by JONATHAN LEMIRE
Retired Firefighter Manny Fernandez stared straight ahead at what seemed to be a nondescript Manhattan apartment building - but he was instead flashing back to the FDNY's worst day before the World Trade Center collapse.
Fernandez, now 74, was the driver for Engine 18 on Oct. 17, 1966, when 12 firefighters died in a blaze that consumed a former drug store on Broadway and E. 23rd St.
"I can still see what happened, I can still hear the rumble when the floor collapsed," said Fernandez, who yesterday attended the FDNY's annual ceremony to mark the tragedy.
"I crawled up and looked into the smoke and hoped to see my guys' boots," said Fernandez. "But I didn't see anything. There was no one there."
The five-alarm fire ignited in a basement storage area at the Wonder Drug Store, prompting several fire companies - including Engine 18 and Ladder 7 - to respond to the blaze at 9:30 p.m.
As the firefighters rushed in, they were unaware that the fire - which was far more severe than they suspected - was concealed by a 4-inch thick cinderblock wall illegally constructed by the building's previous owner.
The firefighters had been battling the blaze for nearly an hour when the weakened ground floor suddenly gave way, sending a dozen men into the inferno below.
"I stood there that day and said, 'Nobody will ever forget these guys,'" said Fernandez. "And that's why I come every year to pay my respects."
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano marked the somber anniversary by laying a wreath below a memorial plaque on the building where the drugstore once stood.
"The events that day helped shape my life," said Firefighter Brian Finley of Ladder 7 - the same company where his grandfather, John, was assigned when he was killed 41 years ago yesterday.
"Driving by this site on the way to a job, it always gives me a chill," said Finley, a 10-year-veteran of the FDNY. "But it's also such an honor to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and work in his firehouse."
The firefighters who died in what has become known as The 23rd St. Fire were: Deputy Chief Thomas Reilly; Battalion Chief Walter Higgins; Lts. Joseph Priore and John Finley; Firefighters William McCarron; James Galanaugh; Joseph Kelly; Daniel Rey; Bernard Tepper; John Berry, Rudolph Kaminsky and Carl Lee.
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