of manhattan's garment district. it starts in the cramped, narrow basement of a shoe store which is packed to capacity with highly flammable material. the century old building has no sprinkler system. >> the fire was so heavy in the base men that we tried to put it out with foam. there were so many heavy boxes of storage. heavy boxes of mostly shoes we think stored up to the ceiling. >> retired assistant chief harry norum was one of the commanders overseeing operations that day. >> they went to the staircase inside. because there was no exterior openings. so now the officer takes four or five men into the cellar. the boxes were falling down into the area of escape. so first the chief says okay, let's get out of the cellar. >> they are forced to fight the fire from the outside, but even that has its risks. norum is concerned the old