Ladder 107/Ladder 175/Bn 29 - 79 NJ Ave - cont.
Bn 29 (BFB District Engineer 9) - original battalion chief
"DISTRICT ENGINEER WILLIAM McCARTHY. William McCARTHY is one of the five
Foremen whom Commissioner ENNIS, on July 18, 1892, decorated with three
trumpets, the insignia of the rank of District Engineer. Among the five,
there was not one better entitled to advancement than Mr. McCARTHY, who had
risen from the ranks simply on his own merits. It was on June 10, 1873,
that Mr. McCARTHY was made a member of the Fire Department and assigned to
duty with Engine No. 12. He had been in the Department but a few months
when a fire occurred in an old frame building at the foot of Grand Street.
The building had a gable roof and the only foothold for the firemen was in
the gutter. McCARTHY was standing in the gutter and near him was Foreman
KEIGHLER of Engine No. 13. In attempting to change his position Foreman
KEIGHLER's foot slipped from the edge of the gutter, and had it not been for
Private McCARTHY's prompt action and firm grip, the sturdy Foreman of Engine
No. 13 would have fallen to the street. It was an heroic act on the part
of McCARTHY, for in stretching out his hand to save his brother fireman he
well knew that he was in eminent peril of being dragged down to a horrible
death with the man he was trying to save. But luck and skill were with
him, and his strong right arm clung with death-like tenacity to its burden
until assistance arrived and Foreman KEIGHLER was rescued from his perilous
position. It was an exciting moment in the lives of both men. Foreman
KEIGHLER and a few others who witnessed the brave act have never forgotten
the occasion nor ceased to praise the gallant deed. At the Locust Hill oil
works fire, where Foreman Charles KEEGAN lost his life, John W. Smith, then
Assistant Chief Engineer, was an eye-witness to this scene:?One of the crude
oil tanks sprung a leak and the flames ignited the oil. A man with his
clothing ablaze rushed out of the building and sprang off the dock. It was
low tide, and instead of jumping into the water, the man landed in the soft
mud. Just at this juncture Mr. McCARTHY, then a member of Truck No. 4, was
seen running in the direction of the man who had jumped overboard. As he
ran, he was pulling off his heavy fireman's overcoat, and when he reached
the point where the man, whom he then supposed was Foreman KEEGAN, had
jumped off, he leaped off into the mud and with his coat began to beat out
the flames, which were fast eating away the flesh of the unfortunate man,
who was afterward found to be not Foreman KEEGAN but Captain DEARING, the
owner of a canal-boat laden with oil. When assistance arrived McCARTHY
aided materially in getting the unconscious form of Captain DEARING to the
dock, where he died soon after.
In the earlier history of the present Fire Department men were not advanced
in rank through civil service examinations, but were selected for promotion
simply by their superiors' estimate of their ability and worthiness. From
the day that " Billy " McCARTHY entered the service his adaption for the
business was noted by his superiors in office, and especially by Assistant
Chief Smith. He was a man who could be depended upon at all times. His
judgment was good, and no better worker could be found in the Department.
When he was detailed for a time to the sub-telegraph office in the Eastern
District, there was never a fire of any importance but McCARTHY reported for
duty to his company and took an active part in the work. When Engine
Company No. 21 was organized Assistant Chief Smith recommended McCARTHY for
Foreman and he was promoted to that rank on July 1, 1885, and placed in
command of that company. The man who recommended him says, "I have never
had reason to regret that recommendation." Mr. McCARTHY was born in the
Emerald Isle on June 16, 1847, and came to this Country with his parents
when quite a young lad. He served his adopted country in the Civil War as
a member of Company 1, 87th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteers, and after receiving
an honorable discharge took up his residence in Brooklyn. His service in
the Fire Department constitutes one of the most creditable careers recorded
in the Department annals." "Our Firemen - Original History of BFD"