By Mark Jewell
The Associated Press

Photo courtesy of Boston Fire Department Warren Payne (left) and Paul Cahill.

BOSTON — Fire broke out in a restaurant ceiling and smoldered above diners and employees for an hour or more before erupting, killing two firefighters and injuring 10 who became disoriented, officials said Thursday.

A paramedic was also injured, but no employees or customers were harmed in Wednesday night's four-alarm fire at the one-story Tai Ho restaurant. The blaze also damaged a block of businesses.

When workers first saw the fire, they quickly evacuated the restaurant and called 911.

But while the fire smoldered unnoticed in a grease-filled crawl space above the drop ceiling, toxic and flammable gases had collected, Fire Chief Kevin MacCurtain said, and what looked at first like a routine fire quickly turned deadly.

"When they started to extinguish the fire, something unexpected happened," he said. "Very quickly and very suddenly the entire ceiling was blown down under force, and a volume of fire was pushed down that had accumulated in that crawl space."

|The firefighters likely became disoriented and could not find their way out, he said.

"The flames were coming out of everywhere, through the roof, out the windows," said George Hines, who lives nearby. "I saw three firefighters pull one guy out, just dragged him right through the flames. He was in bad shape, you could tell."

The blaze spread to adjoining businesses in the row of yellow-brick storefronts, and at least four other stores were damaged. A three-ton air conditioning unit partially fell through the roof, providing a burst of air to help fuel the blaze, authorities said.

The fire's cause is still being investigated.

Paul Cahill, 55, and Warren Payne, 53, were killed. Cahill served on Engine 30 and Payne on Ladder 25, units housed at the same fire station just down the street from the restaurant. The causes of death are being investigated.

One firefighter remained hospitalized Thursday but was expected to be released Friday.

The last death of a Boston firefighter in the line of duty was in March 1999, department spokesman Scott Salman said.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox observed a moment of silence before their game in New York Thursday afternoon, paying tribute to Cahill, Payne and two New York firefighters who died in a fire at a ground zero skyscraper this month.