TWO FIREFIGHTERS KILLED DURING BASEMENT FIRE IN RESTAURANT – FOUNDERS RESTAURANT FIRE – CLIFFSIDE PARK, NEW JERSEY – NOVEMBER 4, 1973

Two Firefighters Killed During Basement Fire in Restaurant – Founders Restaurant Fire – Cliffside Park, New Jersey – November 4, 1973

Submitted by Rick DeGroot

On November 4, 1973, Cliffside Park Career Firefighter Philip Ferraro and Volunteer Firefighter Michael Chormanski were killed while operating at a fire in the basement of Founders Restaurant on Palisade Avenue in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Firefighters were making good progress on the fire when conditions suddenly deteriorated and firefighters were ordered to withdraw from the building as the fire had extended to the upper floors. Firefighters Ferraro and Chormanski either did not hear the evacuation order or were unable to escape the building. The two men were trapped in the basement and rescue attempts were thwarted by fire conditions. Their bodies were later found floating in three feet of water with their air tanks depleted. More than 100 firefighters from the East Bergen County area responded to help fight the fire. Fire investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire which originated in the basement but it was believed to be not suspicious. The deaths of the two Cliffside Park firefighters followed the deaths of five firefighters from neighboring Ridgefield during the Cardinal Lanes Bowling Alley fire in the borough six years earlier.

The structure involved in the fire was a 2 ½-story with basement mixed-use occupancy located at 785 Palisades Avenue midblock between Wayne Avenue and Marion Avenue in the Bergen County community of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. The building contained a restaurant and tavern known as Founders Restaurant on the first floor, and five apartments, two of which were occupied, on the second floor. A small bar was located in a portion of the basement. The building was part of a row of business occupancies along a stretch of Palisades Avenue that was located across from the twin 31-story Winston Towers high-rise apartment condominium buildings that were built on the site of the former Palisades Amusement Park. Side Alpha faced 65-foot-wide Palisades Avenue. On Sides Bravo and Delta were similar taxpayer-type occupancies. On Side Charlie was a parking area. The building was not equipped with a fire alarm system or an automatic fire sprinkler system. Fire hydrants were available at each end of the block.

Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. The community is located in the eastern portion of the county directly across the Hudson River from the City of New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the almost one square mile borough was 25,693 residents. The borough is located atop the Hudson Palisades with Anderson Avenue and Palisade Avenue, the town’s major north–south thoroughfares, offering views of the New York City skyline. Conveniently located between the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel, it is home to many New York City business people who find the location an easy commute into the city.

The borough is protected by the Cliffside Park Volunteer Fire Department established in 1895 which is made up of three companies consisting of 60 volunteer firefighters and fire officers on the active roster. The department provides response to fires and rescues from one station deploying three engines, one engine with a 61-foot Skyboom, one 100-foot tillered aerial ladder, one 102-foot ladder tower, and one mini pumper.

Area weather conditions on the afternoon of the incident included an air temperature of 51 degrees and a relative humidity of 38% with strong west-northwest winds gusting to 20 mph under partly cloudy skies (Weather Underground). Note: Research by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown wind speeds on the order of 10 to 20 mph are sufficient to create wind-driven fire conditions in a structure with an uncontrolled flow path (Madrzykowski and Kerber 2009). The windy weather conditions likely had an impact on fire development and the outcome of the incident.

On Sunday, November 4, 1973, at 1:38 p.m., Cliffside Park firefighters responded to a report of a building fire in the mixed-use occupancy building at 785 Palisades Avenue that contained Founders Restaurant on the first floor and multiple apartments on the second floor. Arriving firefighters found a suspected fire in the basement and additional fire mutual aid units from the East Bergen area were requested to respond to the scene.

Cliffside Park Firefighters Philip Ferraro, Michael Chormanski and James Fucci, along with five other firefighters, entered the building to search for occupants and to locate the fire. Early during the course of operations, Firefighters Ferraro, Chormanski and Fucci entered the basement with a hoseline looking for the seat of the fire under heavy smoke and high heat conditions.

