- Joined
- May 6, 2010
- Messages
- 16,234
Initially many,many,years ago the only FDNY Personnel that had a SCUBA Diving capability that was used while on duty were a few Members in the Marine Shops & their capability was basically used for inspection & repair of Fireboats & their piers....in the '60s a School Bus driving on the road alongside the water on the former Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island) ran off the road & submerged....there were no formal Water Rescue protocols ....R*2 responded & FF George Jablonsky (RIP) a former US NAVY Hard Hat Diver rigged himself up in the old (pre haz mat) wader suit & hood with a Wilson Facepeice hooked up to the old 400 ft hard air line connected to the large 400 cubic foot breathing air bottles on the Rescue Rig (none of which was designed for water rescue)...he searched the Bus using this setup....years later on a Summer Sunday afternoon around '76 a swimmer was missing off a pier in Red Hook Bklyn (again no formal protocols) the BKLYN Dispatcher came on the old Voice Alarm & asked if there were any Divers working in any BKLYN Units (well no one had gear available)...Lt John Cuniff (RIP) used an original Scott Mask (designed for smoke) to attempt to reach the victim...he had no weight belt available so in an attempt to get more power to submerge to the bottom on subsequent try's he was jumping from the top of high pilings on the pier..... in the late '70s there was still no formal Scuba Unit in the FDNY & also the NYPD (no disrespect intended) did not have a 24/7 Scuba Unit at that time....they did have a Well Respected & extremely capable Dive Unit that when On Duty had been basically involved in Police things like evidence search guns/weapons etc or looking for waterborne drug transporting or recovering a body from the water .... in the late "70s
there were several FFs in R*2 with some heavy duty backgrounds in SCUBA (mostly Former Military & some sport & or Commercial afterwards)....the Job at that time even when approached with facts on the possibility's were not receptive ....so Members grabbed the ball & ran....R*2 FF Rudy P. had a large pool available which he provided to R*2 where initial certification was gained by those not previously qualified but who participated Off Duty were qualified by FF Jim I. a PADI Qualifying Instructor.....subsequently FF Jim I. who had a 40' dive Boat took the BROTHERS out on his boat for Open Water Certification.... We had personal equipment on the Rig & were getting sent by the BKLYN DISPATCHERS but the Job still was not offering any help as far as better equipment or funding advancing/continuing training.....under pier FF was coming into play in some other Dept's so we got into devising methods to use it in that respect....that got some attention from HQ after we used some under water tactics on some Greenpoint Piers ....also there was the Fourth Alarm Pier Fire on one of the old West Side Manhattan Piers that was unstoppable & almost burned under the West Side Highway ....it was an asphalt covered pier & we had operated for a long time along with R*1 using pavement breakers etc but to no avail.... a Satellite Manifold (worth XXXX $) out on the pier wound up being submerged when the supply hoses burned off after Units were pulled back & a major portion of the pier burned / collapsed away....on the next tour in LT John V. called Sat*207 & asked about the manifold & they said it was history....he then called the Disp & said R*2 is going to MANH & they sent us .... we went out on the remaining stringers & guys dove on the site & recovered the now human shit & prophylactic rubber covered manifold....we brought it back to 207s Qtrs which was in with the BKLYN Boro Command & the BBCommander
was standing there as we pulled up.....another one (of many we operated at) that the Job took notice of was a report of a car into the water off a pier in SI ...we responded & operated for quite awhile during a rain & lightning storm .....back then before the Job really got into DIVING some Chiefs wanted to wrap things up if there did not seem something was plausible but on this particular job there were marks where we felt a vehicle did go off the pier in the spot a witness had pointed out earlier .... we insisted on keeping the dive going & subsequently recovered a young fellow who turned out to be the Son of an NYPD Fraternal Organization Member.....I dont know at what point our Job took notice or what prompted the NYPD to go 24/7 & establish Dive Rescue....after we started to get sanctioned training & were provided with better equipment from the Job we had sent a request to have a protocol in the event of a Dive Job to have an NYPD Helicopter pick us up at the BKLYN Navy Yard a few blocks from our then Carlton Ave Qtrs with ENG*210....that did not "FLY" (pun intended) & shortly thereafter the NYPD was in the Air Sea Rescue mode using Divers in their Helos.....after our Job decided to get on board buying Dive Gear & providing training R*1 was incorporated & provided some very experienced Divers & any Dive Job had both R*1 & R*2 responding. ....today of course the program has expanded exponentially in the FDNY....going back to the '80s after the Job got into it the amount of equipment became very large ....in R*2 in addition to the gear on the Rig we had built a large wooden cabinet on the appparatus floor with extra equipment that ENG*210 could bring to a Dive Job for backup equipment...the problem was that if they were out on something else ....in the '80s there was no dedicated SCUBA RIG so we approched the then Director of the Shops Nick Ciampo (Father of now LT Mike "Champ" LAD*45)....we asked if he could get one of the former Ambulances that were at the Sumner Ave Armory awaiting disposal & make one into a dedicated SCUBA UNIT carrying backup equipment....this he did & it was placed on Roosevelt Island & has been certainly upgraded today as far as the Rig itself & equipment & manning. ....some of the additional training even though the idea of additional training & "acknowledgement" by the Job was welcomed was kind of "SHITTY" pun intended...at Pier "A" alongside the old Qtrs of Marine*1 there was human "logs" floating alongside the Divers....at a subsequent site at the foot of Atlantic Ave in BKLYN (which turned out to be the heavy rain overflow of sewers from nearby Long Island College Hospital) resulted in so many Members of R*2 coming down with exploding shits that they had to bring in some Officers to fill the Company from around the Job who had not been in a Rescue since before some of the present FFs were born...one of the good things that happened at Pier "A" was that the GOOD John O'Hagan the then Chief of Marine Op's was having a problem determining if the was a pitch problem with one of the the boats props & we were there for a SCUBA Drill & FF Rich E. said how could it be measured & the Chief made a yardstick type stick & Rich geared up & dove under the Fire Boat & sized up the propellors this got the Chiefs attention.... as the program went forward the Job sent both R*1 & R*2 to courses on a rotating schedule at a place called Commercial Dive Institute it was run by a civilian & it was held on a barge docked in Whitestone QNS .....the first day we went we had an orientation on the barge then we were down on the dock alongside the barge preparing to go thru some exercises....Tom B. R*1 RIP returned to the barge to use the head ...all of a sudden there was a flushing sound & out of the side of the barge came Toms delivery right into the water where the drill was held....one of the few clean places that were used was St Johns Pool indoors behind our FH on Bergen St most of the rest of the drill sites mirrored the pollution of NYC waters... .....is a shame that something so functional took so long for HQ to get on board but Thankfully for lives already saved & those saved in the future we are ready ... i am not trying to chronicle every Dive related job because there were so many (& many unsung just like some Fires) but just trying to bring acknowledgement to those "doing it" ! .....& continuing to "do it" !....Sadly we did have a fatality of one of our own... R*2 FF Dave De franco Dan's Son a great FF & fellow ...he was participating in a deep water exercise off duty to increase his Certifications & was 110' down off the Atlantic Highlands....Continued Rest In Peace Dave.... aside from this about Dive Jobs & Dive Rigs..The early Haz Mat response's & the original Collapse Rig story will be a future story.
there were several FFs in R*2 with some heavy duty backgrounds in SCUBA (mostly Former Military & some sport & or Commercial afterwards)....the Job at that time even when approached with facts on the possibility's were not receptive ....so Members grabbed the ball & ran....R*2 FF Rudy P. had a large pool available which he provided to R*2 where initial certification was gained by those not previously qualified but who participated Off Duty were qualified by FF Jim I. a PADI Qualifying Instructor.....subsequently FF Jim I. who had a 40' dive Boat took the BROTHERS out on his boat for Open Water Certification.... We had personal equipment on the Rig & were getting sent by the BKLYN DISPATCHERS but the Job still was not offering any help as far as better equipment or funding advancing/continuing training.....under pier FF was coming into play in some other Dept's so we got into devising methods to use it in that respect....that got some attention from HQ after we used some under water tactics on some Greenpoint Piers ....also there was the Fourth Alarm Pier Fire on one of the old West Side Manhattan Piers that was unstoppable & almost burned under the West Side Highway ....it was an asphalt covered pier & we had operated for a long time along with R*1 using pavement breakers etc but to no avail.... a Satellite Manifold (worth XXXX $) out on the pier wound up being submerged when the supply hoses burned off after Units were pulled back & a major portion of the pier burned / collapsed away....on the next tour in LT John V. called Sat*207 & asked about the manifold & they said it was history....he then called the Disp & said R*2 is going to MANH & they sent us .... we went out on the remaining stringers & guys dove on the site & recovered the now human shit & prophylactic rubber covered manifold....we brought it back to 207s Qtrs which was in with the BKLYN Boro Command & the BBCommander
was standing there as we pulled up.....another one (of many we operated at) that the Job took notice of was a report of a car into the water off a pier in SI ...we responded & operated for quite awhile during a rain & lightning storm .....back then before the Job really got into DIVING some Chiefs wanted to wrap things up if there did not seem something was plausible but on this particular job there were marks where we felt a vehicle did go off the pier in the spot a witness had pointed out earlier .... we insisted on keeping the dive going & subsequently recovered a young fellow who turned out to be the Son of an NYPD Fraternal Organization Member.....I dont know at what point our Job took notice or what prompted the NYPD to go 24/7 & establish Dive Rescue....after we started to get sanctioned training & were provided with better equipment from the Job we had sent a request to have a protocol in the event of a Dive Job to have an NYPD Helicopter pick us up at the BKLYN Navy Yard a few blocks from our then Carlton Ave Qtrs with ENG*210....that did not "FLY" (pun intended) & shortly thereafter the NYPD was in the Air Sea Rescue mode using Divers in their Helos.....after our Job decided to get on board buying Dive Gear & providing training R*1 was incorporated & provided some very experienced Divers & any Dive Job had both R*1 & R*2 responding. ....today of course the program has expanded exponentially in the FDNY....going back to the '80s after the Job got into it the amount of equipment became very large ....in R*2 in addition to the gear on the Rig we had built a large wooden cabinet on the appparatus floor with extra equipment that ENG*210 could bring to a Dive Job for backup equipment...the problem was that if they were out on something else ....in the '80s there was no dedicated SCUBA RIG so we approched the then Director of the Shops Nick Ciampo (Father of now LT Mike "Champ" LAD*45)....we asked if he could get one of the former Ambulances that were at the Sumner Ave Armory awaiting disposal & make one into a dedicated SCUBA UNIT carrying backup equipment....this he did & it was placed on Roosevelt Island & has been certainly upgraded today as far as the Rig itself & equipment & manning. ....some of the additional training even though the idea of additional training & "acknowledgement" by the Job was welcomed was kind of "SHITTY" pun intended...at Pier "A" alongside the old Qtrs of Marine*1 there was human "logs" floating alongside the Divers....at a subsequent site at the foot of Atlantic Ave in BKLYN (which turned out to be the heavy rain overflow of sewers from nearby Long Island College Hospital) resulted in so many Members of R*2 coming down with exploding shits that they had to bring in some Officers to fill the Company from around the Job who had not been in a Rescue since before some of the present FFs were born...one of the good things that happened at Pier "A" was that the GOOD John O'Hagan the then Chief of Marine Op's was having a problem determining if the was a pitch problem with one of the the boats props & we were there for a SCUBA Drill & FF Rich E. said how could it be measured & the Chief made a yardstick type stick & Rich geared up & dove under the Fire Boat & sized up the propellors this got the Chiefs attention.... as the program went forward the Job sent both R*1 & R*2 to courses on a rotating schedule at a place called Commercial Dive Institute it was run by a civilian & it was held on a barge docked in Whitestone QNS .....the first day we went we had an orientation on the barge then we were down on the dock alongside the barge preparing to go thru some exercises....Tom B. R*1 RIP returned to the barge to use the head ...all of a sudden there was a flushing sound & out of the side of the barge came Toms delivery right into the water where the drill was held....one of the few clean places that were used was St Johns Pool indoors behind our FH on Bergen St most of the rest of the drill sites mirrored the pollution of NYC waters... .....is a shame that something so functional took so long for HQ to get on board but Thankfully for lives already saved & those saved in the future we are ready ... i am not trying to chronicle every Dive related job because there were so many (& many unsung just like some Fires) but just trying to bring acknowledgement to those "doing it" ! .....& continuing to "do it" !....Sadly we did have a fatality of one of our own... R*2 FF Dave De franco Dan's Son a great FF & fellow ...he was participating in a deep water exercise off duty to increase his Certifications & was 110' down off the Atlantic Highlands....Continued Rest In Peace Dave.... aside from this about Dive Jobs & Dive Rigs..The early Haz Mat response's & the original Collapse Rig story will be a future story.
