A Fire Department union official says poor communication between police and firefighters was a factor in the death of an officer during a Coney Island arson fire. 



Richard Alles, of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, told WNYC that firefighters didn't initially know that two police officers were trapped inside a high-rise on Surf Avenue on April 6. 



Officer Dennis Guerra died three days after he and his partner, Rosa Rodriguez, were overcome by carbon monoxide and smoke after running into the burning building. Rodriguez was released from the hospital last week.



Alles said Guerra could have survived if firefighters had known he was on the fire floor. 

WNYC said an NYPD spokesman had no comment on the remarks, while an FDNY spokesman called them "pure speculation."

Marcell Dockery, 16, has been charged with murder for allegedly setting the flames.