reed, who was hurt in a vacant house fire just around the corner on Wende Avenue two years ago, was also seen with his fellow firefighters Monday morning.


http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=69759

[samanthajane13]

Investigation into fire
continues
Electrical system is suspected now

Updated: Thursday, 27 Aug 2009, 8:35 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 27 Aug 2009, 5:48 PM EDT

* Rich Newberg
* Posted by: Internet Producer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -

The final demolition had been put off for a couple of hours. There was one final search for a possible third victim. They peeled back layers of the building but found no body.

The Deli building owner has been on site and is cooperating with authorities.

The building's owner, Salah Abdullah told News 4 Senior Corespondent Rich Newberg that he lost $140,000 of merchandise and his deli, but expressed sympathy for the families of Lt. Chip McCarthy, and firefighter Jonathan Croom, who lost their lives, believing someone was trapped inside the burning building.

"When they say they lost two fire people I feel sad for the two people being dead, you know they lost their lives, they have kids, they have family," Abdullah said.

Salah's cousin was living on the second floor. It was his cousin who said he had heard someone inside the building screaming for help.

When asked yesterday if he actually heard a person inside screaming for help witness Hamood Abdullah said, "Ya, that's what the guy told me. Can I help you? "Yeah, please help me."

Now, Salah says Hamood perhaps heard a neighbor's voice screaming, and got confused, "He can hear somebody call for help. This can be inside or outside. Somebody maybe from the neighborhood called "Help! Help!." They see the fire."

Investigators are examining every piece of debris for evidence. An electrical engineer is looking at wiring. Samples have been taken to the lab, looking for traces of a possible accelerant.

Dave DeJoe is the ATF Resident Agent in Charge, "We're waiting for lab analysis to be complete, and this is just the start of a fire investigation."

Now the deli building must be completely taken down, and the neighboring liquor store remain closed, and the resident upstairs must stay away.

Jim Comerford, Housing and Permit Deputy Commissioner said, "We don't want anyone in the other building because we don't know what's going to happen, so we asked them to vacate the building until we're finished."

Lab results could be in as early as tomorrow.

Deli owner Salah Abdullah says he wants to attend the funerals of the Buffalo firefighters, and bring flowers.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/I...inues_20090827

[samanthajane13]

Thousands expected for firefighters' funerals
City anticipates up to 10,000 firefighters will attend rites for McCarthy, Croom
By Lou Michel
News Staff Reporter
Updated: August 27, 2009, 10:05 PM /

As many as 10,000 firefighters from across the state and country are expected Friday for the funeral services of Buffalo Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom and Lt. Charles W. "Chip" McCarthy Jr.

Street closures have been announced, and commuters have been warned about snarled traffic Friday with so many people from out of town heading downtown.

But the loved ones of the fallen firefighters wish just two more could be there alive and well.

Croom's mother, Maria "Angie" Heusinger, knows all too well it's not going to happen. Memories of her son's bigger-than-life smile and infectious laughter will have to sustain her and other family members left heartbroken by his death.

"There's a hole in my heart," the grieving mother told The Buffalo News on Wednesday.

Heusinger wonders if maybe her 34-year-old son tried to reach out to her when he died after falling through the first floor of a burning East Side building early Monday with McCarthy.

Buffalo firefighters first responded to the blaze at 3:50 a.m. About 20 minutes later, McCarthy and Croom plunged into the basement after a 14-foot section of the first floor gave way.

"The night this all happened I was out of town for a funeral in Detroit for my aunt, and I woke up between 4 and 5 a.m. and had a very weird experience," the registered nurse said. "The hotel alarm clock came on, and I kept trying to turn it off and it just wouldn't turn off. Every two minutes it would go on, and then it just stopped."

And she's not the only family member who is left to wonder if Croom, who they say had so much to live for with a new baby on the way and a house closing set for next week, tried to somehow reach out.

"When the sun came out Monday afternoon after it had been cloudy, I was outside thinking of him and it was like he touched me on my shoulder," said Carlos Rodriguez, Croom's uncle. "It felt like a hand, and at that moment he was telling me everything would be OK."

