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Daniel Pujdak, a 23-year-old firefighter died from injuries he received after a fall from the roof of a four story building.

Pujdak had been on the job with Ladder 146 for only two years when he responded to a blaze at 83 Messerole St. in Williamsburg.

Pujdak was sent to the roof with a “heavy” saw to cut holes to help vent the smoke. All accounts seem to be that he somehow lost his balance just after crossing over to the roof and plunged four stories to his death.

A neighbor told the Post, “It looked like he just hurtled and hit the ground. I couldn’t even scream,” she said. “He was on the roof. It looked like he was overcome by smoke . . . There was so much smoke on that level.”

Another woman, still in shock said, “When he hit the ground, it made a sound you never want to hear. It sounded like an explosion. You never want to hear a human hit the ground.”

One of the most tragic aspects of this story is how avoidable this situation could have been. “The window sills were burning,” Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said. “That was the extent of the fire, we later learned.” Someone had left a lit cigarette burning on the window sill making a plume of smoke which caused the fire to look far more serious than it was.

Mayor Bloomberg met with the family of Daniel Pujdak, “As you would expect, they are devastated,” Bloomberg said. “It’s a terrible loss for his family and it’s a terrible loss for the city. It reminds us how dangerous a job firefighting is.”

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