NO FRILLS P 5
?CHINAMAN?
I was lucky to work with some fantastic colleagues my age that had about the same amount of time on the job. A commonality among us with young children were scouts, little league, dance rehearsals, PTA?s and new homes. We became a tight solid crew working together, celebrating holidays, funerals, picnics, company dances and other personal experiences. Speckled into our maverick group were a few senior members from the ?War Years?. Our de facto leader; ?Senior Man?, LCC and ?War Years Vet? Jimmy Thornton, was our mentor, he always had a warm and genuine smile, for fun we used to call him ?Pop?. Jimmy was our moral compass and he kept us in line, never had to raise his voice, all he had to do was give you ?that look? and you knew it was time to take it down a notch. With a young group of mavericks Jimmy kept us under control like a skillful Ringmaster. Pop was respected.
Jimmy's partner in crime and carpool buddy was also a Senior man and ?War Years Vet? Tommy Dunn. Jimmy and Tommy were inseparable, when Jimmy worked, so did Tommy. We made it known and often said that Tommy was Jimmy?s illegitimate son. Jimmy and Tommy worked on the side together in a busy catering deli during their time off on Long Island. Jimmy and I hung out in the kitchen and chatted for hours while Jimmy positioned himself behind the stove whipping up some delicious catering dishes. In fact, there were probably three or four of our crew at any given time in that cramped kitchen yakking it up and laughing.
[ Jimmy eventually transferred to a quiet Queens truck company before he retired. Tommy stayed in L 112 but retired when Jimmy did, no surprise! They were like two peas in a pod. Tommy died a few years after retirement and the Ringmaster passed away a couple of years ago. Before Jimmy died, I pulled him out of his house to have lunch, we laughed and had a great time recalling the ?too many? antics and characters..]
the Ringmaster; 'POP'
There were two Genes in our groups, they were both solid and aggressive firemen, both preferred the Outside Vent position, a difficult and heads up position that they covered masterfully. Few other special buddies rounded out my groups that I?ll get to later but one stands out in particular; Steve ?Bud? Jaeger.
Bud Jaeger was detailed ?until further notice? from E 277 to L 112, the ?notice? was called an ?onion skin? and basically it was an ?official detail'' pending the next transfer. Bud was transferred to L 112 on the following ?Firefighter Transfer Order? after I arrived about six months later.
Bud was a colorful spirit; larger than life, he was a tall guy that never wanted to grow up. He perfected and loved to perform his alter-ego which was a flamboyant floozie, complete with a lisp and hanging limp wrist. You knew when his alter-ego arrived; ?Hellooo Friscooo!?
But we fondly called Bud ?The CHINAMAN?. During company picnics, dances and outings, or when we used to meet on paydays to collect our checks (a day tour member driving home after work would gather the specific checks from the company office, sign them out and do ?the check run?, meeting several of us at a local TGIF?s and deliver our checks, alleviating a drive into Brooklyn), These events Bud eventually morphed into the lovable ?CHINAMAN?.
Bud loved his ?tall boy beer?; those tall, large cans of sudz. He?d belt back a few and it wouldn?t take long for him to get giddy, you could see the transformation slowly taking shape, and then with a wave of a wand he became; ?The CHINAMAN?; His eyes became squinty and he spoke rapidly while laughing, you couldn?t make out a word he was saying, it was incomprehensible babble. At that point someone would notice and announce ?The CHINAMAN? is here!
Bud had a heart of Gold and loved his miniature collie. He had a good gig as the only movie projectionist on Fire Island where he used to spend his summers with his girlfriend. Bud and I used to ride our motorcycles into the firehouse on occasion, he had a beautiful brand new Harley Goldwing I had a Kawasaki CHiPs bike (without the sissy windscreen). On a couple occasions he and I hooked up to ride with the NYC Fire Riders Motorcycle Club on several outings and memorable jaunts.
Bud used to say to the kids when they came to visit the firehouse on a school trip that he did not want a ?SMART? fireman behind him going into fires. The teachers would look at him curiously, then he?d deliver the punchline with perfect timing; ?Because any ?SMART MAN? would run away!?. The kids laughed out loud!, me too.
The "CHINAMAN" is just about to arrive....
Sadly, Bud died unexpectedly February 2008, he was fifty-three and the active Captain of L 117 in Astoria. His funeral was well attended by loving family members, friends and those who knew him as ?the CHINAMAN?.
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It?s a quiet night tour the day before Christmas Eve in the firehouse, December 23, guys are yakking it up, everyone is excited about the upcoming Holidays. In the morning I will be relieved and off duty for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
This month the Engine is responsible for procuring the meal as the Truck holds down the housewatch, each company altering monthly responsibilities as do other FDNY firehouses. And like in all firehouses, the wise-cracking banter of which company makes the better meals is always a lively clash of opinions. It was known that there was a smidgen of guys in the Engine that were ?cooks?, I?m using the term lightly, but I think they would have agreed. Once in a while Senior Man and ECC Mike Schuman would make a tasty meatloaf for dinner. The next morning he and I would enjoy a cold leftover meatloaf sandwich with mayo. But, others lacking cooking skills and creativity really had no business being near the stove or else you had the dreadful ?half-a-chicken? -a-man, or sliced canned ham with baked potato dish. But, tonight was going to be a treat.