Rodriguez, who lives across the street from Croom's residence in North Buffalo, shared his experience Wednesday morning as rain fell on a makeshift shrine in front of the deceased firefighter's home.

"Look," the 44-year-old Rodriguez said, pointing to candles burning in front of photographs of Croom and bouquets of flowers, "the rain isn't putting out the candles."

But whether there is a mystical element to Croom's passing, his loved ones say he will live on within them.

A 1992 graduate of Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts who attended Buffalo State College, Croom had dreamed about pursuing a number of careers before becoming a city firefighter. For a while, he wanted to be a social worker, then a teacher and at one point serve in animal husbandry.

When he received notification that he had been accepted into the Buffalo Fire Department 10 years ago, the letter was sent to the home of his father, also named Jonathan, while Croom was living at Buffalo State College.

Because of a delay in getting the letter, he missed the deadline for informing the city that he wanted the job, but Heusinger said she and her son went to City Hall and successfully argued that an oversight had occurred and he was entitled to enroll in the fire training academy.

Croom came from a family devoted to public service. His uncle Brian Gomez is a city firefighter, and he has a cousin, Santo Diaz, who is a Buffalo police officer.

Standing 6-feet tall and muscular, Croom took his profession seriously, keeping himself in top physical condition.

"He felt obligated because of his job and all the gear firefighters carry," Rodriguez said.

Twice, in fact, the city honored him for valor, once for helping revive a boy who nearly drowned in 2008, and a year earlier, for rescuing apartment dwellers from a fire.

City officials also took notice in other ways. Croom's face was splashed across billboards in recent years promoting a civil service test for firefighter.

He also had a passion for pizza and wings, which relatives said were offset by his gym workouts.

"He would call himself a meat-a-tarian," his mother said.

But his greatest passion was for his family. Croom worked a second job as a security guard at Medaille College to help support them.

And when he learned that he was to become a father for the second time, he and his fiancee, Ingrid Perugachi, began to make plans for their life together, which included an Amherst home they were scheduled to close on next Monday.

"He had done research on different school districts. It was important that his children be in a good area," Heusinger said.

Croom and Perugachi, who is from Canada, knew their first child, due in about three weeks, is a boy and they had picked a name for him — Jonathan Daniel Croom.

Croom had another child from a previous relationship, 14-month-old Joanna, whom his mother said he cared for as a single dad for a short time.

Now family members are doing their best to help Perugachi through her final weeks of pregnancy, according to Rodriguez.

"We don't want anything to happen," the uncle said, explaining that the fiancee, like everyone else in the family, is devastated.

There is no getting around the hurt that now permeates the lives of those Croom left behind. They say they will do their best to get through the difficult days ahead and they want McCarthy's family members to know that their love goes out to them, as well.

A trust fund has been set up for the families of both firefighters through Citizens Bank. Donations can be made to Families of Buffalo Fallen Firefighters McCarthy & Croom at any Citizens Bank Branch. For more information, contact Buffalo Professional Firefighters Local 282 at (716) 856-4130.

Meanwhile, Croom's wake is set from 2 to 8 p.m. today in Amigone Funeral Home, 1132 Delaware Ave., and McCarthy's is also from 2 to 8 p.m. today in James W. Cannnan Funeral Home, 3155 Orchard Park Road, Orchard Park.

A service for Croom is set for 1 p.m. Friday in St. Joseph Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., and follows a 9:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial for McCarthy, also at the cathedral.

Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael S. Lombardo remembered that on New Year's Eve 1983, in bitterly cold weather, some 12,000 firefighters came to Buffalo to attend services for the five firefighters who perished in the Dec. 27 propane explosion on North Division Street.

Lombardo asked that firefighters coming from outside the area on Friday not travel in their fire vehicles because of the large numbers and traffic congestion expected.

But even though thousands of firefighters will share in the grief, Croom's mother says her only wish is that she still had her son alive.

"I wish we never won that fight to get him into the fire academy," she said. But she added, "I know he was glad he won. He was never sorry he picked that profession."

News Staff Reporter T.J. Pignataro contributed to this report.


http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/775903.html

[samanthajane13]

Medical Examiner Reports Cause of Death of Two Buffalo Firefighters
By John Borsa
By Ginger Geoffery

Story Published: Aug 26, 2009 at 11:39 PM EDT
Story Updated: Aug 26, 2009 at 11:39 PM EDT

Buffalo police released the medical examiner's ruling on the deaths of two Buffalo firefighters. The report says they died of smoke inhalation, according to a police spokesman.

Buffalo fire officials say they do not believe a third person was killed during a fire inside the Super-Speedy Deli on Genesee Street in Buffalo early Monday morning. Buffalo firefighters Jonathan Croom and Lt. Charles "Chip" McCarthy died in that fire after going in on a rescue mission after hearing from witnesses that someone was trapped in the basement.

Multimedia Watch The Video Investigators have spent the last three days sifting through the debris at the scene. They found tools that belonged to the fallen firefighters as well other firefighters' helmets, but no human remains. Buffalo Fire Commissioner Michael Lombardo says his firefighters had no reason not to believe the eyewitnesses who told them someone was trapped. "The reports we got from 9-1-1 as well as on the scene from witness were there were people in the building calling for help and banging for help. We really... that's as credible as we're ever going to get," says Lombardo.

Investigators are now winding down their search having found no sign of another victim. "We have been through the entire building. We're down to concrete in the basement, the entire basement and there has not been... no other body has been found. There was no one else at this time in the basement of that building," says Lombardo.

Other questions remain unanswered such as what caused the fire and was it intentionally set. An electrician joined investigators at the scene during Wednesday's rain, but an electrical fire is just one possible cause being explored. "Was it electrical, was it something to do with the gas service, could it have been a faulty appliance or was something overloaded?" says David DeJoe, ATF Special Agent in Charge, "We're looking at all that stuff."

Even though it now appears there was no one inside whose life was in danger firefighters are not second-guessing the decision to send in a rescue team. "We, in occupied buildings, perform searches," says Lombardo, "They're decisions that are made literally like that (in a split second). They're very difficult decisions to be made. We make them every single day."

A trust fund is now set up to help the families of the two fallen firefighters. Donations can be made at any Citizens Bank branch.


http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/55245252.html

[samanthajane13]

It is with deep regret that the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Assoc. announce the Death of Lt. Charles McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom. Our Brothers died while battling a 3 Alarm fire early Monday August 24th, 2009

Chip McCarthy started with the Buffalo Fire Department in 1987. He passed away at the age of 45. He was stationed with Rescue 1 on the 3rd Platoon. He is survived by his wife Terry, three children, his father Retired Firefighter Charles (from Ladder 10) and mother Marilyn.

Chip was also survived by other Local 282 members: his Brother Lt. Dan McCarthy, Engine 2, 4th platoon, and Cousin Lt. Pat McCarthy, Ladder 6, 1st platoon.

Jonathan Simeon Croom started with the Buffalo Fire Department in 1999. He passed away at the age of 34. He was stationed at Ladder 7, 2nd platoon. He is survived by his fiancée Ingrid, daughter Joanna, and father Jonathan Sr., mother Maria Hevsinger.

The details for the services are still being worked out. More details to follow as they are available.

You can post your condolences in our guest book here.-

http://buffalofirefighters.com/index...orm_060907.cfm

PLEASE KEEP OUR BROTHERS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!!!

Funeral Services are as follows.

Lt. Charles McCarthy

Viewing: Thursday, August 27th 2-8pm

James Cannan Funeral Home

3155 Orchard Park Road

Orchard Park, NY 14127

Funeral: Friday, August 28th 9:30 am

St. Josephs Old Cathedral

50 Franklin Street

Buffalo, NY 14202





Firefighter Jonathan Croom

Viewing: Thursday August 27th 2-8pm

Amigone Funeral Home

1132 Delaware Avenue

Buffalo, NY 14209

Funeral: Friday August 28th 1:00pm

St. Josephs Old Cathedral

50 Franklin Street

Buffalo, NY 14202

*****We will also have Lunches set-up After Lt. McCarthy's Service for our out of town guests at Coca-Cola Field. We can form up, have a bite to eat and return for Firefighter Croom's Service! Coca-Cola field is 2 or 3 blocks from the Cathedral. Walk up W. Swan st. and you will be right there.******

Rural/Metro Ambulance will be providing Shuttle service between the two wakes today.

