Jun 21, 2007 7:21 pm US/Eastern
FDNY Suffers Tragic Loss
Daniel Pujdak Falls To His Death While Battling Blaze
by Brendan Keefe
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Firefighter Daniel Pujdak, 23, fell four stories to his death while battling a blaze in Brooklyn on June 21.
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
An empty ladder rested against the Brooklyn roof where firefighter Daniel Pujdak slipped and fell through a column of smoke to his death on Thursday.
"The firefighter, he just fell off the roof and hit the ground," witness Marlene McAllister said.
A helmet and bunker gear rested on the pavement as his fellow firefighters from Ladder 146 left the scene in tears, having just learned the young firefighter's life was taken by a single cigarette.
"Tragically, a 23-year-old firefighter fell four stories from the roof and died shortly thereafter from his injuries," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said during a press briefing at Bellevue Hospital.
"The fire was caused by an unextinguished cigarette left by the window."
Added FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta: "An unattended cigarette, careless smoking, left on that window sill."
Pujdak was the "roof firefighter," loaded down with more than 100 pounds of gear including a heavy power saw. He was moving toward the ladder when he fell more than 50 feet from the stairwell bulkhead on top of the roof.
"It appears that he slipped as he was climbing down from the bulkhead," Scoppetta said.
McAllister said it was a scene she will not forget any time soon.
"You couldn't really tell where he fell from," McAllister said. "All you know is like in mid-action, when I looked up he was coming down and he hit the ground."
The "all hands" fire was being fought by 60 firefighters from 12 units. No one else was injured due to the fire.
Stay with CBS 2 and wcbstv.com for more on this developing story.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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