East of Bushwick on the border of Queens is the neighborhood of Ridgewood, a community with strong German influence. The neighborhood is filled with working class families that own small businesses, breweries and factories living in mostly two or three story row houses and small tenements. Various Avenues like Myrtle and Seneca have numerous thriving German food stores, shops and bakeries.
In fact; one of the members from L 111 had a family owned German Delicatessen and Catering establishment that specialized in splendid traditional German dishes. Tonight E 277 members have picked up two large trays of Sauerbraten, gravy and dumplings with a side dish of red cabbage from the Deli and two loaves of freshly sliced marble rye bread from a nearby bakery for dinner tonight.
Many firehouses ?plate? the chow as common practice, meaning; equal amounts of food are dished onto all the plates for whatever the amount of eaters ?in? on the meal. Except, we did it a little differently on Knickerbocker Avenue since we did not have much room to dine. There was a long formica table that hinged and hung down alongside the television room wall when not in use. When we were preparing to eat, the table would be lifted up and supported by chains that were attached to the wall and then snapped into an eyelet of the table with a ?s? hook. On top of the table we placed the entire dinner that was served ?family style? in large pots and pans. You lined up and helped yourself, like a buffet. It was very convenient to serve dinner that way due to the small confining dining room.
L 112 has been turned out; ?Truck only, Truck goes!?. I noticed the large clock alongside the housewatch wall headed into Knickerbocker Avenue to stop traffic, it was a little after 5:00 AM and a chilly wake up call. We are responding to a reported building collapse further north than we usually respond; The address is 409 Bushwick Avenue a few blocks above Flushing Avenue. I have the ?Roof? position and sitting opposite me is Bud who has the OVM position. Pop is wheeling the rig.
The apparatus stops on Bushwick Avenue near the corner of Varet Street. It is still dark with only a street light overhead, It appears that a three story row frame has collapsed sideways across the sidewalk and partially covering the top of two or three cars parked alongside the curb. It is a typical ?pancake? type collapse, the upper floors settling into the lower floors. While hopping off the rig we hear over the ?handi-talkie? the Chief advising the incoming units to be on the lookout for squatters, he already has two confirmed injuries and suspects there may be more inside the fallen structure.
With a quick size up while grabbing the ?roof saw? from the rigs compartment, Bud and I notice the possibility of lean-to type voids where the building fell sideways on top of the cars, that is where we are headed to initiate the cuts and search. From the street, it is only a few feet high to get on top of the flat roof, I throw the saw on the roof and hop up, then walk over to our spot. I flip the red ?start? toggle switch up, then do the same with the blue choke toggle, my left black work boot placed firmly into the ?D? shaped handle with the throttle secured and ?locked in?. Two quick pulls on the starter cord and the partner saw fires up, ready to go.
We?ll start by making ?coffin cuts? into the tar paper, and wood planks, Bud uses his six foot Halligan Hook to pull the roof material off. I continue to expand the first hole, enlarging the opening as Bud keeps pulling the material off to the side, we now have approximately a 12 x 12 foot hole. There are about three saws operating on the roof now, and the Captain of Rescue 2, Ray Downey is monitoring the ?cutting? activity. It takes a while, but Bud and I keep cutting further down into ?our? hole, removing ceilings, wall lathe and flooring that are compacted on top of each other. We anticipate seeing the street with every pull of another layer of the structure.
The cutting process has been going on for quite some time, cut and pull, more cut and pull, layer after layer, the work is tedious and I?m expecting the saw to run out of fuel any minute. Finally as Bud pulls more of the structure away, we have a clear view of the sidewalk about four feet below us. I shut the saw down and lower myself into the void. Captain Downey notices our progress and approaches while the other saw teams continue to cut and pull. The Boss orders one of his men from R 2 to join me, Bud follows down too. The three of us are now under the collapsed frame in a void which is being held up by the parked vehicles. There are smaller type voids that we each attempt to search and shine our flashlights into, Bud does a primary inside the buried cars.
There were six injuries at this job; exposure #4, another row frame that was occupied was listing precariously and could have fallen at any time, the structure had to be searched and families evacuated. Row frame buildings are connected from outside walls of end units all the way through, the row is ?one? structure. Each unit gets its stability from being part of the row. If one ?unit? is removed due to previous fire, the other remaining row frames become weakened, lacking stability and could possibly fail as did this frame. Exposure #4 was ultimately torn down shortly thereafter.
Our search was ?negative, all clear?, Bud and I hopped back out of the hole for a breather. Other companies have now arrived at the scene and L 112 was told to ?take-up?. The morning sun had risen, fire apparatus filled the street. Pop drove us back to Knickerbocker Avenue for a hot mug of Joe, then it was time for a hot shower and begin my Yuletide kick-off.
PROFILE:
Senior 'lovable' man; 'Dollar' Bill Gallaghan. Bill always dressed immpeccably and stylish coming into work, in uniform, and going home. He had a beautiful sailboat and loved to sail. Did not matter, working or off duty, wore a gold necklace and matching bracelet. When we asked him what he wanted for lunch, he always requested "wagon wheels and fish cakes". He never got them. Bill had a great sense of humor, was well loved by us mavericks and very well respected.
Hope you enjoyed!... Stay safe, wash your hands, crazy times...this too shall pass. KMG-365
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