Shoppers flee fatal Macy’s fire

Press, 16 June 1979, Page 6

Shoppers flee fatal Macy’s fire

NZPA New York Fire broke out in Macy’s department store in New York yesterday, killing one fireman, injuring eight persons and forcing the evacuation from the building of 2000 shoppers. The fire broke out in the sports goods section of Macy’s, a New York land-

mark which claims to be the world’s biggest store. Although the fire was confined to a single floor, it took 120 firemen almost three hours to control. The dead fireman was found on the fifth floor where a ceiling collapsed as firemen tried to find the seat of the blaze in dense smoke. Six of the injured who were admitted to hospital

were in a satisfactory condition. Damage was heavy on the fifth and sixth floors where firemen knocked out windows to ventilate the blazing area. The dozens of vehicles called to the scene blocked traffic throughout Manhattan’s evening rush hours. Shoppers and store employees said no warning bells

had sounded and that the alarm was raised by word of mouth. But witnesses said the evacuation was mostly orderly. An angry incident erupted when the dead fireman’s body was brought out of the store. Firemen attempting to shield the body from photographers with their helmets, struck out at crowding television news cameramen.

One fireman kicked a member of a television crew in the groin, others hurled their helmets at the crew trying to press closer, and a policeman cried: “Respect the dead, respect their wishes.” Two persons, a fireman and a woman shopper, apparently suffered heart attacks during the fire.