Collation to Follow at the HSBC ARENA in Downtown Buffalo!

Donations for our Fallen Brothers can be sent to Local 282 offices at

255 Delaware Avenue

Buffalo, NY 14202


http://buffalofirefighters.com/

[samanthajane13]

Funerals for
firefighters on Friday
Many city streets will be closed

Updated: Thursday, 27 Aug 2009, 8:30 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 27 Aug 2009, 5:48 PM EDT

* Lorey Schultz
* Posted by: Internet Producer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Firefighters from across New York are lining up to pay their respects to Lt. Charles McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom and thousands of people are expected to attend the funeral services on Friday for both men.

Calling hours are being held Thursday night at the Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Ave. downtown for Jonathan Croom. A wake will continue until 8pm.

Family and friends are also attending a wake for Lt. Charles McCarthy tonight. Calling hours for McCarthy are being held until 8pm at the James Cannan Funeral Home in West Seneca.

Many streets will be closed for hours during Friday's services.

Services for both Lt. Charles McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom will be held at Saint Joseph Cathedral. Streets around the cathedral will be closed from 5am until 4pm on Friday. There will also be different funeral processions for each firefighter.

A procession for Lt. McCarthy will take place before his morning service. It will start at the Cannan Funeral Home on Orchard Park Rd. in West Seneca. It will then proceed through the Town of West Seneca along Seneca St. through South Buffalo and past his fire house on Jefferson Ave.

A similar procession will take place before Firefighter Jonathan Croom's afternoon service.

It will begin at the Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Ave. and West Ferry in Buffalo, proceeding up Main St. to the fire station at Main and Mercer, then to Hertel Ave. and back down Main St. to St. Joseph Cathedral.

Motorists should expect traffic delays in downtown Buffalo for most of the day. Anyone attending the funeral is being advised to exit the I-190 at Smith St.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/F...riday_20090827

[samanthajane13]

South Niagara firefighters paying respects for fallen Buffalo comrades
Posted By ALLAN BENNER , TRIBUNE STAFF
Posted 13 hours ago


Area firefighters will "stand with our brothers" as two Buffalo firefighters who died in the line of duty this week are laid to rest.

Firefighters Lt. Charles McCarthy, 45, and Jonathan Croom, 34, were both killed while fighting a deli fire on Buffalo's east side Monday.

McCarthy was searching for a trapped person within the blazing building, and fell into the basement when the floor collapsed. Croom, who entered the building in an attempt to rescue McCarthy, also fell through the floor. Attempts to rescue the two fallen firefighters were unsuccessful.

As a result of the tragedy, local firefighters plan to travel to Buffalo tomorrow and attend funerals in a show of respect for their fellow firefighters.

Welland fire Chief Denys Prevost said a contingent of off-duty firefighters will be attending the funerals, himself included.

Although he didn't know precisely how many Welland firefighters will be attending, he said he expects about a dozen to be there -- "maybe more."

"We are going to go stand with our brothers and say goodbye to them," Prevost said. Flags are flying at half-mast in Welland.

Pelham fire Chief Scott McLeod said several firefighters from his community will also be there, although he didn't know how many will be attending.

He said it's important to "honour our fallen brothers."

When tragedies such as Monday's occur, it's a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in the job firefighters do, he said.

McLeod said he hopes to attend the funeral services as well.

"It's all a brotherhood," said Port Colborne's fire chief, Tom Cartwright, who also plans to attend the funerals with other firefighters from his city. "The whole thing is a brotherhood whether you're full-time or volunteer, you're still a firefi ghter."

The loss of the two Buffalo firefighters hit close to home for the Port Colborne fire department, which lost a member of its team on July 4, 1990.

"Quite obviously, our hearts bleed for them, for sure," Cartwright said.

He said the local fire department has worked with Buffalo's firefighters from time to time over the years. Port Colborne firefighters could have worked side-by-side with the fallen colleagues from Buffalo.

