BUFFALO, N.Y. — The time 8:23 p.m. may not mean much to most, but to the Buffalo Fire Department, it’s a moment that makes them remember.
At that exact time on Dec. 27, 1983, Buffalo firefighters responded to a call at North Division Street regarding a propane tank gas leak in a warehouse.
Engine 32 had first arrived on the scene. Just 37 seconds after their arrival, the propane tank exploded, leveling the four-story structure and the entire block and killing five firefighters and two civilians in the process. Dozens of others were injured.
Wednesday was the 40th anniversary of the deadliest event in Buffalo Fire Department history. The department, alongside family members and other Buffalo residents, gathered for a moment of silence at 8:23 p.m. in honor of those five firefighters from Hook & Ladder No. 5 — Michael Austin, Michael Catanzaro, James Lickfeld, Anthony Waszkielewicz and Matthew Colpoys — and the civilians, Alfred and Jessie Arnold.
The event is held annually but did not occur last year due to the Christmas blizzard.
Nicholas Catanzaro, a current firefighter with Rescue 1, lost his father that day 40 years ago.
He was just nine months old and too young to remember, but also old enough to not forget.
“I feel like this was my destiny to follow in his footsteps and try to be the hero, or even half the person that he and the four others were that died that day,” Catanzaro said.
That’s what brought Nicholas and a community of others together at 8:23 p.m. Wednesday to show that even 40 years later, the Buffalo Fire community will always remember.
“This is how we care for the family,” Buffalo Fire Chief William Renaldo said. “This is how we keep all of our firefighters in our memories.”