Lessons of sacrifice and strength from the Father’s Day Fire with FDNY Assistant Chief Michael Meyers and Captain Liam Flaherty

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On Sunday, June 17, 2001—Father’s Day—FDNY members in Queens responded to a telephone alarm reporting a fire in a hardware store at 12-20 Astoria Boulevard. What initially appeared to be a routine cellar fire in a small, two-story commercial occupancy quickly escalated into one of the most tragic fires in FDNY history. At approximately 1447 hours, a powerful explosion tore through the building. The large bearing wall and portions of the roof on the 14th Street side of the building sustained a total collapse, and portions of the front wall collapsed as well. Firefighter Harry Ford of Rescue Company 4 and Firefighter John Downing of Ladder Company 163 were buried in the collapse, and…