2-26-92 4th Alarm Portofino Restaurant Fire
by Steven Spak
Title
2-26-92 4th Alarm Portofino Restaurant Fire
Artist
Steven Spak
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
At that time, I working as a Senior Court Officer in Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens, Queens, NY. I was on my way to work. I had the scanner on. I heard the 2nd alarm transmitted for a fire in the Portofino Restaurant on Queens Boulevard. I was on Queens Boulevard heading towards the Courthouse. I was about a half a mile away from the fire. I quickly arrived at the scene. There was a heavy fire condition coming out of the restaurant. The building was part of a 100 X 150 ft Taxpayer, (A Row of Stores). Exposure one was Queens Boulevard, Exposures 2 & 3 were 6 story apartment houses. Exposure 4 was an apartment house. As I walked by, I saw my friends from Rescue 4, walking past me and climbing up an aerial Ladder to the 2nd floor of the exposure 2 apartment house. Tower Ladder 138 was operating between the exposures 1 & 2 the left side of the fire building protecting the exposure 2 apartment house which was right up against the burning taxpayer exposure # 1. The fire was venting thru the roof, and numerous searches had to be made, more units were needed, so the third alarm was transmitted. Minutes later the growing fire was throughout the whole taxpayer and thru the roof of the fire building. A fourth was transmitted. At a fire I like to walk around the buildings to see how the operation was going. I also like to go up roofs of buildings to get a bird’s eye view. I met a friend Mike, he is also a great fire photographer who at that time worked at a local newspaper. I said to mike let’s go across Queens Boulevard and go up to the roof of a 20 story, apartment house.
From that vantage point, we took great photos of the fire scene. After that I had to go to work. I was late, but it was worth it. One of the District Attorneys saw me at the scene. He asked me for copies of my images. What happened was a man who walked into the fruit store deli, and threw a Molotov Cocktail into the store and then ran away. Some people recognized the perp, and he was arrested sometime later. At trial he was convicted of Arson and sentenced to a long prison term. These are my friends from Queens Rescue Company Four.
Uploaded
February 16th, 2020
Embed
Share
Comments
There are no comments for 2-26-92 4th Alarm Portofino Restaurant Fire. Click here to post the first comment.