It was the last time Bloomer would see his colleagues and friends alive. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday, and other days, you know, It s constantly something you think about, Bloomer says on the 30 year anniversary of the fire.
Brian Anderson, the curator of the Fireman s Hall Museum in Philadelphia, says it s hard to imagine what those three men encountered as they approached the 22nd floor when you consider that the owners of the building had not yet equipped every floor with a sprinkler system. It s something that was not mandated until years after the building was constructed. There were no sprinklers on those floors except on the 30th floor. So, firefighters had to both fight underneath the fire as well as go above the fire, said Anderson.