Officer Yaslowitz collapsed and Marshal Ley was subsequent shot twice, causing him to fall through the attic opening onto the floor below.

WHITEHOUSE: Background on Medal of Valor Ceremony

"The first crews were faced with a very severe fire in the first floor and attic area of a semi-detached house, " he said.

BBC: Woman dies in west Belfast house blaze

But it was a miserable place to stay, its attic full of manic squirrels, its floor a dull smear of ground-in soot and dirt, its walls impregnated with the oily emanations of ten thousand meals.

NEWYORKER: Idols