[2] A FDNY report after the incident showed that the dealer had stored highly flammable lacquer, paint, and finished wood frames in the basement.

By the time the first firefighters arrived, the intensity of the smoke and heat made it impossible to enter through the 22nd Street side of the building.

As part of a construction project that had recently been completed, a common cellar under the two buildings was renovated, removing a load-bearing dividing wall that had supported the floor above.

The fire underneath the store weakened the wooden beams, while the thickness of the floor prevented firefighters from feeling the extreme heat below.

[4] A 15-by-35-foot (4.6 by 10.7 m) section of the floor collapsed at 10:39 p.m., one hour and three minutes after the initial alarm was transmitted, causing ten firefighters to fall into the burning cellar.