47 years later, locals, family remember Waldbaum’s blaze that killed six firefighters

In 1998, the corner of Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z was co-named “Fireman’s Corner”

 A Mass was held earlier this month at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church, 1525 E 12th St., for the 47th anniversary of the fatal Waldbaum’s supermarket fire in Sheepshead Bay.

At 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 2, 1978, the store, at 2892 Avenue Y, was being renovated while it was still open when a fire started in the compressor room. It turned into a four-alarm fire. Later, 20 firefighters were on the roof of the building to put out the blaze. The roof collapsed and 12 firefighters fell into the flames.

Six firefighters died, and the others were rescued.

Additional FDNY units arrived to battle the fire, and 34 firefighters, one emergency technician and one Emergency Services police officer were injured.

“The August 2, 1978, fire at a Brooklyn Waldbaum’s claimed the lives of six firefighters,” wrote the FDNY on Facebook. “It is one of the worst fires in the Department’s history. 20 members were on the roof when the supermarket’s center section collapsed. 12 more were thrown into the flames. Lt. James E. Cutillo of Battalion 33, Firefighter Charles S. Bouton of Ladder 156, Harold F. Hastings of Battalion 42, Firefighter James P. McGanus of Ladder 153, Firefighter William O’Connor of Ladder 156, and Firefighter George S. Rice of Ladder 153 made the ultimate sacrifice that day. We will never forget them.”

To mark the 20th anniversary, the corner of Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z was co-named “Fireman’s Corner” in 1998.

“There were 18 children who lost their fathers in that fire. My childhood stopped on that day,” said Brian Hastings, who was 14 when his father Harold Hastings died in the fire, in an article from the FDNY Foundation last year. “You didn’t have time to be a kid anymore. Now all of a sudden, you’re an adult.”

The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York website said that before the collapse, O’Connor’s wife, Louise, was at the scene of the fire with her three children. O’Connor waved to them, then they waved back, then the roof collapsed shortly after.

After her husband’s death, Louise became a member of the FDNY Fire Bell Club.

Some locals have memories of the fatal fire.

“I was a youngster — in Aug. 1978 I was 6 years old,” said Wayne Daren Schneiderman, who writes for this paper. “We lived a couple of blocks away from the supermarket.”

He found out that the store was on fire and worried for his father, who often shopped at the Waldbaum’s, was inside.

“I remember my mom getting nervous but trying to maintain her composure for my sake. I was also cognizant of the fact that my father had gone food shopping — at said supermarket.  Needless to say, I was scared and concerned. The next 15 or 20 minutes seemed like hours to me.  But ultimately, and by the grace of God, my father had returned home.  

“I later learned he had arrived at Waldbaum’s after the fire had started and was not inside the building.  I was never happier to see my dad than on that day. Incidentally, my heart goes out to all the firefighters who perished in that horrible tragedy.”

Others recounted their experiences on FDNY’s Facebook page.

“I clearly remember that fire,” wrote one person. “I was a little girl, it was horrible! I still live in the neighborhood, and there’s a Staples store there now. Every time I go in there, I feel like I’m on sacred ground.”