In the chaos of what turned out to be a false report of people trapped inside a burning Genesee Street deli in the early morning of Aug. 24, a cry of "mayday" rang out from a firefighter's portable radio.

That was all Buffalo Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom needed to hear. He bolted inside the front door of the Super Speedy Deli just as two firefighters, overwhelmed by smoke and heat, were able to escape the inferno.

Croom never got out alive, and neither did Lt. Charles W. "Chip" McCarthy Jr., who sent the mayday call from the basement of the deli.

Those fateful moments are among the details in a 28-page report that provides previously unknown information about the difficulties that firefighters faced in the three-alarm blaze that was reported at 3:51 a.m.

"What is clear is Firefighter Croom quickly ascertained the general area that Lt. McCarthy had been calling from and then selflessly attempted a rescue operation," according to preliminary results from the Fire Department's recently completed internal investigation of the blaze that killed Croom and McCarthy.

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation six months later, the departmental report obtained by The Buffalo News contains other details about the tragic morning, including the belief by firefighters that only one of their partners was missing and trapped. It took more than an hour and a half -- because of the chaos and similar sounding names -- for firefighters to realize that they were looking for not one missing comrade, but two.

However, the blaze was so intense that firefighters were unable to enter the building's basement to save anyone.

Searching for 'civilians'

The reconstructed scene unfolds this way:

McCarthy had been searching the first floor of the deli to make sure there were no firefighters still inside because the basement fire was spreading and had made conditions in the deli untenable.

When the lieutenant reached the back of the store by a wall of fully stocked coolers, the weight of the units and the unchecked fire below caused the floor to collapse and McCarthy to fall into the basement.

McCarthy's radioed his mayday at about 4:23 a.m.

Croom heard McCarthy shouting for help as he was standing in front of the deli and, apparently following the cries for assistance, fell through the same collapsed section of floor, landing feet away from McCarthy.

It did not become clear that two firefighters were missing until 6:10 a.m., though concerns over the whereabouts of Croom, working an overtime shift with Ladder 7, were first recorded at 5:10 a.m. A mistaken sighting of him elsewhere at the fire scene and a mix-up involving another firefighter with a similar sounding last name prolonged the belief that he was safe.

About 10 minutes after McCarthy's mayday call, an emergency head count was conducted at about 4:32 a.m., and it was determined that McCarthy, of Rescue 1, was missing.

Repeated attempts to reach McCarthy were thwarted because of the fierce fire, heavy smoke and deteriorating condition of the building, a rambling 2 1/2-story wood and brick structure with a cigarette warehouse in the basement, an apartment behind the deli and two apartments on the second floor, one of which was occupied.

Well before the mayday call, searches of the second floor and the rear apartment turned up no victims there. Early on, other firefighters found an exterior door on the east side of the building, opened it and headed down a flight of stairs, where they encountered a heavy, locked steel door leading to the basement.

Prompted by the initial reports of passers-by claiming to have heard people screaming for help from the basement, firefighters had tried to break down the door, which was framed in brick.

Unaware of collapse

Despite repeated efforts to take down the door, firefighters could not make substantial progress, and that allowed the fire to build.

At 4:07 a.m., McCarthy and Croom entered the deli for a quick two-man "reconnaissance" to try to find an alternative interior entrance to the basement.

McCarthy found a rear door inside the deli, believed to lead to the basement, and he and Croom left the deli. Croom rejoined crew members of Ladder 7.

The lieutenant remained convinced that people were trapped in the basement.

According to the report:

"Civilians are still thought to be trapped as Lt. McCarthy reported to the IC [incident commander] that during his previous entry, he could hear people calling out and banging on pipes.

"It is likely that Lt. McCarthy had mistaken noises firefighters [operating on the back side of the wall coolers] were making as those of trapped civilians. IC later affirmed that Lt. McCarthy was adamant that he heard people calling out during his earlier reconnaissance.

Compounding the dire situation was a report of "spongy" floor conditions from firefighters working at the back of the commercial coolers.

"This critical information was never relayed to the IC," the report says.

At 4:15 a.m., firefighters retreated from trying to open the reinforced side door to the basement and at 4:17 a.m. the incident commander radioed to dispatch, "We're pulling our companies out of the first floor. . . . They are having great difficulty making entry to the basement because of a steel door."

Additional efforts were made, but without success, and at 4:20 a.m., McCarthy and other fire officials conferred in front of the building about conditions inside.

At 4:21 a.m., McCarthy, ahead of two other firefighters from Rescue 1, entered the deli to make sure that no firefighters were inside.

"Lt. McCarthy apparently follows the now abandoned [1 3/4-inch fire hose] previously stretched into the delicatessen to the rear . . . of the store. One of the remaining firefighters follows the line well behind Lt. McCarthy, unaware of the search pattern the lieutenant followed. Store shelving that creates aisles blocks the view of this firefighter as he scans with the TIC [thermal imaging camera] and calls out to verify that all other firefighters have exited the delicatessen.

"The other firefighter searches the middle aisle after crossing the front counter. His view of the rear of the store is also obscured by shelving as he proceeds down the aisle. Extremely dense smoke conditions make visual contact between firefighters impossible."

After merchandise fell on the firefighter with the camera, he headed out of the store. The other firefighter, in the middle aisle, heard calls for help from someone he believed was in the basement, according to the report.

"Neither firefighter is aware that a catastrophic floor collapse has occurred, bringing down the first floor under and adjacent to the rear wall coolers," the report says.

At 4:23 a.m., the incident commander asked, "Was that a mayday transmission?"

McCarthy's mayday transmission was heard at the scene but failed to reach the Fire Department radio repeater because his portable radio was on "direct" mode, which means that it transmitted mostly among other portable radios on site.

'Urgent pleas for help'

Hearing the mayday call, Croom put on his air mask and headed toward the deli's front entrance, passing the two Rescue 1 firefighters leaving the building. He stopped briefly and got a hand tool and then went inside.

"Firefighter Croom entered the structure by himself in response to urgent pleas for help. It is unknown if he spoke directly to his officer or any other firefighter before entering the delicatessen," the report says.

"Confusion and mass movement of personnel compromised communication. Therefore, it cannot be determined if Firefighter Croom informed others of his intended actions or not."

Part of the confusion was blamed on the fact that it was not known who issued the mayday call and that a rear section of the deli's floor had collapsed.

In the meantime, the fire was burning uncontrolled, and a third alarm was requested. Rising temperatures made a rescue effort unfeasible, and at 4:47 a.m., the commander ordered firefighters to evacuate.

A firefighter inside the deli had, in fact, fallen through another hole in the floor but was able to pull himself out.

"Incident commander has determined that any further rescue operation will endanger more firefighters. At this point the IC had decided that a rescue is no longer feasible, and that recovery is now the main goal. It is still thought that Lt. McCarthy is the only missing member."

At 8:04 a.m., it was determined that there was 6 feet of water in the basement and that pumps were needed to drain it.

At 9:18 a.m., the commander received word from the on-duty battalion chief: "... Be advised we have eyes on the two, we have eyes on our two."

At 9:32 a.m., the battalion chief stated: "Command, we have hands on, I say again we have hands on two firefighters."

At 9:40 a.m., Croom's remains, draped in an American flag, were removed to a waiting ambulance. Three minutes later, McCarthy's body, also covered in an American flag, was removed.

"All members stand by to honor their fallen brothers," the report states.

Hundreds of firefighters, on and off duty, stood at attention and saluted.