While searching the basement, Firefighter Fucci ran low on air in his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and he heard Firefighter Ferraro say he was also running low on air. “I handed Phil (Ferraro) my oxygen pack because he said he needed it, then I headed for the basement exit. I guess I didn’t make it. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the ambulance,” said Fucci. Firefighter James Fucci, age 25, was treated at Englewood Hospital for smoke inhalation and was later released.

Fire Chief Robert Flynn said the fire was almost under control after 45 minutes. “Suddenly, the whole building went up like a torch,” said the Chief. After conditions in the building deteriorated as the fire spread to the upper floors, Flynn ordered an evacuation of all personnel from the building. Unknown to the Chief, Firefighters Ferraro and Chormanski had remained behind inside the basement. The two men were trapped in the basement and rescue attempts were thwarted by heavy fire conditions. Exterior streams were then set up to fight the fire which was now overtaking the old building. More than 100 firefighters from eight neighboring communities fought the fire. After a three-hour fight to limit the blaze from spreading to the adjacent exposures, the fire was knocked down and a search for the two men was initiated. The body of Firefighter Ferraro was found first, floating in three feet of water in the basement. Firefighters found the body of Firefighter Chormanski 15 minutes later. It was unknown why the two men had not been able to escape the basement. When news of the deaths of Firefighters Ferraro and Chormanski reached the firefighters working at the scene, many wept. They recalled the fire in Cliffside Park six years prior which claimed the lived of five firefighters from nearby Ridgefield when the roof of the Cardinal Lanes Bowling Alley on Anderson Avenue caved in.

Chief Flynn said he did not know why the two men remained behind in the basement. Flynn said the fire apparent started in the ceiling of the basement and then spread to the upper floors. Flynn believed that either the men had not heard the evacuation order or were unable to escape. Chief Flynn said that there was no evidence that the men had been struck by falling debris. The Chief said that they will probably never know why the firefighters were trapped in the basement. When found, both men were wearing SCBA designed to signal when the air supply falls to less than five minutes. Flynn said he was certain that the air packs did not malfunction, they had been checked out the previous Thursday and were found to be functioning properly.

Chief Flynn said Firefighter Chormanski’s air hose was found uncoupled from his SCBA regulator, indicating that he had run out of his air supply and he had disconnected the hose to try to reach clean air hanging low below the smoke level in the basement. Ferraro’s facepiece was found intact on his face, and Flynn said, “I don’t know why Philly (Ferraro) didn’t pull the mask off.” Both men were found lying on their hoseline. Chief Flynn said they had been trained to follow the hoseline out of the building to safety. The Chief received several questions concerning the air packs worn by the two firefighters while in the basement. “In the confusion of the fire, all the firefighter’s air packs were thrown together. But since then, we have checked and recharged every pack and found each one to be in prefect working order,” said the Chief.

Dr. Wilson Webb, assistant Bergen County medical examiner said both men had died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Bergen County Prosecutor Sherwin D. Lester said he expected no investigation or criminal charges in connection to the fire and the deaths of the two Cliffside Park firefighters. Lester said that his investigators had not found anything suspicious. The building was slated for renovation and remodeling and three of the five apartments had been vacated. The remaining tenants had been told to move as the restaurant was being renovated and a beauty salon was being added to the first floor. Offices were slated for the second floor. There had been two minor fires in the building in the weeks leading up to the fatal incident. A small rubbish fire in the rear of the building was quickly extinguished with little damage. The second fire involved a fire in an oil burner that was contained to the heating unit. Fire investigators believed that both minor fires were not connected to the November 4 blaze.

