10 Years Later: FDNY Remembers Atlantic Avenue Fire
A decade after the tragic Atlantic Avenue fire, which took the lives of Capt. Scott LaPiedra of Ladder 176 and Lt. James Blackmore of Engine 332, more than a hundred FDNY members gathered at the site of the blaze on June 5 to remember the tragic day.
“Ten years ago this was an ugly place,” said Monsignor John Delendick, who gave the evening mass at 2530 Atlantic Avenue. “But now it is beautiful, it is sacred, because it holds the souls of Scott LaPiedra and James Blackmore.”
Four wood-frame homes on Atlantic Avenue were destroyed by the fire on June 5, 1998. Today, the lot remains empty, with a small monument created in honor of the two brave men that was unveiled during the ceremony.
Among those attending the ceremony were the LaPiedra and Blackmore families, as well as Lt. Brian Baiker and retired Firefighter Terrence Quinn, both of whom were seriously injured in the fire. Also attending was the family of Capt. Timothy Stackpole, a firefighter who also was critically injured in the fire, but who lost his life on September 11, 2001.
Atlantic Avenue Fire
At 8:22 p.m. on June 5, 1998, firefighters responded to a reported mattress fire at in a three-story home at 2530 Atlantic Avenue in East New York.
A second alarm was called 10 minutes after first units arrived, but the fire quickly engulfed four neighboring wood-frame buildings. Within an hour, the fire had escalated to a fifth alarm and more than 225 firefighters and 52 units were on the scene.
A woman on the street told firefighters her elderly mother was inside the home, so firefighters, led by Capt. Scott LaPiedra of Ladder 176, ran into the building to do a search.
When they reached the second floor, a ball of flames burst from the ground floor and the second floor collapsed, throwing them into the fire and covering them in burning debris. (It was later learned that the elderly woman had already evacuated the building when the firefighters entered.)
Lt. James Blackmore of Engine 332 was killed in the collapse.
Capt. Scott LaPiedra was suffered third and fourth degree burns over 70 percent of his body and had been unconscious in a hyperbolic chamber at Jacobi Medical Center following the blaze. He later died on July 4, 1998.
Three other firefighters were seriously injured in the fire. Lt. Timothy Stackpole of Ladder 103 and Probationary Firefighter Brian Baiker of Engine 332 suffered second and third degree burns over approximately 30 percent of their bodies. Firefighter Terence Quinn of Engine 332 also was badly burned in the fire. All three were treated at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center Burn Unit and released.
Firefighter Baiker was promoted to lieutenant in February 2008. He now works out of Engine 79 in the Bronx.
Firefighter Quinn retired in 1993, with more than 16 years on the job.
After a miraculous recovery, Lt. Stackpole was promoted to the rank of captain on September 9, 2001 - yet tragically, he was killed just two days later at the World Trade Center.