Source: Firefighter Autopsies Show Drugs, Alcohol
Men Died Fighting Restaurant Blaze
POSTED: 8:05 pm EDT October 3,
2007
UPDATED: 9:04 am EDT October 4,
2007
BOSTON -- Autopsy results showed one of two Boston firefighters who died fighting a fire in a West Roxbury restaurant in August had traces of cocaine in his system, while the other had a high blood alcohol content, sources said.Firefighters Warren Payne, 53, of Canton, Mass., and Paul Cahill, 55, of Scituate, Mass., were killed when they answered a call for a fire at the Tai-Ho Chinese restaurant on Centre Street in West Roxbury.WCVB confirmed through a source familiar with the officers' toxicology reports that one officer was legally drunk and another had illegal drugs in his system.The source confirmed various government agencies have been informed that Cahill's blood-alcohol level was well above .10 percent. In Massachusetts, the legal alcohol limit for driving is .08 percent.Payne's toxicology report showed that he had traces of cocaine in his system.Reaction from Boston officials was guarded. Boston Mayor Tom Menino had no comment, and Boston's fire commissioner said that he has not seen the toxicology report. When asked what he's been told about its findings, Commissioner Rod Fraser said he couldn't say anything else about it.Meanwhile, the victims' families are grieving the sudden loss of their loved ones. Five children lost their fathers."I hope this isn't true. My husband really died a hero," Cahill's wife, Anne, said in a phone interview.
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