I recently met with John Bendick. He's a retired member of the FDNY after 37 years on the job. He's one of those guys, like a few others on here, that I refer to as "The Greatest Generation of Firefighters". We met at a restrauant and talked for hours. He also had his son John with him, who is also a member of a very busy FDNY Engine Co. John Sr also has another son Tommy (owner of this site) on the FDNY, and another son, named Mike, on a busy N.J. Fire Dept.
Something else I didn't realize during those busy War Years. During the Adaptive Response time, which I believe started around 3 PM. Some busy Ladder Companies, an added firefighter was hired between the hours of 6 PM and 12 Midnight. They rode in the telephone booth on the side of some of those Ladder Companies.
As I was talking with John Sr I realized that I was talking to a person who probadly fought more fires in his time than most of us can even think about. Meanwhile, his son John Jr is probadly fighting more fires today than most firefighters across the world. Although the entire night, about the only fire they ever mentioned was when John Jr fought a fire where he recieved burns through his hood and bunker gear. The fire was on the first floor, and "pep holes" in the doors were melted three floors above from the heat. Because of those burns, John Jr was out of work for four months. But he still loves going to fires and loves the job.