FDNY determines cause of fire that killed firefighter on Harlem movie set

By Eyewitness News
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson, 37, was killed battling a fire at a building being used as a movie set in Harlem. (fdny michael davidson)

HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- Authorities have revealed the cause of a fire on a Harlem movie set that killed a firefighter in March.

Fire Marshals determined that heat from a boiler ventilation pipe ignited nearby combustible materials and caused the fire in the basement of a building on St. Nicholas Avenue.

Firefighter Michael Davidson was trapped and killed. He was posthumously promoted to Lieutenant.

Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC
Photos from the scene of the fire in a building in Harlem where FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson was killed on Thursday, March 22, 2018. Photos courtesy Sion FullanaWABC


Davidson, who was assigned to the nozzle with the responsibility of operating a hoseline to suppress the fire, became separated from his fellow firefighters as conditions rapidly were deteriorating.

Officials said after a desperate search to locate Davidson, he was found unconcious. He was transported to Harlem Hospital, where he died.

The building was home to the former St. Nick's Jazz Pub, a venerable bar that was closed in 2011.

At the time of the fire, the building was being used to film Edward Norton and Bruce Willis' upcoming film "Motherless Brooklyn."

RELATED: Remembering FDNY firefighter Michael Davidson

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