"I called them in to assist us a number of years ago with a shipboard incident. In fact, the fire commissioner was the lead guy who came over with the Buffalo fire department," he said.

"And every year, they bring their fire boat over for Canal Days," he added.

The funeral for McCarthy takes place at 9:30 a. m., followed by Croom's funeral at 1 p. m. Both services will take place at St. Joseph's Old Cathedral, 50 Franklin St., Buffalo.

A light meal will be served at HSBC Arena after the services.

The Buffalo fire department has asked donations to be sent in memory of the fallen firefighters to the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 282 office at 255 Delaware Ave., Buffalo.


http://beta.wellandtribune.ca/Articl...aspx?e=1718232

[samanthajane13]

Niagara firefighters to attend funeral for Buffalo colleagues
Posted By PETER DOWNS
Posted 1 day ago


They’ve never met them and had no idea who they were until a few days ago.

But a couple of dozen firefighters from across Niagara will make the trip to Buffalo Friday to bid a final farewell to two fallen brothers.

The Niagara contingent will join hundreds of colleagues from both sides of the border expected at the funerals of a pair of Buffalo firefighters killed early Monday during a partial building collapse.

“It’s kind of a brotherhood and a sisterhood, really,” said Lincoln Deputy Chief Greg Hudson.

“Firefighting is more than just an occupation. When one of us falls, we all feel it.”

The Buffalo firefighters — Lt. Charles McCarthy, 45, and Jonathan Croom, 34 — were trapped after plunging through the collapsed first floor of a burning building.

McCarthy entered the building after witnesses reported hearing screams for help from inside the structure. Croom attempted to rescue McCarthy after he crashed through the floor into the basement.

Firefighters attempting to rescue the two men couldn’t reach them due to the intensity of the fire and further collapses.

Authorities still hadn’t found the remains of anyone else in the building by Wednesday.

“It’s a tough job, but 99 per cent of the time it’s relatively routine,” Hudson said.

“In this case, unfortunately, it wasn’t.”

Hudson said he expects at least a couple Lincoln firefighters will attend the funerals in Buffalo Friday.

Several members of the St. Catharines fire department will also be there as a show of support, including Chief Mark Mehlenbacher.

“There will be people from across North America there,” Mehlenbacher said.

“There are very strong ties in the fire service. We depend on each other to get home and to get out alive. We are a family.”

Separate funeral services will be held for McCarthy and Croom at St. Joseph’s Old Cathedral, followed by a joint ceremony for both men at HSBC Arena.

It’s important to honour the sacrifices of the two firefighters, said Niagara Falls Assistant Fire Chief Phil Ross.

“We all do the same job. We all face the same risks every day,” said Ross, who will be joined at the funerals by several city firefighters.

“It can happen to any one of us at any time.”

Welland Fire Chief Denys Prevost said a contingent of off-duty firefighters will be attending the funerals, himself included.

“We are going to go stand with our brothers and say goodbye to them,” Prevost said.

— with files from Sun Media


http://www.scstandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1717117

[samanthajane13]

City, Firefighters Prepare For Final Farewell

The Buffalo-Niagara Airport was bustling Thursday night as thousands of firefighters flew in from around the world. They came from everywhere, from Cleveland to Calgary.

"We just like to come together and hear the stories of our fallen brothers," Royal Slady, a firefighter from Canada.

"There is certainly a kinship, a brotherhood," said Bill Marconi, a firefighter from Cleveland, Ohio.

"What do you think this sends to the community when they see firefighters coming from across the world?" 2 On Your Side's Josh Boose asked Mike Henson, a firefighter from Canada.

"Well, hopefully it shows the job these guys do is important, the job we all do, and the sacrifice these guys made was the ultimate sacrifice," replied Henson.

Hotels are filling up fast. Some, like the Adams Mark in downtown Buffalo reserved blocks of rooms at discounted rates for the firefighters.

Behind the scenes at Coca-Cola field volunteers packed thousands of donated box lunches. They will be served to the visiting firefighters in-between funeral services.

"They get a lunch, sit in the seats and have a lunch before they get to the next service," said Mike Buczkowski, Buffalo Bisons General Manager. "We were wondering what we could do to help deal with this tragic situation and hopefully we'll make the day a little easier for the firefighters tomorrow."

