Backdraft is a 1994 NBC News Dateline story produced by Steve McCarthy. It told the story of the Watts St. fire which took the lives of three NYC firefighters. It featured Vina Drennan, the wife of Captain John Drennan (Ladder 5), who died because of the fire. It also featured Captain Patrick J. Brown, a friend of McCarthy’s, who stayed with Mrs. Drennan during the 40-day burn center vigil as Captain Drennan clung to life. Winner 1995 Emmy for Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story. Captain “Paddy Brown” would die in the North Tower during the 9/11 attacks.