Members of the Cliffside Park Fire Department killed during the fire at Founder’s Restaurant on November 4, 1973:

• Firefighter Philip M. Ferraro, age 36, was a seven-year career member of the Cliffside Park Fire Department. He was a graduate of St. John the Baptist parochial school and Cliffside Park High School and followed in his father’s footsteps to serve in the Fire Department. He was serving his second term as union president of FMBA Local #45 and was well likely and respected by his peers. He was an active member of the Epiphany Church’s Holy Name Society and was the parish’s senior CYO basketball coach. Ferraro was survived by his wife, Helene, and his children, Michael, Philip, and Dianne, his father, Philip Ferraro, and his sister, Maryann Ferraro. Interment was at Madonna Cemetery in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
• Firefighter Michael E. Chormanski, age 26, was a volunteer member of the Cliffside Park Fire Department. A graduate of St. John the Baptist parochial school and Cliffside Park High School, Chormanski served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict with the U.S. Air Force. He came home to help financially with his widowed mother. He had recently graduated from Bergen County Community College and wanted to continue his education at a four-year college. Chormanski worked for a utility contracting firm. Many of his relatives including two brothers, two uncles, a cousin and his father served with the Cliffside Park Fire Department. He was survived by his mother, Margaret Chormanski, and his four brothers, Stanley, Donald, Brian and Timothy. Interment was at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Hackensack, New Jersey.

On Thursday, November 8, a joint funeral for the two fallen firefighters was held at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Fairview following a 13-block procession of more than 1,000 firefighters and first responders, some from as far away as Vermont, from the funeral home in Cliffside Park.

The names of Firefighters Philip M. Ferraro and Michael E. Chormanski have been honored at the New Jersey Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the grounds of the New Jersey Fire Museum on Polhemustown Road in Allentown, New Jersey. An annual remembrance ceremony honoring all fallen firefighters from the state is held at the site.

The site of the fatal fire is now occupied by a two-story commercial building. There is no memorial marker at the site.

Commentary:

Deep seated fires in basements of commercial buildings continue to be one of the most challenging types of fire incidents that firefighters may encounter. High heat and dense smoke conditions, the maze-like configuration of the floor layout and contents, long hoseline stretches, limited window openings, and the lack of an automatic fire sprinkler system can make operations in commercial basements and other below grade spaces extremely challenging and dangerous. While we may never know the precise reasons why these two firefighters were unable to escape from the burning basement when the evacuation order was given, we can surmise that they may have succumbed to a sequence of events that have been identified in other line of duty deaths through the research conducted by San Antonio Texas Fire Captain William Mora. This sequence of events that caused firefighters to become disoriented occurred in each of the 17 incidents that were studied by Captain Mora. In general, the sequence unfolds as follows:

• A fire in an enclosed structure with smoke showing occurs. The arriving fire company immediately initiates an aggressive interior attack to search for the seat of the fire.
• During the search, the seat of the fire cannot be located, and conditions deteriorate with the production of heat, smoke and prolonged zero visibility.
• As companies perform an emergency evacuation due to deteriorating conditions, hoseline separation occurs, or tangled hoselines are encountered.
• Disorientation then occurs as firefighters exceed their air supply, are caught in flashovers or backdrafts, or are trapped by the collapsing floor or roof. When the firefighters are not located quickly enough, the outcome is fatalities or serious injuries.

This loss of orientation can be prevented through secondary means of orientation such the use of a thermal imaging device or interior search lines to maintain situational awareness.

We have attached photos from the incident.

We have attached the link to a study on firefighter disorientation by group member William Mora: https://trispeceyegear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/FirefighterDisorientationStudy.pdf

We have also attached the link to a NIOSH advisory document on preventing deaths and injuries of firefighters working at basement and other below grade fires: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2018-154/default.html

Thanks to multiple media sources for the content of this article.

Honor the service of Firefighters Philip Ferraro and Michael Chormanski by discussing fire operations during commercial basement fires including methods to prevent firefighter disorientation with your crew members today.

Remember Fallen Brothers.

Get Out There And Know Your Local!!!