It may have taken half a century, but at the end of May 2022, the Fire Department of the City of New York held a solemn NY TelCo Fire Plaque Dedication Ceremony.
Nearly 50 years ago, on February 17, 1975, the largest toxic indoor fire raged at a critical switching station at Second Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan. This event was the 1975 NY Telephone Company Fire.
BellTel Chairman Tom Steed attended the NY TelCo Fire Plaque Dedication and served as a featured speaker, along with Retired New York City Firefighter Dan Noonan, who was among the first to arrive on the scene of the toxic inferno and he was the impetus for the event ceremony.
This NY TelCo Fire Plaque Dedication was about honoring the firefighters who fought the fire that day and the Telephone Company employees who restored service. The front rows of the ceremony were reserved only for those who were there that day and during the cleanup.
The firefighters and the TelCo employees who responded to the fire were also given a commemorative “challenge coin” as a tribute to the event.
For many decades now, Firefighter Noonan has been the leading advocate shining an exceptionally bright spotlight on the fire and its aftermath, not only on all who were there but also those who lived in the surrounding community.
Billions of feet of PVC cable burned, filling the air with poisonous toxins that were ingested by 699 firefighters and some 4,000 Telephone Company staff.
The FDNY’s Bureau of Health Services affixed what became known as, the “Red Star of Death” on each of the 699 firefighters’ personnel folders.
According to data, Noonan said the average age of death for those firefighters was age 50.2, many of whom passed away due to throat cancers.
An abridged version of the NY TelCo Fire Plaque Dedication is available on the BellTel YouTube channel. Several members who watched the ceremony, shared their comments.
Bob Rehm, our own Association Co-Founder said, “I was called and told to immediately fly back from a 2-week Buildings Engineering course I was attending at the Bell System for Technical Education Center in Illinois. As the plane approached NY City, headed for LaGuardia Airport, I could see the massive smoke billowing from 2nd Ave. That smoke plume was higher than the jet that was descending for landing.”
Rehm continued, “I too, spent 4-5 weeks inside that building doing space and reconstruction planning. Fortunately, I don’t appear to have any side effects from the nasty smells that lingered throughout my 12+ hour non-stop days. Quite an assignment for us that will never be forgotten and hopefully never occur again.”
Member Edith Coleman, added, “I remember! I worked in Brooklyn, and at 375 Pearl St. At 204 2nd Avenue, my technicians did a hell of a job I must say!”
Another member who worked at the Second Avenue site chimed in, “Truly heartwarming video. At the time I was what they called, tester, deskmen, or test desk technician, depending what decade it was. A handful of testers went to the 2nd Ave building to help with the restoring of service. Reading and seeing the destruction that fire caused, I am still amazed how quickly everything was completed.”
The Association salutes all of the dedicated women and men who worked on that vital project and with gratitude. We salute the FDNY and the Fire Bell Club of New York for finally acknowledging the importance of this historic and tragic event, whose restoration by NY Tel came to be known as The Miracle on Second Avenue.
This article was first published in the Fall 2022 BellTel Newsletter.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify