GLORY DAYS

Mr Gage, in your last sentence in the above post of "Gory Days", (added to G"L"ORY DAYS), "you" thank us for reading...hope you enjoyed.

Well of course, I can't speak for EVERYBODY here, but I hope that my vote does count. Without a doubt in my mind, as I read these stories they are GREAT. Not only that, the pictures that you have posted along with it, are CLASSICs that take us back to those days when parts of NYC had hit rock bottom and those firefighters, police officers, ems members, or those doctors and nurses working the emergency rooms in those over pack hospitals, were caught right up in the middle of it.

Back then, my primary care physician was in her early school days working in a major NYC inner city hospital emergency room. Whenever I visit her, our conversation is more about "back in those days", than of my own health. She usually just tells me, "You're all set Willy (Thank the Good Lord), then the next five or ten minutes of my scheduled visit we talk about the GLORY and GORY DAYS, that Mr Gage has been telling us about. In fact, I think she might enjoy reading these stories too. So when I see her next January, I'm going to pass this onto her.

I gotta also tell you that there's not too many other patients she has that live around here, that can relate to those NYC days of the past, like Mr Willy D. I guess our yearly incomes are kinda different but we can still talk the same game.
 
"Mr. GAGE?"....please, all my friends call me Johnny, "Mr. Gage" is my pops... Glad to hear you're fit as a fiddle (your special secret diet is paying off!...more Big Macs and a Pepe pizza please!)...yes indeed, turn your Doc onto the wonderful Nycfire.net stories and recollections found on the hundreds of posts and threads contributed to this net, by all means.


 
Hello Troops, I'm going to switch gears for now and resume the finale of "Gory Days" after this column in a few days as I begin a solemn observance of the upcoming week and will be out of service.

9/11 carries a heavy burden of memory and it is right that it should not pass from our memory. We remember the heroism of the many who lost their lives in saving others, we grieve still for those who suffered and died, friends and strangers, family and and friends. We remember the death and devestation our eyes were not meant to see. And we remember the feeling of emptiness when our "world stopped turning, that September day"*. Never forget.

                                                                *********
REMEMBERING "THAT" SEPTEMBER


It is the end of August, 2001. I am currently assigned to Ladder 31 and I am sitting at the kitchen table of ?The Big House?, awaiting roll call and enjoying a cup of coffee before committee work starts. Lt Luby, the boss of the day comes down from his office and joins me. ?Johnny? he says, ?the Battalion has informed us we need to detail a man down to the First Division to reinforce the lack of manpower in downtown Manhattan,'' He continues,? it is not your detail as you have seniority over the next selected member, but the detail would be difficult on the junior member as he lives a distance away, and don?t you live in the area??... I get the message, and I?m not about to make any waves, ?No problem, Boss, I?ll take the detail?.

The detail is for ninety days, and I will have a choice to which company I will take the detail to. Anyway, by taking the detail the reduced travel commute will afford me extra time to study for the upcoming lieutenants exam scheduled for October.  I suggest to the boss that I would prefer to do my detail at Ladder 10, in the shadow of the WTC South Tower and only a few blocks from my apartment in Battery Park City that I can walk to work... Furthermore, being assigned to L 10 for the next few months, the night tours are usually very quiet as city workers vacate lower Manhattan and back to their homes in outlying suburbs leaving the World Trade Center area desolate and quiet, another perfect opportunity for me to cram in additional quality study time. The detail will benefit me and my studying.

My detail starts September 7, a day tour. The Captain of L 10 has asked me to go to the South Street Seaport firehouse, E 4 and L 15, they need a Ladder Chauffeur for the day tour to drive their Mack Tower Ladder, ?10-4 Boss, on my way?.... A young firefighter, named Scott Larsen  helps me with inspecting the compartments and tools. He is a jovial young man and I can tell by his spirit he loves the job, he is just off his probation and we have fun together going over the tower ladder and inspecting tools. I?m in luck too, the boss is my old buddy from our training school days, Joe Leavy. Joe and I stood shoulder to shoulder in ranks during our time at the ?Rock?. Joe is the Lieutenant today and it will be fun driving him and catching up on old times. Joe is very meticulous in everything he does, he even speaks clearly and confidently. Joe loves working downtown Manhattan, he has an interest in building architecture and the area certainly has plenty of that.

The following day I am off, and will now report for my first night tour September 9th into the 10th, second night tour 10th into the 11th at L 10 as I have no mutual partners at this time and working straight tours. So tonight, my first night tour, I am the Ladder Chauffeur of L 10 for this tour and driving the Captain; Paul M., Lieutenant Greg Atlas from E 10 welcomes me to the firehouse, ?a little slice of heaven? as he describes the joint.... I get a good jump on studying upstairs in a small quiet back room carved out of the firehouse to study. The night has been very quiet and I am looking forward to the premier of Steven Spielberg's ?Band of Brothers? on tv...Just before the epic starts, the Captain stops by the apparatus floor tv room and tells me that my temporary detail group assignment is loaded with manpower, he is going to adjust ?the chart? and I will be moved to another group for the remainder of my detail to fill vacancies. So, tonight will be my last night and I will go on a three day leave, the 11th, 12th and 13th, and report for the day tour on the 14th. Sweet I think, the next few days I will be off, head over to Staten Island for the lieutenant prep class on the 11th...it is all going to work out!



SEPTEMBER 10th

BRIAN

On September 10th, my colleague and good buddy Brian from L 38 will be returning from a serious fire in Queens where he fractured his leg at the infamous ?Fathers Day Fire?. Brian is the boss of the elite Rescue 4.  on Father's Day a fire in a hardware store in Astoria Queens exploded and killed three firefighters, two of the firefighters from Brian's company. Brian was inside when the explosion occurred and suffered a fractured leg and placed on medical leave...But now his fracture has healed and Brian is chomping at the bit to do what he loves to do, fire duty.

It wasn?t only a few weeks ago that I invited Brian and his wife Donna to join my wife an me for dinner near our Battery Park apartment. We decided to dine at ?Tall Ships Bar and Grille? at the base of the Marriot hotel next to the WTC South Tower #2. During our conversation Brian asked me to consider transferring to R 4, which I politely declined ...again...we laughed, dine al fresco and felt alive in the cool brisk air next to the towering WTC. Brian surprised me by telling me that he is looking forward to going back to work shortly, in fact the next week.

I worked with Brian during our Ladder 38 days when he transferred in from a Harlem Engine Company. We were both the same age, had a side business painting homes, young children with the same age...often there were times we would enjoy each others company while cleaning our paint brushes together at the apparatus floor slop sink... and wonder ?does it get any better than this??. We were assigned to the same groups and worked together almost every tour. Brian was passionate about studying for promotion, I knew he was going places!  Brian, was a tough and aggressive firefighter despite his laid back relaxed demeanor, he was always smiling. Many early mornings after runs Brian turned me onto peanut butter english muffins. Brian and I parted ways, he wanted more action at R4 and I was looking for more work in Bushwick. During our time separated we stayed in touch... Brian asked me for a photograph of me in fire gear, I dug one out and gave it to him. Unbeknownst to me Brian was in the process of producing the exciting ?Brothers in Battle? video... where he did incorporate my photo!

On September 10th Brian left his new dream home he and Donna had just moved into. He had been ?eyeballing? this house for some time, when  the home went up for sale, Brian and Donna jumped all over it. Tonight Brian has been called in for overtime, he will be the covering boss of the Bronx Rescue 3.


Future Legend Proby Brian E 36


MIKE

I was assigned the groups to drive Lt. Mike Warchola and Lt. Vinny Giammona. Mike was a fun and interesting, but complex character. He had a dark, funny warped sense of humor and we got along just great in the front seat of the rig, in fact we often shared intimate conversations especially during building inspection when the troops would be inspecting buildings for the assigned three hours and we would sit monitoring the radio together with a cup of coffee.

During my time driving Mike, the company was  just recovering from the Watts Street fire where the Captain of Ladder 5 John Drennan, Chris Siedenberg and Jimmy Young died horrifically at the Watts Street fire. Mike almost died in a fire as a proby from smoke inhalation and he would be very upset during a period of time when the FDNY was experiencing line of duty deaths almost every few weeks. I accompanied Mike to one of the funerals of a Brother who died at Father's Day fire, standing side by side with him in formation he confided how distressed he was of dying so horrifically. I consoled Mike, as terrible as it was, I reassured him it was an unfortunate accident...Mike would agree, and feel better. Mike was divorced and a voracious reader, he would read a three inch paperback novel in two days sitting at his home, and tell me the next day how he hated the book, but felt compelled to finish it. He was super smart, too, I have heard people describe Mike as mensa smart probably the smartest person I ever met, although he was not a big conversationalist, when he spoke his depth of knowledge on any subject was amazing especially his insight of travel and science was staggering.

Mike could be a little high strung to, and I knew the right time to push his buttons...every now and then, when a run would come in I?d look at him climbing into the rig and ask ?you know where this box is, I haven?t a clue?? a look of despair with a hint of panic he would exclaim ?Ain?t my job to know where we are going!! it's your job to know!!?.

Mike was divorced, but had a girlfriend. He would prepare for date night as he would go clamming out on Long Island near his dad's house in Southampton and rake in a couple dozen clams, run into the nearby supermarket and buy whatever linguini pasta that was on sale and make linguini and clam sauce dinner for his girlfriend...oh yeah, he would rent a movie at the local video store near his home in Queens, usually a ?Godzilla? type genre as he was a big fan of those creatures, especially Mothra. The next tour we worked together he would love telling me about his date and especially how ?frugal? he was. I said he was a ?cheap bastard?.

Mike often worked up a good sweat on the treadmill in the firehouse, as soon as he as done he would bum a cigarette from someone nearby, rip off the filter, turn the cig around and light the torn off filter side and smoke the cig without a filter...he was a character!  Mike was a passionate traveler of the US parks, like his dating custom he also was a frugal traveler driving cross country to national parks in his blue and gray duct taped Datsun pick up truck packed with sandwiches he made at home instead of stopping off at restaurants. Mike in a sense was frugal, and I chided him often, but he was saving every nickel and dime for his two young children's education.

Today is  September 10th, a day of mixed emotions for Mike, reflecting upon his career...tomorrow morning he will count down his final twenty four hours as a FDNY lieutenant at Ladder 5. He has twenty four single dollar bills in his pocket and will peel one off each hour as the countdown begins.


VINNY

September 10th Vinny is working a straight up twenty-four hour tour, meaning he reported for duty at 0900 hrs and will be relieved by LT Mike Warchola the following morning at 0900 hrs, a special day awaits him. Along with Mike, depending on the tour I chaueffer either Mike or Vinny. I couldn?t ask for better colleagues to share the front seat of the rig with.

Vinny is one of the most energetic firefighters I have ever met, he could run circles around the energizer bunny. Already wound up when he reports for duty, he and I like to start off the tour with a cup of double espresso! Vinny is a real gym enthusiast and physical fitness fanatic, his dedicated workouts reveal he is in great shape. Whenever we would get proby firefighters that just graduated proby school and most physically fit of their lives, Vinny would offer a friendly challenge to race them up ten stories with full firefighting gear including breathing apparatus in a local hi-rise. It never failed, Vinny would be up at the top floor waiting for them.

Vinny was genuinely funny, his wit and remarks were humorous and came naturally. Special night-tours he would conduct the shift change ?Roll Call? in an Elvis costume complete with beer belly...he had a wonderful exuberant personality on top of a great sense of humor. Vinny's sense of humor also extended to his family; he had four daughters whose name could be converted to become a boys name, for instance Nicoletta was called Nicky, Daniella was called Danny and same for the other two. He would introduce them as ?His boys? to newcomers. Vinny was a relentless participant at his daughters soccer games, his abounding energy had him running up and down along the sidelines in front of the other parents. I can only imagine a young Vinny who must have been a terror to his school teachers...but a dream to his wife's mother.

Vinny had a serious side when we were responding to a job or turned the corner and saw work ahead. Vinny was fearless and  gutsy on the fire floor, a true leader... the younger members trusted and  loved working with him.  And in just twenty four hours, when Mike comes in to relieve Vinny he will be headed straight home to celebrate his fortieth birthday where his wife will be setting up for his special day and special birthday party just as all big kids want.

The last tour before I transferred from Ladder 5 and driving Vinny, I'm backing the tiller truck into quarters from an early morning job and noticing a beautiful serene spring sunlight starting to rise over the buildings in front of the firehouse... now parked inside the firehouse, activate the air brakes and shut down the motor...the cab is quiet and I take in the beauty of the new day...I notice Vinny is doing the same and Vinny says to me with his smiling face; ?Danny, y?know, these are our ?GLORY DAYS!?.


Birthday Boy Vinny

0846. 1028.

0846 hours the following morning, September 11, 2001 fate will not be kind to Brian, Mike and Vinny.

Captain Brian Hickey (R4 working OT in R3) starts responding to the WTC with his company of Rescue firefighters. Lieutenant Vinny Giammona is filling in Lieutenant Mike Warchola of the days scheduled events as the firehouse computer alerts ?all companies? to the WTC. Vinny quickly calls his wife that he will be home late... ?off duty? he jumps into the empty seat of Ladder 5 as the heroes roll out under the big red overhead apparatus door to a rapidly changing world.

1028 hours. Brian, Mike and Vinny have perished in the heaping smoldering wreckage of the collapsed towers that plummeted in ten seconds at over one hundred miles per hour. Along with them is Lt. ?Slice of Heaven? Atlas, L 15 Proby Scott Larsen and my training school buddy L 15 Lt. Joe Leavy.

Only Brians helmet and a small bone fragment was found among the tons of debris. Mike, who I had to calm down and reassure that previous Line of duty deaths were such freak accidents and his premonition of dying a horrible death, slowly suffocates in the stairwell not too far from trapped Ladder 6 members, transmits a call for help dies an agonizing, slow death...on the desk back at the firehouse is twenty four single dollars, untouched.  Vinny was last seen, his face with confidence, focus and determination climbing the stairs in WTC 1 to help rescue trapped workers on upper floors instead of heading home to enjoy his special birthday is never recovered...One could only surmise that Vinny kept climbing the stairs faster than anyone straight into heaven.
                                                                     
                                                                      ********

September 11. Today we pray for the families and remember the victims of 9/11. I will take this day off, have an English muffin with peanut butter, find a peaceful quiet place to pray and never forget the many lives murdered and special friends lost on this day, remember those who served, and those who carry on.

                                                                                              ?GLORY DAYS, well, they'll pass you by?"



"Slice of Heaven"; Lt. Gregg Atlas E 10


Jovial Proby; FF Scott Larsen L 15


Proby School Buddy; Lt. Jim Leavy L 15



Brother in Battle, Great Friend; Capt Brian Hickey (Cov, R3)


Frugal Best Boss; Lt. Mike Warchola L 5


Elvis Impersonator and Best Boss x2; Lt. Vinny Giammona L 5

(* "Where were you" by Alan Jackson)


                                                                            KMG-365
 
Thank you, Dan.  You are a great writer.  You already have a huge chunk of a book written . . . just download it (if you don't already have it on disk), rearrange some of it, get yourself an agent, and get it published.  Maybe I'm naive, but it think it would do just as well as Dennis Smith's.
 
I do not want to piggyback on Dan's sincere recollection's but since we "Never Forget" i would want to add to it....as stated Brian Hickey was a FF in ENG*36 then LAD*38 then R*4 ......he & his Brother (not OTJ but involved in video productions) had produced the great "Brothers In Battle" video ... i was a LT in SQ*41 & Brian was a FF detailed from R*4 to 41....i had not seen the video but he brought a draft copy with him & we got to view it in between runs....a  few years later Brian was Promoted to LT & after awhile got a LTs spot in 126 while i was the CPT of 275....we had many jobs together & before the organization of 133 126 was our 1st Due Truck on a lot of our boxes ....when i transferred to 126 as the CPT Brian was already there as a LT & was ready to step up & get involved with any projects .....i wanted to move some stuff around in the office & he said "tell me what you want"....Brian being a painter on the side brought all his stuff in & painted the whole office after we rearranged it ...about the same time the Job was moving into the computer age which was totally foreign to me (i was just getting past using the fax machine for the daily manpower) .....Brian was already a wiz with the computer & taught me a lot on the keyboard & screen....as said by Dan Brian was badly injured at the Fathers Day Fire...i remember Brian leading the Procession to the Church for his Chauffer Harry Ford's Funeral Mass & being bent a little with a sideways limp as his leg was not fully healed .....as said on 9-11-01 he was working OT to cover an opening for the CPT of R*3....that morning as we were at the site guys said Brian was working in R*3 .....& later (as rumors fly) some said he had been transported by boat to a Hospital in New Jersey alive which proved to be erroneous.....at Brians Funeral Mass his Dad Ray Hickey a great Man (who always spoke up for the Fire Service & wrote many "Letters To the Editor" published in The Chief  gave the Eulogy & stated " i had 2 Sons ...both died ...one from cancer but before he lived for several months & got to say goodbyes to all while suffering & my other Son did not get get the chance to say goodbye as he died in several seconds at the WTC....which was better ? ".....the Church was silent for quite awhile.......  I did not know LT Mike Warchola LAD*5 but i came OTJ with his Brother Dennis who was assigned to 230 & myself to 108 in an adjoining FH....LT Vinny Giamonna LAD*5 was a Baseball Player along with my Son on the same team at St Kevin's  .....Vinny was OTJ a serious FF/LT but also reminded me of Adam Sandler at times  ....Vinny had a way to lighten things up.... as Dan said about Vinnys  children's names his Sister (Married to a FF & survior of both collapses ) have a Daughter named Vincenza in Honor of Vinny. ......Continued Rest In Peace To All.
 
18 years have passed and yet it's going to be a very hard day again. To those who are no longer with us may God Bless you and your families and to those ailing as a result of the cowardly attack may St. Jude heal you.
 
I remember going to classes at the FDNY Fire Academy. Those classes would be given by members of the FDNY who would donate their time to share their firefighting knowledge and experience with others. Those classes would be given every three months charging a small fee. The money collected would in turn go to the FDNY Burn Center.

Two of the most frequent contributors (FDNY Members) who gave those classes were Ray Downey and Andy Fredricks. They were TWO of the 343 FDNY members who were murdered that day.

We will NEVER FORGET

Where were you ?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPHnadJ-0hE 
 
'GORY DAYS': P 10; FIRE, MAN HIT BY TRAIN and EPILOGUE

My Partner Lawrence and I are wrapping up our graveyard shift, we dropped off our last victim at Brookdale Hospital and are about to find someplace to grab a cup of coffee. Lawrence is driving and I’m the tech, I call into the Brooklyn CO with the telephone style handset that we are available. The CO immediately responds in return; “Liberty 374, you’re the only available; respond to a fire, E 98 and Livonia for a fire and jumper”. Lawrence takes off, this is out of our response area and usually covered by the Kings County crew, but they are all tied up. The CO has additional information and relays to me, the fire victim is a jumper from the fourth floor. The fire is located directly across the street from FDNY Engine 283’s quarters. The building is a huge six story apartment house with five wings.

The fire is mostly contained as Lawrence parks the ambulance a short distance away from the operating fire apparatus and hose lines. Just as soon as Lawrence stops I hop out to open the two back doors of the bus, I reach in to push the release mechanism holding the stretcher and slide it out of the bracket that holds the stretcher secured. Focused on releasing the stretcher there is a voice behind me; “Man, you gotta get me to a hospital”. I’m jostling with the stretcher and again the voice behind me says; “Mister, please, you gotta get me to a hospital”. I tell the ‘voice’ without turning around as I gather more supplies; “In a minute, I’ll be right with you”. As I now turn and look at the voice requesting assistance I see a man, his skin is charred and hangs from his outstretched arms, his shirt has been burnt off and he only has pants on just barely. He is completely burnt over most of his soot darkened body with a few small pink patches. He tells me he had to “jump” from the window. “You Jumped?” I ask incredulously? He told me he had to, from the fourth floor he was burning up!”. Well, my good man, let’s hop into the back of the bus and have a seat on the stretcher!

MAN STRUCK BY TRAIN

Lawrence and I are pulling out of Brookdale Hospital, after just dropping off our last patient. Lawrence is driving and I’m the tech tonight, I grab the telephone handset radio from the console and advise Brooklyn CO; “Liberty 374; 10-98” from Brookdale. It is the last day of May and my days with EMS are counting down. I received a written notice from the Washington DC Fire Department that I am being considered for hire and if all goes well I will be sworn in as a probationary firefighter the next class which is scheduled for the early part of August.

Within a minute after advising the CO we were available, the Brooklyn CO assigned us another job; “Meet Transit Police, DOA on the tracks, Kingston Avenue and Eastern Parkway”. Leaving Brookdale we are only a few blocks away. Lawrence shoots up Rockaway Parkway to Eastern and hangs a left, Kingston is about four blocks away. On the southside of Eastern Parkway a black and white Transit Police car idles with two Police Officers inside standing by for us.

During my period with EMS, there were three Police Agencies covering NYC; the Housing Authority Police who patrolled the Projects, the Transit Police who patrolled the subways and bus lines, and the City Police, NYPD. Years later, the three agencies merged into one during the Giuliani administration.

Lawrence pulls up behind their vehicle and parks. The two officers emerge as I head to the back of the bus to grab the stretcher. One of the officers advises me before I get to the back; “You won’t need that”. He advises Lawrence and I, the victim has been dead for days and we are there to pronounce the death and remove the body. The PO pops the trunk from their car and removes a black body bag and tucks it under his arm. “Follow us” he says.

Lawrence and I follow the two PO down the steps into the subway station, the stench of urine is prevalent and ripe, black puddles surround and stain the garbage cans but nobody flinches. The odor is ubiquitous in subway stations and elevators as much as the smell of freshly cut grass is in the countryside. The power to the tracks have been turned off and all four of us proceed through the station to the end of the dimly lit platform. From there we walk down a few steps and cautiously trudge in a single file on the ‘catwalk’, a small dark path that juts two feet from the dirty black walls of the tunnel, the path is below the platform but about a foot above the track. I aim my flashlight slightly ahead of me to make sure of the dark footing.

Now we have reached the end of the catwalk and are walking on top of the greasy wooden railroad ties, we are about a football field length from the station. The lights of the station look far away, there is a haze that swirls around the lights and I keep looking over my shoulder for oncoming headlights. It’s freaky when you hear the echo of a train nearing, and relieved when you realize it is on the other track. The PO comes to a halt and shines his flashlight onto what appears to be a dusty black knapsack without shoulder straps that is laying adjacent to the outside of the track and against the cement wall. Shining my flashlight and looking closer, I notice a few bones protruding from this dirty satchel.

It’s a DOA alright, a compacted DOA at that. The body must have been hit numerous times by passing trains over a long period of time and the body has been reduced to a small rucksack made from twisted clothing with all the bodily fluids drained out. The PO zips open the body bag and I lift the body, it is not heavy at all, and place the remains in the body bag. The body is carried like a bowling bag between me and the PO upstairs and into the back of the bus. From here Lawrence and I transport the victim to Kings County Morgue for identification.

MY LAST ASSIGNMENT
EMS LOG: 8/1/79 0735 hrs PENNSYLVANIA AVE & LINDEN BLVD COLLISION

Tonight is my final night tour with the NYC EMS. I have been called to join the ranks of the Washington DC Fire Department and I am scheduled to be sworn in on August 6, 1979.

It's fitting that my final assignment would be in the heart of East New York, the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and the heavily traveled Linden Blvd. Only a little more than ten years earlier when my family made regular weekend visits from our new Long Island home back to Canarsie and other parts of Brooklyn to visit family, my dad would exit from the Belt Parkway and head north up Pennsylvania Avenue. Starret City was yet to be built and Pennsylvania Avenue was a wide open thoroughfare without traffic signals, only tall cattails bordering both sides of the roadway.

Cruising up Pennsylvania Avenue in our 1961 black Ford Falcon station wagon my dad would drive us over the swells and dips in the road like a roller coaster as my brothers and I would be lifted from our seats whooping it up. This morning my final act as an NYC EMS Ambulance Corpsman would be treating a minor injury on this magical Pennsylvania Avenue.

'GORY DAYS'; EPILOGUE

In the spring of 1978, a young lad from the suburbs of Long Island casually filled out an application to join the ranks of NYC EMS as an Ambulance Corpsman. Little did I know, the journey would be incredible. For thirteen months assigned to Liberty Avenue Outpost I responded to and witnessed unimaginable shocking jobs from my beat up white and orange bus; ‘Liberty 375 and 374’, smack dab in the middle of a notorious wild west neighborhood I never knew existed. I was very fortunate to have worked with many amazing and remarkable professional veterans of NYC EMS that willingly shared their invaluable lessons of savvy street sense, finesse and empathy. I am humbly indebted to them for passing along their streetwise expertise of medical knowledge and proficiency. An experience that still seems inconceivable, if not for the notes I took and entered into a daily activity diary I would have to question myself of what I actually experienced during those graveyard tours. It certainly was an awesome journey, I was lucky and blessed to be a small part of it.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! KMG-365

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Johnny, Thank you for presenting us with your NYC EMS "Gory Days" Stories.

As I read through every word, I felt like I was right there following you guys around. Those who work any EMS System are often "The Forgotten Hero's". Yet they save lives EVERY DAY. Of course we have members here who are a part of busy EMS Systems and we are all very THANKFUL for the GREAT JOB they do.

Your stories also presented some of the dangers you faced. Never knowing what's behind the door you are about to enter.

It is a very tough job which requires strength as well as the ability to communicate directly with citizens from all walks of life as well as family members.

I can tell you that our friend Garrett L (69METS) was always a respected firefighter from what I hear. I'm sure it was the same thing while he worked the NYC EMS as well.

We have other members here who also worked the NYC EMS before the merger into the FDNY/EMS. As you know Dan, another good friend, Charlie T., known here as "memory master" was a part of it, I believe retiring as a Lt. 

I don't know if many guys knew this but this site owner, now an FDNY Lt., Tommy Bendick, also worked in the NYC EMS Health and Hospitals as well. I believe he was on duty and on the scene with the NYC EMS Health and Hospitals during the attack of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

These days we have "John T"., grandson of John Bendick and nephew of Tommy Bendick working the FDNY/EMS system out of a busy EMS Station in the Bronx.

We also have Philip D., aka "Lebby" working within the FDNY/EMS

Whether it was 1979 back in the "Gory Days" of the NYC EMS Health and Hospitals, or some 40 years later within the FDNY/EMS, lives are still being "SAVED" because of people like them.

THANK YOU TO ALL FOR WHAT YOU DO. Thank you as well to Dan, aka "Johnny" for telling us your stories. Should a book ever be written or a movie ever made, we were all lucky enough to get a sneak preview. 
 
^^^ Thank You to our EMS Crew's .....  i took my last "Official Ride on an FDNY Rig"  which was an FDNY EMS Bus taking me to a Hospital.
 
Well said, Willy. I agree with you 100% . . . and as I have told Dan, he HAS to put it in book form. ;)
 
HOUSEWATCH

Every firehouse in NYC has a housewatch (HW). If the kitchen is the soul of the firehouse it is safe to say that the housewatch is the heartbeat. Inside the housewatch the daily activity is recorded in a journal, telephone calls received, visitors and chiefs welcomed and alarms dispatched. The HW is where the group chart is displayed, the department radio monitored and department orders maintained.

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In pre-war firehouses, the HW area was a small space in the front of the firehouse on the apparatus floor that was designed to receive alarms and monitor the telegraph system. The houswatchman would record incoming bells on a large chalkboard and turnout the company when required. Usually the area was opened and exposed to heat during the summer and cold during the winter, a small desk with a straight back wooden chair was placed on a slab of concrete a step up from the apparatus floor, the area surrounded with brass railings and poles. The firefighter on HW duty wore a dress uniform shirt with tie and a bell cap, mounted nearby was his name plate with rank affixed to the side of the HW somewhere viewable to visitors.

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Since the days of the horses, with the assistance of members' handi-work these small HW areas started to transform into small rooms with walls, windows, a ceiling and climate control. With the apparatus floor hot during the summer and cold during the winter, doors were added to make it comfortable for the three hours shifts. Future HW’s became more elaborate with creative brick work, cedar shakes, texture plywood and incorporated pocket doors. Newer firehouses built after the late 70’s were designed with a larger HW that resembled an office with spacious surroundings like Ladder 5 and Ladder 15’s quarters.

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VERBOTEN! Early days TV’s were not permitted at one point. In many older HW’s throughout the city you could still find a small “cabinet” over the desk with a hinged cover that could contain a small portable TV inside and if a Chief arrived for roll call or unexpectedly the front cover would quickly close hiding that dastardly distraction.

Years ago a bench was strictly forbidden inside the HW, you were not permitted to have a couch or anything that could be construed as a bed in the HW lest being caught in the horizontal position. But the cleverness of some firehouse craftsmen a bench seat was constructed to accommodate other members who wanted to join you at the HW. For many years certain Chiefs would not approve of these additions, but slowly members added slick subtle changes to be a little more comfortable during the long early morning HW shift. For instance In addition to bench seats that “doubled” as a you-know what, In E 88 we had a “study table” that was hinged onto the back wall of the HW and could be “lowered”, supported by chains from the leading edge anchored to the wall and when lowered it became a bunk, er, I mean desktop.

Speaking of ENGINE 88 / LADDER 38: Originally the firehouse was designed with two seperate HW’s, as were many other firehouses throughout the city. The two HW’s mirrored on the inside wall that separated the two companies. At one point in time, the members breached a small hole between the two housewatches so as to be able to speak to the firefighter on the other side and have some company during the lonely late watch. Finally, the members saw the light and blasted through the wall combining the two HW’s into one.

INSIDE THE HW: Inside the HW is a group chart board, desk panel, HW journal, dispatch computer, telephones, a binder of department orders and an index box filled with route cards.

GROUP CHART BOARD: Inside the HW of every firehouse in the city you will find a “group chart board”, or some places have a “wheel”. They may not all be alike, yet their functions are the same. The chart is adjusted daily to the incoming groups scheduled to report for duty and dictates HW assignment and details fairly.

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HOUSE WATCH ASSIGNMENTS: HW duties are alternated monthly by each company, each company takes a shot at covering the HW for the month. Usually the company that has HW duties does not have the responsibility of procuring the meal. A FF is assigned HW for three hours according to the rotating group chart to be fair. The day tour is covered by the first three incoming firefighters according to the group chart, the first watch is 9x12, the second 12x3, etc. The night tour has five HW assignments, the firefighter that has the first 6x9 HW also has to recycle and catch the 6x9 morning HW too! Firefighters are not permitted to leave the HW unattended, if necessary for any reason, another FF stands by until the other firefighter returns.
In addition to answering phones, turning out the company the HW FF makes sure the front of quarters is clear of any obstacle that may hinder response.

DESK PANEL: On the HW desk panel is the department phone, a set of colored push buttons to open the bay door, push button for bells, a red phone from the Boro CO and the department radio. In the middle of the desk is the HW journal.

HW JOURNAL: All daily activity of the company is recorded line by line in the 500 page journal. Each page is numbered, no pages are ever ripped out and no line is skipped recording entries. Runs, fuel deliveries, complaints, significant events are recorded by the firefighter on HW. The journals are kept for twenty years. Each Company officer makes his entry at 0900 and 1800 hrs depicting the manpower assignment.

When the assigned member begins his day tour 0900-1200 HW duties, which is commonly called the “9 by” immediately after the officer enters his “roll call” for the day tour the HW FF enters his name in the HW journal in blue or black ink. Only the HW FF writes in blue or black ink, anyone else that makes an entry, whether it be another officer, visiting chief or fire prevention employee signing out, are required to use red ink only. With that, great minds came up with the idea of taping a red pen to a blue pen with points facing opposite. The pen is left in the fold of the journal.

The 9 by HW FF enters the next line directly below the officers signed roll call; “Firefighter Gage, E88, relieved FF DeSoto E88 on HW. Department PAQ (property, apparatus, quarters) in
good condition”. After those entries are completed, company runs and all other incidents mentioned previously are recorded by the HW FF.

THE COMPUTER: During the “Glory Days”, the dispatch computer was not a touchscreen then, nor did the computer “voice” announce what company had to respond. You had to read the ticket, acknowledge the run in three steps by first pressing the corresponding company button, second by pressing the 10-4 button, and finally the “send” button to acknowledge the run.

When an alarm came in, the following sequence was done in double time; Announce the run, either by public address system or in a loud voice, “GET OUT 82/31, FIRST DUE, PHONE ALARM”, tap-out the required number of in-house bells, open bay door, rip off the double rolled carbon print out and hand a copy to the company officer, then hustle and quickly gear up.

If you were on HW and someone banged on the door to report a fire or emergency, this was called a “Verbal”. In this instance you simply turned out the company by hitting the bells and announcing over the public address system the “Verbal”. On the HW computer you'd press the company number, followed by pressing the “verbal” button on the computer, then “send” button. As the apparatus rolled out of quarters, the CO would contact the officer to ascertain information about the verbal and assign a box number, this process alleviated delay and actualized a quicker response.

TELEPHONES: There were three types of phones in the HW. The Department telephone that was for business. Some of the department phones were either attached to the HW panel or free standing on the desktop. When a call came in on the department phone, you immediately picked up and stated; “E 24 / L 5 Fireman Gage”.

Another phone that had no dial or numbers, just a small red light was the red phone mounted on the panel that was connected directly to the boro CO. It was like an intercom that you could speak directly with the CO. An earlier version years ago was a regular red phone, if the dispatcher sensed from incoming calls that you were headed to a job, you received “three rings” in rapid succession, and the dispatcher would tip you off as another dispatcher typed out the info to be sent to the HW computer.

The third phone was the outside “pay” phone where you answered the incoming personal calls for a member. This phone was a coin operated phone mounted somewhere in the firehouse with an extension line directly to the HW where you could only receive the call then announce the party's name. It seemed like every firehouse always had one member who had way too many incoming calls and that was annoying, sometimes the phone simply fell off the hook.

CHIEF VISITS: When visiting Chiefs arrive at quarters the HW FF promptly announces “CHIEF IN QUARTERS” and greets the chief from the HW desk with a hand salute. By this time, the Company Officer will come to the HW and greet the Chief. The Chief records his visit in the rear section of the journal designated for “Chief Visits”. On occasion, the Chief will ask for a
Company roll call. In this instance the HW FF will announce a roll call over the intercom system and the on duty members will assemble and form ranks in front of the apparatus. The company officer has a set procedure for roll call as per department guidelines. Usually the chief will speak to the group at this time if he has something to say, if not, the formality concludes and the HW FF returns to the HW.

ROUTE CARDS: Inside the HW was a tin index card holder with flip top cover. Whenever a company is “relocated” to another company quarters, the response area could be unfamiliar to the covering crew. To alleviate the confusion, either the Officer or chauffeur would locate the tin box in the HW. When the company receives an alarm, you’d simply refer to the index card with corresponding box number. The index card gave you directions to the box.

DOING HOUSEWATCH: I enjoyed doing HW, in fact I usually spent most of my time in the HW at L 5 during the months when we were designated. The HW office was very comfortable with a large glass window looking outside onto Sixth Avenue, the HW did not have that confined feeling and it was usually quiet. I’d settle in during the day tour, fresh cup of hot Joe and the NY Post. As a Ladder Chauffeur I liked monitoring the department radio and being aware of incidents around us. The quiet time afforded me time to study for the Lieutenants exam, especially during the night tour, the early morning peacefulness and tranquility was very conducive to studying. I’d take the watch from midnight all the way through till morning. Around 4 am I’d fix myself a nice fresh pot of coffee, open my study books and absorb the material for the next few hours. Around 0600 it was time to flip on the FM radio to WCBS 101 oldies and listen to “Harry Harrison, the Morning Mayor” and catch the sunrise.

There is a tale about a young firefighter covering one of his first early morning HW details:
The house is very still, apparatus floor lights are turned off and all was quiet except for the occasional creak and groan of the resting fire apparatus as the rig settles. Later that morning the lad mentions to the senior firefighter about his HW ordeal and the sounds from the apparatus. The senior firefighter says; The sounds he heard were made by Brothers who had worked in the firehouse years and years ago that are now gone but every now and then return for a moment to sit on the old rig one more time.


NOTABLE HWs: Ladder 8 had a small narrow HW in front of quarters, passerbys or a visiting guest got a treat to see the melted telephones that adorned the outside of the HW for display.

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Thanks for reading!...Hope you enjoyed! KMG-365
 
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DCFD; Part 1
Probationer

November 1979...After a shave and shower I put on my navy pants, black belt, navy blue shirt with ?DC? collar brass on my right collar and ?FD? brass on the other and pin a blue plastic name badge over my right pocket. New black navy style shoes with a bag full of new turnout gear I acquired from the quartermaster I?m ready for the drive from my small apartment in Maryland into DC, a forty minute trek to the firehouse down the Baltimore Washington Parkway into the confines of DC. As a condition of employment, a DC firefighter must live within a fifty mile radius from the Capital, a DC firefighter is not a Federal firefighter, but a civil servant of the district...This morning, I am a brand spanking new ?probationer? firefighter, the term DCFD uses for their probationary firefighters...having just graduated from the Washington DC Fire Training Academy yesterday, this morning I will report for duty and start my very first day tour as a career firefighter. I pack my Plymouth Volare and proceed to drive from my small apartment in Maryland into DC, it is early morning...I weave my way through DC and turn down the one way Lanier Place, slowly I drive looking for the firehouse...the firehouse is set back in the middle of a tree lined bedroom neighborhood. Sidewalks run end to end in front of three and four story pre war apartment houses shared with nicely maintained federal style townhouses and Victorian homes on each side aligning the block. The firehouse is a two bay structure built in 1908 as a Spanish Colonial Revival style, and looks very similar to the Alamo. There are two units assigned there, Ambulance #2 and Engine Company 21.

It is a very comfortable early fall morning, the two green bay doors are open as I eagerly and anxiously enter the firehouse I am assigned.. Engine 21 a single, two piece engine company, I notice the doors are open on the rig and firefighter gear hanging off of the rig in anticipation of a run...it is early, the change of shift is occurring...there are a few firefighters hanging around the HW to meet the ?new guy?, I am one of two newly assigned... I am assigned to Platoon #2, the other proby to Platoon #3 who is scheduled to report for duty in another day or so. Today, I?m the fresh meat... the guy from ?New YAWK?...?I?m surrounded by seasoned veterans, their confidence is reassuring and encouraging, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, praying that a run does not come in until I settle down, I note that soon I will have that same feeling of confidence displayed and it?s relieving.

I greet the new Brothers at the HW...The HW is located in the front of quarters, there are no walls or barriers, just a crude makeshift desk top with black plumbing pipes holding the desk up against the wall...the top of the desk has a clear plastic protector top covering the entire desk, underneath the plastic is an old yellowed map off the first due area and old Department orders and hand written notes. The desk is about four feet wide and extends about three feet from the side wall. A black swivel chair that has seen better days is in front of the desk. DCFD does not use the term HW, but desk, or front desk. The desk has an opened journal for recording personnel on duty and runs, a ?vocal alarm? intercom system from the DCFD dispatcher with printer for alarms and a telephone. There are two push buttons on the front corner of the desk, one button is pressed to ?acknowledge? an alarm, the other is to ring the ?gong? that all firehouses have to alert the troops of a run. There is no particular cadence for ringing the gong. Just bang out enough gongs to alert the troops.


(guys hanging around the "HW". Notice the two buttons in forefront, one is to acknowledge a run, the other to activate the house gong.

Immediately, I am introduced to the Captain of the Engine, a very nice and cordial man named Captain Mac Fleming, he has a nice smile and is very welcoming, he reminds me of Uncle Jack... My new boss details what my duties will be for the near future... and what he expects from me. One of my duties he explains like this: ?See this here desk (it is a rhetorical question as he continues?) this is ?YOUR DESK? for the year you are on probation? (as he taps the desk proudly). He continues,  ?During the day tours, this will be your place? maintaining a grin and goes on... ?however there are three instances you can take a break from the desk. First, of course, when nature calls, second to make sure there is fresh coffee in the kitchen and last to watch a ?GOOD? football game with us in the TV room?  Cool I?m thinking, then the Boss adds, ?...oh, and I?ll let you know if it?s a ?GOOD? football game?...

But I digress?
It was just about two years ago, July 11, 1977 that I took the Washington DC Firefighter Entrance Exam. Prior to that date in 1975 I had joined my community volunteer fire department along with three friends; Phil, Mac and Mike...we all had the yearning to become professional firefighters. After an attempt from my dad to get me into the local electricians union I told him I wanted to pursue a career with the NYC Fire Department. Although I could see he was a little upset with my decision, he did offer me profound advice: ?Don?t put your eggs in one basket?... I heeded his trustworthy and solid advice and I passed my thoughts to the other three amigos. We began a letter writing campaign to take entrance exams in various fire departments that we could drive too. It did not matter who they were, we were organized and determined, we applied and took exams from Connecticut to Cleveland to Virginia...of course we also took the NYC Firefighter Exam together in 1977.

Oddly, The DCFD exam was given in New York, but to be safe, we four amigos car-pooled to Washington DC to take the exam. The exam process was peculiar... I encountered other entrance exams where I had to fill out an application, have a driver's license, a high school graduation and a copy of your birth certificate before you could even set foot into the facility to take the exam. However, the DC exam was a ?walk in?...walk in, grab a seat, fill out the exam and good luck. And, the exam wasn?t that easy as I recall, it wasn?t your typical civil service one hundred question exam. There was the usual math, history, geography, pulley equations, spelling, etc...then there was a part called the ?Aptitude Verbal Reasoning?. Verbal reasoning tests check if you can recognize the difference between facts and inferences...it assess your comprehension and logic skills, the ability to extract the correct meaning from complex information, quickly. The test is given by a monitor who recites explicit verbal instructions that you have to follow, then make a correct decided answer...This test ensures a candidate has strong reasoning skills. I never encountered an exam like that before, it was mind-blowing.

For FDNY, Unfortunately Mac, Mike and Phil did not do well on the NYC Fire Exam physical agility part,  subsequently I was the only one to pass, only to be held up because of litigation between the FDNY and women applicants. During this period, Mac and Mike were hired by the DCFD in the fall of 1978 together. The DCFD hires twenty-four recruits at a time for a full class. At that time, I was still employed with
NYC EMS, in August 1979 Phil and I both received notice that we were called together for the summer class in?In a short time, we four amigos would be all working for the DCFD!

I resigned from my position of NYC EMS Ambulance Corpsman...Together Phil and I relocated to the DC area from Long Island a few days before we were to be sworn in. Our Buddy Mac, who was already established in his bachelor pad offered to put us both up while we started proby school in his apartment in Laurel, Md.

On August 6, 1979 my career as a career firefighter began, the inception of ?Glory Day?s?...Phil had the better car so Phil was the designated driver for he and I as we headed to DC Fire Training Academy to be sworn in. I remember wearing a nice pair of slacks, navy sport coat, white shirt and tie...I also remembered as we crossed the parking lot lawn, an uncomfortable feeling of wet dew from the lawn under my right foot sock getting wet. The sole on my old ?navy? shoe had a hole the size of a dime... Phil parked his Chevy Monza outside the gate of the training school, we approached the front door of the academy where there were about twenty other candidates nervously waiting... Shortly, we were greeted by the Sergeant who would be our training officer, he was welcoming...a very jovial and cheerful man, he immediately assembled us in alphabetical order and we all began to relax with his kindness. There were twenty- four of us, we had a full class of candidates including Phil, myself and two other guys, actually all four of us came from Long Island. There were two women were in my class and the rest were made up of guys who lived in the DC neighborhoods or surrounding Maryland/ Virginia area. The class bonded pretty quickly.

Our first order of business was to board an old school bus to the DCFD fire chief's office in another part of DC, we marched single file into the large office of DCFD Fire Chief Jefferson Lewis, he welcomed us, gave a little scoop on our future and then sworn us in as ?Probationers?.  On his desk was  twenty four envelopes with two maltese cross badges with eagle on top inside, I was assigned Badge # 823...From there we hopped back into the bus for a ride to the quartermaster to get our uniforms and equipment.

All our turnout gear was brand new and bright yellow, the color of gear the DCFD wore. In addition to the usual turnout coat and pull up boots we were also given turn-out pants as they were called (Bunker pants) with short boots for night turnout. We also received three pairs of work duty uniforms, winter and summer work duty uniforms (no shorts), measured for a dress uniform and cap. Like I said, everything received was brand new except for the yellow MSA plastic helmet that was previously used, but not in bad shape. Back at the training facility we went through orientation and filling out mounds of paperwork. We were also given a daily committee work type assignment; windows cleaned, apparatus floor cleaned, offices cleaned, toilets cleaned, garbage pails emptied, etc. I was tasked to maintain the old late 1960?s Pirsch tiller war horse that was retired and maintained at the academy, my first tiller!.  I was now all set, except for one thing...on the way home I had to buy another pair of navy type shoe.

Class #273 reported the following day, twenty four brand spanking new wide eyed and ambitious  probationers, I was stoked and eager to get going and become a part of the DCFD. Phil and I reported the first day together, inside  my ?EMERGENCY? lunch box a P&J sandwich.


(I was assigned this tiller, the wooden cab was removed. It was my responsibility to keep the reserve rig clean and ready for our training evolutions.)

Proby school was a couple of months, I don?t recall exactly how many weeks, I?m thinking about twelve...Training school was typical; calisthenic exercises first thing in the morning followed by a casual jog. After that we practiced throwing ladders, various hose evolutions, oil pit fires, climbing scaling ladders, operating various tools and appliances and classroom instruction. Part of the training curriculum was successfully completing engine chauffeur school (although DCFD does not use the term chauffeur but driver or technician), here we learned to draft, friction loss, pumping, single, reverse and dual hose lays, etc... When you graduated you were a competent engine chauffeur, er, driver...part of your continuing education was to be qualified to drive the company apparatus you eventually would be assigned within your first six months of probation. The final couple of weeks of school was an Emergency Medical Technician course that all probationers had to pass...



The DCFD employs ?civilians? as EMT?s to man the ambulances which are stationed in various firehouses throughout the city. If a ?civilian? EMT taps out, a firefighter is detailed to cover the spot. You could count on being detailed to the ambulance when the weekend rolled around, as the EMT conveniently would go sick. DCFD had a sickness policy plan; MIP- minor illness plan. If you tapped out, you were placed on sick leave for three days without having to see the department doctor. You could do this three times a year. Also, engine companies responded to certain level medical calls, so everyone graduated as an EMT.

Our class was tight, many of us were former volunteer firefighters and had a genuine interest in becoming career firefighters, we shared stories and experiences, a new found friendship was forged... We all looked forward to the end of the week, Friday afternoon, when class let out there was about ten of us who would meet at a local beer joint, belt a few back, exchange stories, laugh at each other, make fun of the instructors in a good natured way, and continue to form a tight bond, a Brotherhood...To this day I still stay in touch with a few of my classmates.

The day before graduation we now became full fledged probationers,  this final day all members of our class will have to complete overhauling and cleaning of the equipment and training materials we have used for the next class. During a break the Sergeant enters and gathers us in the classroom with the department order for company assignments. I am assigned to Engine Company 21 located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington DC. Engine 21 has an outstanding reputation as an aggressive engine company in a single house.

The neighborhood that Engine 21 covers is called Adams Morgan. It is a community with a growing influx of immigrants from many countries, this lead to an increase in boarding houses and a diverse commercial shopping mecca. The neighborhood hit it?s low point after the 1968 riots. Today, Adams Morgan is one of the oldest and nicest neighborhoods in DC, still diverse, a community involved and contemporary.

However, the future would turn out to be a very interesting and historic time working a couple of miles from the White House. In 1979 Jimmy Carter was the resident at the White House, his administration was struggling with the energy crisis that ended a period of growth... both inflation and interest rates rose while economic growth, job creation and consumer confidence declined sharply. A month after graduation, the country would be embroiled for the next 444 days with The Iran Hostage Crisis standoff that November. Indeed...It would be a very interesting time to work in the Capital as more newsworthy events was about to unfold!.

Both my parents were at my graduation, ?Uncle? Jack and his wife Irene joined the festivities. Jack suggested we go visit my new firehouse, he seems very excited and proud of my accomplishment, mentoring me from my early buff days on Intervale Avenue... He and Irene present me with a silver ID bracelet, it has a small DCFD badge replica with my badge number 823 in the middle of the maltese cross, I still keep it shined in my small jewelry box... Before leaving to check out my new assignment, the training school sergeant who was our lead instructor asked that I ?donate? my trusted ?EMERGENCY? lunch box to the academy museum, it was a hit during the weeks of training that provided fun jabs... I was happy to do so.

But, tonight would be a special night of celebration, the following day I will report to my new assignment and begin an exciting new journey with the DCFD Engine 21 ?Alley Rats?.


Unk Jack at my graduation with my dad, close buddy Phil and his dad. The start of "Glory Days".


PROBATIONER tag.


Proby Manual that will be carried and maintained for the year I am on probation...that next!

Hope you enjoyed, more DCFD stuff to follow, thanks for reading.    KMG-365
 
in '72 after the Boston Hotel Vendome Fire & Collapse we stood in the rain outside the Church during the large Funeral Mass paying Respect from the FDNY.....the Boston FF Union went to a factory & got thousands of disposable plastic raincoats & gave them out .....the Mass was long as all the nine FFs killed at the Vendome were included in the same Service ....afterwards we went to Florian Hall (a little soggy despite the welcomed raincoats).....at the time i was in LAD*108 & we had a good relationship with several Members of the BFD Holy Name Society who used to make a yearly pilgrimage to NYC to attend our Annual Holy Name Society  Mass & Breakfast (always some good times the weekend they came down)...  i remember meeting the FF who got shot on duty in the BFD)...... Arty O'Leary (who died way too soon at 57 yrs of age) was a good friend ....he originally was a Staten Island resident who went on the NY Fire Patrol in the early '60s & also was a longtime Buff in FDNY LAD*26 back then.....he then became a FF in Hartford Conn for several years but at the same time was an Active Buff in LAD*23 BFD (in Boston back then Buffs were allowed to not only ride but to enter bldgs & work with the Units) .....one time around maybe 1970 Arty invited me & another NYC Friend Larry B. former NY Fire Patrol & now Hartford FF to go to Boston to meet some of the Members of the BFD & look around  .... i drove to Hartford & Artie drove us to Beantown....Artie wanted to make a stop at BFD LAD*4 to pick something up....as we pulled on to the apron there was a FF looking thru the apparatus door window & Arty said what i thought was "this guy is a real jerk" ....the FF opened the door & we went inside & Arty got what he was there to pick up while we had a cup of coffee ....when we got back in Arty's car he seemed annoyed & said "why did you give that guy the cold shoulder " ....i replied  "you said he was a REAL JERK"......Arty said "NO i said he was a REAL JAKE"... i then learned that in the BFD a "JAKE" was the term used for a well respected & accomplished FF. ..... Later over Dinner at another FH we got to meet Chief Bolger a BFD DV Chief & a Gentleman.....Arty later was Appt to the Boston FD & worked in ENG*24 ....LAD*23 or 26 then Rescue before his untimely off duty heart related death at age 57 while participating in a Motor Cycle ride to a Charity Event......i have said before that i always thought that if i had  not gotten  to be a Member of the FDNY that Boston FD would have been my next choice.
 
68jk09. The firefighter you met was my uncle, Lt Joseph Donovan. On June 3, 1967, Ladder 4 responded to Box 2141, Warren and Rockville. On arrival at the box they reported nothing showing and Lt Donovan went to wind the box and as he returned to Ladder 4's Seagrave 9 shots ran out, the first hit him and rendered him unconscious.  Several members of Ladder 4, with complete disregard for their own safety dragged Lt Donovan to the other side of the apparatus. They placed him in the apparatus and raced to Boston City Hospital. Lt Donovan's wounds to his wrist and hand prevented him from returning to active fire duty, he became a top-notch instructor at the Training Division. The members who risked their lives received the Walter Scott Medal for Valor, FF John Gaddis, and FF's Pero and Austin were placed on the Roll of Merit.
 
Certainly a very interesting story as told by "68jk09" and "grumpy grizzly".

Amazing also that well over Four Decades later, two members of this site, who I guess have never met, living half way across the country, would be able to tie their stories together.

Certainly a very heroic job done by those members of Boston's Ladder 4. 
 
DCFD; Part 2
Alley Rats

Engine 21 Commander Captain Mac Fleming has just finished introducing me to my new fellow  firefighter platoon colleagues. Senior man Mickey Bridgett is the Wagon Driver (WD), he drives the first piece of Engine 21, a 1973 Ford pumper, followed by the other senior member Tommy ?Neugie? Neugebauer, he is the pumper driver (P), the second piece of Engine 21, a 1968 Ford pumper that follows the wagon on all assignments. Both Mickey and Neugie are working their last year before retirement, the pair served in the Navy  during WWII and were war veterans on the homefront during the 1968 riots that decimated the area. But after that comparison, they are completely different; Mickey has ?ants in his pants? and cannot stop fidgeting for a second, always pacing with a cigarette in his hand like a caged tiger, he speaks quickly and always looking for something to do on the rig...he?s fun to watch. On the other hand...Neugie is a laid back good ol boy from West Virginia. Nothing rattles him, he sits calmly with a newspaper in hand, feet propped up on the desk looking over the lense of his black half rimmed glasses. Neugie?s go to food is a Snickers candy bar. (I enjoyed working them both, they were very amiable, helpful and kind, they loved hearing my New Yawk speak... Mickey was an outstanding WD, he knew every hydrant location and alley entrance in our response area, a fine senior man).


Engine 21 "Alley Rat" Commander Captain Mac Fleming


Antsy-pantsy Outstanding WD Mickey Bridgett


Good Ol' Boy Neugie

The brief introduction and conversation is interrupted; two loud short boops over the vocal alarm indicates the communication office is about to dispatch a high priority ?Box Alarm?, (whereas; single ?boops? are for a lesser alarm requiring typically a single engine and truck, or just engine). There are thirty two firehouses in the city, all dispatched from one communication office. Across the city every firehouse has now heard the two ?boop,pause, boop??..everyone stops in their tracks and lends an ear to the alarm coming over, ready to respond. Just before the dispatcher announces the four engine, two truck and rescue response the desk computer ?chirps?...and the Box alarm assignment is about to be delivered...since only the companies that will respond on this alarm will receive the computer print out, at the sound of the first chirp, members are off and running to their position and gearing up. DCFD prides itself on a quick turnout, within seconds during a day tour... Mickey turns his focus to the computer, he is on watch, announced over the vocal alarm by a woman's voice; ?BOX ALARM; ENGINE 11, 21, 28, 24  TRUCK 6, 14,  RESCUE 2...RESPOND 1839 NEWTON STREET?. I hurry to don my gear laid out by the officer side of the wagon; Captain Fleming tells me to ?run the line?, the ?pipe? (nozzle) position, commonly referred to as the ?Lineman? or in FDNY lingo, the ?nob?. Mickey presses down the black ?acknowledge? button on the desk once advising the CO we are responding, followed by pressing down on the other button which is red, a rapid three or four taps triggering the large house gong that is mounted on the wall upstairs in the bunkroom, the large gong can be heard all throughout the house. After donning my bright clean yellow turnout coat with DCFD lettering on the back, I hop into the modified cab extension behind the rig?s cab, behind the WD rides the ?layout? firefighter. The lineman firefighter has a fifteen minute sling mask, you simply throw it over your shoulder and cinch up the strap. It?s like wearing an indian arrow quiver. Mickey hits the ?OPEN? bay door button...the ?OPEN? bay door  button hangs suspended from the ceiling on a coiled wire, like a telephone cord, and ends next to the window of the cab, the wagon driver simply reaches out and clicks the door button. The door is on a two minute timer, as soon as the door fully opens, both pieces of apparatus hi-tail it to the box location, Neugie is following close behind with the 1968 Ford. We are long gone before the door closes.


Engine 21 Wagon  1973 Ford


Engine 21 second piece, 1968 Pumper

The two piece concept is what the DCFD uses. Both rigs are set up exactly the same with pumps, hose lays, and hand tools...the first piece is called the ?wagon?, the second piece, which is an older piece of fire apparatus is called a ?pumper?. There are thirty-two ?two-piece? engine companies in DC, The wagon is where the WD, Engine Officer, Lineman and Layout man ride. The Layout firefighter?s job is to go to the backstep of the rig when it stops at a hydrant or alleyway entrance, following the WD command he will ?layout? one of three layout evolutions according to what the WD tells him to do, then do the same for the pumper (when he completes that task, he rejoins and helps advance the line). The pumper follows close behind with just the driver. His mission is to locate the hydrant and supply the wagon from his apparatus, a positive water source.

On a ?Box Alarm? assignment, 4 engines (double pieces), 2 trucks, rescue and Battalion Chief are assigned to respond. (what a parade of equipment!). Alarm assignment went as follows, the first and third due companies responded to the buildings address in front. The second and fourth due were to respond to the rear, via alleyway. The two piece system gave the companies the versatility of different types of hose lays. (Also: During the period of civil unrest, if the Chief requested a personnel call back, the engine companies could break into single engines, affording the department sixty-four engine companies very quickly). Regardless of conditions showing, the first and second due companies ?lay out? a supply line.

Since we are second due, Mickey knows where the alley starts on the block, he pulls into the alley and stops the rig, turns and yells to the ?Layout? firefighter to ?split lay?. (Split lay; The Layout firefighter will take the supply line from the Wagon and the Pumper, then connect the two lines together) As soon as the Layout gives the WD the signal to go,the pumper proceeds to a hydrant and the wagon proceeds down the alley with the hose peeling off the hosebed. In the alley we notice a shed on fire, it is attached to the rear of a townhouse. I shoulder the inch and a half line, (textbook training school evolution) drop and flake out the hose as Mickey gives us water, the fire is quickly extinguished. Capt. Mac is right there alongside me and he welcomes me to 21, the ?Alley Rats?. Reloading the hose is just as quick as we deploy it. The one hundred fifty feet of preconnect is re- loaded quickly, Mickey then starts backing the rig down the alley in a nice easy pace, without stopping, we load the supply line back on and we are back in service in no time.

Engine 21?s first due area is rather small, E 21 is wedged in between E 11 and E 9, two very busy engine companies. In our western part of our first due area is ?Rock Creek Park? and the DC Zoo that covers a large portion of our area...and half of our first due boxes is in the prestigious neighborhood of Woodley Park, many Senators and Congress personnel reside there. The area is very clean and quiet with not much FD action required. But when 21 heads east we get our work and since we are ?second due? to E 11 and E 9 our assignments are in the alleys...hence; ?Alley Rats?.


2nd due engine in alley

Back at the firehouse I get to meet and chat with my group of firefighters. DCFD has a three platoon system. I am assigned to Platoon #2 along with six other firefighters and the Boss Captain Mac. These will be my colleagues everytime I work, it is not a revolving chart and the DCFD does not recognize twenty-four hour shifts. We work three day tours, from 0900-1800 hrs, a day off, followed by three night tours. Each member is assigned a ?Kelly Day?, (similar to a ?Chinese 72? in FDNY) which rotates through your schedule. So, basically you work two days and three nights or three days and two nights depending on how your ?KD? is scheduled. Little confusing, but it keeps your hours acceptable. The two other platoons are also staffed with six firefighters and a Lieutenant. The officers switch platoons annually, every year you get a new officer as they are rotated among the house platoons.

When a company officer is on any type of leave, to fill the open spot, a ?Sergeant? is assigned. The Sergeant is assigned to a truck company and he has two roles; as mentioned he covers a spot when the company officer is on leave, whether it be a Lieutenant or Captain. If there is no position to cover, he becomes the ?lead? firefighter on the truck, usually the ?bar man? (In FDNY that would be the Forcible Entry Firefighter). The DCFD does not employ a "can man".

***********

On my second day tour, I was sitting at the housewatch desk, filling out the housewatch journal. The DCFD journal is filled out by the housewatch (desk) firefighter. Lines may be skipped, and alarms are entered with the Box number in red, followed by the address and description of the alarm in blue. If hose was stretched, ladders thrown or pumps operated the feet and time were recorded accordingly in the body of the paragraph. The HW duty firefighter filled out the riding position and HW assignment list. The company officer covered the 9-12 HW, but of course the junior member covered the time... After each name was the  riding position and the time of  the FF HW duty. HW duty during the day tour was split among the four members after 12 noon. In the journal entry,  a line was left next to the firefighter for the incoming relief firefighter to sign in. In other words, the incoming WD firefighter who was from the other platoon would sign in a relieve the WD from my platoon.  And, since the favorite choice for a firefighter was to run the line, the first firefighter in would relieve the other firefighter assigned to run the line...consequently, the second in firefighter had no choice but to become the less desired layout firefighter. There was no roll call, the position you signed in for was yours. Basically the guy who came in earliest, got the nob. Change of tours did not happen until 0900 and 1800 hrs. But it was very typical of being relieved at 0630 and 1600 hrs, respectfully.

If you happened to be detailed to another firehouse, you were assigned the least desirable watch, especially during a night tour...and you could expect to be the last guy to be relieved.

During my second day tour, filling out the company journal there is a firefighter sitting next to me who has been detailed into E 21 for the day tour. He introduces himself and I enter his name into the journal. We chat and he comments on my ?New Yawk? accent. We continue our conversation and swap stories... I tell him about my experience with the NYC EMS, and he mentioned to me about his cousin who is a nurse in Kings County Hospital. Stop the presses!

(FLASHBACK...)...The last night tour before I left NYC EMS one of the Emergency Room Nurses from KCH wishing me good luck before I departed says her cousin is a firefighter with the DCFD, and his name is Bill Chackwood??OK, I?ll keep an eye out for him?. I recorded his name into my green  EMS log notebook?just in case we should cross paths.

You guessed it, my second day tour I record into the HW journal, detailed FF Bill Chackwood, Layout firefighter. Small world.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed.    KMG-365

 
DCFD; Part 3
68 Riots



?Here's the gun, junior, be careful now or ya gonna make a mess of yourself?... with that Wagon Driver Mickey hands over to me the grease gun, it?s my turn to grease the officer?s side front wheel of our 1973 Ford engine, the task is done monthly. This morning both Mickey and I are grease monkeys shoulder to shoulder under the forward cab of Engine 21, we are both in the supine position rolling around on a mechanics creeper greasing the many grease fittings of the apparatus. There are over twenty grease fittings on this rig and per my probation manual I am required to know where each and everyone is and be able to point them out when asked by the Company Commander Captain Mac. And it?s not only on this rig, same goes on the second piece, our 1968 Ford pumper which everyone fondly refers to as ?Baby?. Before the 1973 arrived, ?Baby? was E 21?s first piece and an older rig took the place of the pumper. As each new generation rig came into service, the first piece subsequently became the second piece, the ?pumper?. The senior men take care of ?Baby?. If for some reason the pumper will be out of service for a period, the company would receive a spare from the ?shops?... the spare rigs are usually much older models.

21 had a 1960?ish spare rig for a month I recall while ?Baby was out of service?. The rig was a beast to drive. As the ?Pumper? Driver, you operated the rig alone and followed the first piece all the while without power steering, double clutching, operating the radio and siren ...you had to be quick like a ?one armed paper hanger?. Since the first piece Wagon was newer it was naturally much faster than the older rigs, so keeping up with the Wagon was a real challenge sometimes.


"BABY"


THE BEAST!

?There's another fitting here, junior, and try not to ?eff? this one up...think we?ll be done sometime today??...Mickey is having a fun time with me, E 21 second platoon has not had a proby on its shift for about four years, and both senior men Mickey and Neugie are enjoying breaking my chops in tandem, I?m the new guy, the ?New Yawker?.  (Mickey actually almost became like a father figure to me, during his last year we carpooled together and became very close). My bright white tee shirt is now blotchy with the brownish green grease as we move from the front of the cab and proceed to the dual rear wheels. After finishing the grease job, Mickey will show me how to check the oil and water on the rig which is another part of my required assignment.

As my probation progresses, as well as the other twenty three members of my proby class in their respective firehouse, we have to fulfill pre arranged tasks and reading assignments that will be reviewed by the company commander monthly. The Battalion Chief will review my progress on the sixth and final month of my probation.

During my first month I must know the street address of all thirty-two DC firehouse locations and their phone number (DCFD now has 33 firehouses). In addition I am required to describe and recite the way the city streets are designed. (The streetscape starts at the Capitol, the Capitol is like the hub of a wheel. The city is divided into four quarters from this point into NE, NW, SE, SW to the outer edge of the City. The dividing line (street) to the north is North Capitol Street, tothe east is East Capitol street and so on. Numbered streets run north and south, the street number increases from the dividing N/S street and increases toward the outer edge of the city. Streets running east and west are alphabeticalized A-Z, when the letter system runs out,  to conform with the general planning, the streets would be given one-syllable names in alphabetical order. When the one-syllable series ended, two-syllable names would be used, and then three-syllable names. Many of the diagonal streets and avenues in Washington are named after states. Some of these streets are particularly noteworthy, such as Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the White House with the U.S. Capitol and Massachusetts Avenue, a section of which is informally known as ?Embassy Row? from the number of foreign embassies located along the street.

Furthermore. At the beginning of ?every? month I am assigned by the company commander ten fire alarm street boxes within our box alarm assignment... I have to remember the exact address of the box, the running route from quarters to the box location and where the four nearest hydrants are to that box. I am also given five short streets that I  must know the running route and nearest hydrant location. Not done yet... I will also need to know  five commercial structures in our Box Alarm area which could be a school, factory, nursing home, etc...I will have to follow instructions from within my proby manual with regard to reading monthly assignments about general orders, rules and regulations, pump formulas, ladders, drill manual, evolutions, ropes and knots, smoke ejectors, salvage equipment and so forth. The reading assignment will conclude with twenty five questions that must be answered and memorized when asked by the boss, and of course for good measure, he will have a few of his own. That?s why my position during my probation is the front desk, head in the books.

Another proby requirement is that I must drive and be qualified to operate both pieces of the company apparatus within six months. A part of the proby school curriculum you took a driving training course where everyone learned pumping fundamentals...at your company assignment you became proficient on your apparatus and started driving it back from alarms within your first couple of months.

As Mickey and I find and locate the various fittings the conversation turns to local DC Fire Department history. Mickey mentions that back during WWII, the rigs were not red due to color pigmentation resources that had to go to the war effort, leaving the rigs a pale red, almost pink back then. Secondly, even though the rigs had a mechanical siren mounted on the fender, the firefighters were forbidden from using it because it could have been confused as an air raid siren.

I mentioned to him that I remember as a young lad, the 1968 riots...I sensed that Mickey was surprised that I brought it up and was pleased to expound and give a personal account of the turbulent time...Engine 21?s quarters was a half mile from the hotbed activity of the riots and within the Box Alarm assignment of the 14th Street and U Street corridor where most of the rioting activity took place for four days in April after the death of Martin Luther King Jr...The DCFD was mobilized, the call-back protocol is called ?Plan F? which is a total recall of every one of the 1,400 firefighters back into service, the members were split in half, half working during the day, followed by the other half for the night. The DCFD responded to over 1,200 fires, almost five hundred buildings involved in fire and two hundred stores looted, Black store owners mark their front windows with ?Soul Brother? with hopes that looters will pass by their establishment...Firefighters were stretched thin, hundreds of fires rekindled over the next few days...Hostile crowds lobbed bottles, rocks, bricks and paint cans at the firefighters responding.









Then President Johnson dispatched 14,000 Federal troops to assist the overwhelmed Metropolitan Police force. Marines mounted the capitol steps and the White House with machine guns, the occupation of Washington was the largest of any American city since the Civil War.



The aftermath... on many blocks rubble remained for decades.  Crime and violence in the destroyed neighborhoods rose quickly as white flight from the city accelerated and property values plunged as fire activity grew. At the time, fire apparatus had open-air cabs, after the riots the shops would install protective plywood coverings and caging on all rigs. You could probably say, the ?War Years? have commenced!

I valued and appreciated my chat with MIckey, I now found it very interesting to be in the hub of a very historic geographic area where not too long ago a prosperous thriving community was forcibly displaced and replaced by dilapidated vacant shells of buildings that still  bore witness of rioting and fires? From the point of my conversation with Mickey going forward, everytime we responded to the hot bed area where the riots happened, it had the same nostalgic impact feeling as if we were driving through an old battlefield.

The DCFD should have included that history in my probationary manual!





                                                    *************

E 21 had a notable distinction among fire and city officials of being a very reputable and prominent Company. With senior men like Mickey and Neugie and other respected senior men assigned to the other platoons under the command of esteemed officers, E 21 received recognition of ?Company of the Year? in 1978. Then Senator John Glenn presented the company with a ?Proclamation of Excellent Service? to Capt Mac. during a small ceremony. I was fortunate to meet and shake the former astronauts hand.


Senator John Glenn. Capt. Mac at right.

Moreover, that November, Washington DC and then President Jimmy Carter will become the focus of a historic event that will be followed by millions of Americans across the United States as the ?Iran Hostage Crisis? unfolds. It?s an exciting time to be working in the Nation's Capital.

(RIP FF Mickey Bridgett; 2015)

Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!              KMG-365








 
Dan, aka "Johnny", I think this might take you back to some of those DCFD Glory Days you're telling us about.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nac0l7OorC8
 
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