My father was a fireman in Bridgeport, Ct., so I guess it was kinda in the blood. I had met a guy who worked at Eng 210 on Carlton Ave. in Brooklyn. The guy told me that they shared quarters with Rescue 2 and he invited me down. He told me that the Lt. on the Rescue had a lot of medals and that I would enjoy meeting him. (As it turned out he was referring to Lt Richard Hamilton who was one of the most decorated firefighters at that time. He later wrote the book called: 20,000 Alarms).
I got on the Train to Grand Central, then took a cab to the firehouse. I had Never seen a New York City Firehouse before, let alone go inside of one. As I approached the red apparatus doors, I could hear bells ringing inside. I knocked on the door and got invited in. I could smell smoke throughout the place. The guys were cleaning off the tools, and as far as I was concerned, "I had died and went to heaven". I was introduced to the guys including Lt Hamilton. Shortly after Lt Hamilton went upstairs while the other guys continue to clean the tools.
The bells kept coming in, and I had No Idea of what was going on. Then I hear "Engine and Rescue - Get out". I went to step aside and one of the guys told me to climb into the back of the rig. I couldn't"t believe that I was riding Rescue 2 of Brooklyn, NY. It was "The Major Leagues of Fire Fighting". I was probadly about 17 years old and this was about 1967 - 1968. (Nobody knew it, but that was just about the beginning of the Busy War Years to come). Of course they gave me a GREAT Meal, and we made six (6) runs that day.
Lt Hamilton told me to come down on a Saturday and spend the night at the firehouse. My father couldn't"t believe what I had told him. So the Saturday night came. It sure was worth waiting for. That night, they had 18 runs of which two were all hands and one was a second alarm. I remember being completely wiped out the next morning, and I didn"t even work. It was an experience that I will never forget. "I was Hooked". The next time they let me bring down my younger brother, and guess what ! He was hooked too.
Lt Hamilton Never Bragged about the rescues he had made. I would ask him and he told me something like; "Its really no big deal", and he would just smile. It was the other guys that would tell me what he did, and that was only after he left the room. Of course, I was probadly too young to really appreciate the story of those rescues, especially having never fought a fire myself at that young age. But to me, all these guys were NewYork City Firefighters, and they were all hero's.
I wonder what happened to those guys I met in the Firehouse those many years ago. I"ve heard talk that Lt Hamilton had retired shortly and moved to Ariz. The guy that first invited me down was named Tony Tudduini of Eng 210. I think somebody in his family ran a Mom/Pop Store in Fairfield, Ct. And I remember a guy on Rescue 2 named Jim. I think they called him Big Red. He was about 6"4".
For me, that was over 40 years ago. I can still remember what it was like for me to be at that firehouse and riding that rig. If any of those guys are still around, I can"t Thank You enough for all you did for me. You talk about role models "These guys were the champions of it".