After the funerals, fellow firefighters' family of the fallen heroes will unite at HSBC Arena for a reception, a final place to come together to remember the men they lost.

The city of good neighbors has come together once again to make sure visitors feel welcome and make sure the men who fought so hard for the queen city are given a proper sendoff.


http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=69830

[samanthajane13]

Firefighters rescue
crash victim

Updated: Friday, 28 Aug 2009, 8:25 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 27 Aug 2009, 11:52 PM EDT

* Posted by: Internet Producer

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) - Firefighters heading from Jonathan Croom's wake in Buffalo to Lt. McCarthy's wake in Orchard Park came to the rescue of a crash victim Thursday night.

Police tell News 4 that two cars sideswiped each other on Orchard Park Rd. in West Seneca at around 5:30pm. The impact caused one of the cars to roll over several times. The other vehicle hit a tree and a utility pole.

The firefighters helped pull at least one of the victims from the wreckage. One person was airlifted to ECMC. The victim's name and condition are not known at this time.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/F...ictim_20090827

[samanthajane13]

Lt. McCarthy & FF Croom - Behind the Uniform
Posted By: Claudine Ewing

They were two men assigned the same task. Buffalo Fire Lieutenant Charles "Chip" McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom were also fathers.

2 On Your Side's Claudine Ewing talked to the families of the men behind the uniform.

Lt. McCarthy, 45, grew up in South Buffalo and attended Hutch Tech High School. His widow, Terry, says that is where they met. They have been married nearly 25 years.

McCarthy entered the Buffalo Fire Department in 1987. He was stationed with Rescue 1 on the 3rd Platoon. Outside the firehouse, his name has been engraved on a memorial wall.

He comes from a firefighting family. His father is retired firefighter, his brother and cousin are currently firefighters. His cousin was at the scene of fatal fire and helped bring Chip's body out of the burning building.

FF Jonathan Croom, 34, joined the Buffalo Fire Department in
2000. He was stationed at Ladder 7, 2nd platoon. Croom was the father of a young daughter and engaged to be married. His fiancee, according to relatives, is pregnant with the couple's second child, a boy.

Croom graduated of the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts.

Firefighters say it was a gut-wrenching moment watching Croom's father at the scene and McCarthy's daughters weep as it became evident that both men did not survive.


http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=69794

[samanthajane13]

Buffalo says goodbye to firefighters who died



Buffalo starts a day of mourning today for the two firefighters who died together early Monday while trying to rescue someone they believed was trapped inside a burning building.

The Buffalo News reports that a somber procession with the body of Lt. Charles W. "Chip" McCarthy left a funeral home this morning bound for St. Joseph Cathedral. Later today, a procession with the casket of firefighter Jonathan Croom will move through the city to the same church for an afternoon service.

More than 10,000 firefighters from around the country are expected to attend the services.

Posted by Carolyn Pesce at 09:20 AM/ET, August 28, 2009


http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline...ed.html?csp=34

[samanthajane13]

Live video: Area firefighters pay respects at Buffalo funerals

Final good-byes are being said to two Buffalo firefighters who died after falling through the floor of a burning convenience store while searching for a victim they believed was trapped inside.

More than 5,000 firefighters lined several city blocks in Buffalo and saluted with white-gloved hands as the flag-draped casket of one of the men arrived at St. Joseph Cathedral for his funeral.

Lt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy was remembered by friend Lt. John Keohane for his “great Irish smile.”

Between 50 and 100 Rochester firefighters are expected to attend the funerals in Buffalo today, including Rochester Fire Chief John Caufield, said Deputy Chief Steve McClary of the Rochester Fire Department. He said he expected firefighters from across the Rochester region would also travel to Buffalo today.

Firefighters Hector Lopez and Hiram Johnson, both stationed at the Rochester Fire Department's headquarters on Andrews Street, said they planned to attend.

"There is definitely a brotherhood. We just want to pay our respects," Lopez said.

Johnson said the tragedy "definitely refreshes your memory on how dangerous this job is."

WGRZ-TV, the Democrat and Chronicle's Buffalo news partner, is streaming live video today.

