Philly Fire Department mourns 3rd loss in a year

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Philadelphia firefighters mourned the loss of one of their own in the line of duty for the third time in less than a year, saluting the body of a veteran captain as it was carried from the ruins of a three-story building that collapsed underneath him during a blaze.<br /> <br /> At an emotional news conference late Saturday after the fire in the city's Fabric Row section was extinguished, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told reporters that the victim, 53-year-old Capt. Michael Goodwin, was his friend and "a ladder man. A firefighter's firefighter."<br /> <br /> "He's the kind of guy who looked out for his folks - a big guy," Ayers said. Goodwin had been with the department for 29 years.<br /> <br /> A colleague of the fallen firefighter, 28-year-old Andrew Godlinski, was burned on his hands while trying to rescue his comrade and is recovering, officials said.<br /> <br /> The loss came as the Fire Department prepared to mark a year since an April 9 blaze at a warehouse that killed Capt. Robert Neary, 59, and Daniel Sweeney, 25. They also died in a collapse, which came as they inspected an adjacent building.<br /> <br /> "We have a department that is wounded," Ayers said. "We have scars that are fresh, and indeed they have now been reopened."<br /> <br /> Saturday's fire appeared to have started in a fabric store downstairs before spreading to upstairs apartments and a neighboring boutique, the store's owner said. The proprietors of both stores told The Philadelphia Inquirer that everyone in both buildings at the time of the fire managed to escape.<br /> <br /> The fire's cause wasn't immediately known, but Bruce Blumenthal, the owner of Jack B. Fabrics, said he believes it started in a wall and may have been electrical in nature.<br /> <br /> Blumenthal said he smelled smoke coming from the basement around 5 p.m. and found a box of collars and cuffs on fire. He tried to put the flames out with an extinguisher, to no avail.<br /> <br /> Goodwin was on the roof of the building when it collapsed, trapping him inside. Godlinski tried to rescue him before a second-floor roof and two walls also collapsed, officials said.<br /> <br /> Goodwin is survived by a wife and two grown children, Ayers said.<br /> <br /> The fire cut power to more than 300 customers. The Red Cross is assisting at least 17 people.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/4/260199