Jun 22, 2007 7:20 pm US/Eastern
FDNY, Friends Mourn Hero Firefighter
Daniel Pujdak Tumbled Four Stories While Battling Brooklyn Blaze
by Magee Hickey
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
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Firefighter Daniel Pujdak, 23, seen here before he fell four stories to his death while battling a blaze in Brooklyn on June 21.
New York Post
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Daniel Pujdak of Ladder Company 146 apparently lost his footing and fell from the top of a Brooklyn building.
CBS
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It didn't take long for many of the 60 firefighters on scene to hear the news of Pujdak's death.
CBS
It was a routine run: a small apartment fire, apparently caused by a careless smoker. For Daniel Pujdak, it was the last call of his brief career as a city firefighter.
Daniel Pujdak had been with the fire department for only two years when he was killed Thursday afternoon in a fall that is being called a "tragic accident."
Black bunting adorned the entrance to Ladder Company 146, and flags are flying at half-staff Friday as funeral arrangements are being made for the young firefighter.
Pujdak "always talked about helping people," his brother Matthew said in a published report. "He wanted to make people's lives a little better."
Pujdak, a fitness buff, was in training for a triathlon, longtime friend Matthew McCabe said. And Pujdak had inspired his brother to aim to join the FDNY, even giving him a spare oxygen mask to use in training.
"He was such a young, vibrant person," said Williamsburg resident Philip DePaolo. "It's a tragic loss for everybody. It's important to remember what firefighters do on a regular basis."
"I never worried about him," said Matthew Pujdak. "I was confident that he could handle himself."
Pujdak's brother still plans to join the FDNY.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scopetta said he was doing everything he was supposed to be doing.
The "all hands" fire was being fought by 60 firefighters from 12 units. No one else was injured in the blaze.
Pujdak, 23, grew up in Greenpoint, less than two miles from the artist's loft on the edge of Williamsburg where he lost his life.
He and his younger brother had always dreamed of being firefighters. At Ladder 146, one fire chief said Daniel was a young, aggressive firefighter whom everyone thought was going to be a leader on the job.
He lost that chance Thursday after he slipped from a ladder and plunged four stories while battling a blaze.
"You couldn't really tell where he fell from, all you know is like in mid-action. When I looked up, he was coming down and hit the ground," said witness Marlene McAllister.
Pujdak had scaled the ladder carrying more than 100 pounds of equipment, including a power saw to cut a hole for smoke to escape through the building's roof. Once at the top, he lost his footing, falling more than 60 feet from the stairwell bulkhead on top of the roof.
"Tragically, this fire and resulting death could have been prevented," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at Bellevue Hospital, where Pujdak was pronounced dead after suffering massive head injuries. "The fire marshal believes the fire was caused by an unextinguished cigarette left by the window," he explained.
Bloomberg, after meeting with Pujdak's parents, said they were devastated by the sudden death of their son.
The ladder truck returned to its Brooklyn firehouse short one man. He was considered to be the "kid of the house," and now his name will be added to the wall as of the FDNY's Eternal Heroes.
This is the first line of duty death since Firefighter Michael C. Reilly of Engine Company 75 and Lieutenant Howard J. Carpluk Jr. of Engine Company 42 died while battling a third-alarm fire in the South Bronx on August 27, 2006.
Pujdak is the 1,135th member of the FDNY to be killed in the department's 143-year history.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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