Lt. McCarthy's procession began after 8 a.m. from the James Cannan Funeral Home on Orchard Park Road. The solemn caravan traveled through West Seneca into the City of Buffalo and past Rescue 1, the firehouse where McCarthy served.

A Mass of Christian Burial was to begin at St. Joseph Cathedral at 9:30 am., but the procession did not arrive until after 10 a.m. Cameras were not permitted inside at the request of the family.

Firefighter Croom's funeral will follow at 1 p.m. Cameras are allowed inside and WGRZ will be carrying his procession and funeral service live this afternoon.

WGRZ reported seeing fire department vehicles from as far as Peoria, Ill., St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Montreal and St. Catherines, Ontario.

Includes reporting by staff writer Gary McLendon.



Video at link-

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...336/1002/RSS01

[samanthajane13]

Funerals today for firefighters killed in the line of duty

Syracuse, New York/Buffalo, New York (WSYR-TV) - Firefighters from across the state are heading to Buffalo today to pay their respects for two firefighters who were killed in a three-alarm blaze there early Monday morning.

Separate funerals will be held for Lt. Charles “Chip” McCarthy and firefighter Jonathan Croom. The two men were killed at a fire at the Super Speedy Deli in Buffalo.

McCarthy’s funeral starts at 9:30 AM and Croom’s follows at 1 PM. Firefighters from across the state, including Central New York, are heading to both funerals.

NewsChannel 9’s Kim Brown spoke with members of the Syracuse Fire Department this morning before they headed out to Buffalo. The Department is taking a busload of firefighters to pay their respects.


http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/stor...Q.cspx?rss=112

[samanthajane13]

Remembering fallen
heroes

Updated: Friday, 28 Aug 2009, 8:08 AM EDT
Published : Friday, 28 Aug 2009, 7:17 AM EDT

* Joe Arena
* Lorey Schultz
* Posted by: Emily Lenihan

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Thousands of firefighters have converged in the Queen City to pay their respects to two of Buffalo's bravest.

At St. Joseph Cathedral, Friday thousands of first responders will gather to honor their fallen comrades.

Friday is a day for the Queen City to remember the sacrifices of Jonathan Croom and Charles McCarthy, and try to move on from Monday's tragedy.

Lt. Mccarthy's procession begins before his 8:30 a.m. service.

It will start out at the Cannan Funeral Home on Orchard Park Road, proceed through the Town of West Seneca along Seneca Street, through south Buffalo and past his fire house on Jefferson Avenue.

It will then continue to Saint Joseph Cathedral.

A similar procession will take place before firefighter Jonathan Croom's service Friday afternoon.

It will begin at the Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Avenue and West Ferry, proceeding up Main Street to the fire station at Main and Mercer, then Hertel Avenue and back down Main Street to the Cathedral.

Police are urging no unnecessary travel Friday, in Buffalo.

The NFTA will be doing its part to keep more cars off the the streets of Buffalo

It is offering free bus and metro rail service Friday, to any firefighter or police officer in uniform.

The Mass of Christian burial for Lieutenant Charles McCarthy will begin at 9:30 Friday morning.

The family has asked that cameras not be allowed inside.

We will provide updates throughout the morning.

The service for firefighter Jonathan Croom will follow at 1 p.m. Friday.

We will stream the service live, here on www.wivb.com

Remember, police are advising against all unnecessary travel in downtown Buffalo Friday, and suggest you use the 190 rather than the Kensington if you need to get downtown.

***

Many of the firefighters who will be at the funerals Friday, were at wakes for Firefighters McCarthy and Croom Thursday night.

Lieutenant McCarthy's wake was held at the Canaan Funeral Home, in Orchard Park.

The wake for Firefighter Croom was held at the Amigone Funeral Home on Delaware Avenue, in Buffalo.

"It's a sobering fact, that firefighting is a very dangerous occupation, happen to anybody involved in the job at any time, so to see something like this, and to see it happen repeatedly throughout the country, over a period of time, it is a very sobering and very tragic thought," said Chief John Gourley, of the Pittsburgh Fire Department.


http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Remembe...eroes_20090828