My younger Buff years

[guitarman314]

  In its first incarnation Rescue 5 was actually manned by Ladder 78 meaning that L78 would assume the identity of R5 and during that time Staten Island would be short one ladder company. I was reading the original May 16, 1948 General Orders that said if L78 was at a job or relocated to another firehouse that they should return to their quarters and pick up the rescue rig and dispatchers would send another ladder to replace them.   

 

[nfd2004]

I thank "raybrag" and "gman" for that info. Wow, 25 years ago. (1984). It sure doesn"t seem that long ago. Maybe I was more like 60 lbs lighter, rather than 50. Actually, I appreciate that. And I had no idea about Ladder 78 manning Rescue 5 in its earlier days. Back in 1984, I made a trip out to Los Angeles. I spent 3 days buffing and getting rig shots of L.A. City and 3 days doing the same with L.A. County. Things were so different there from the FDNY. There they had Task Force Assignments, (2 Engs and 1 Ladder), Lite Force Assignments (1 Eng and 1 Lad), Strike Teams (5 Engines). L.A. City was big on physical fitness and had mandatory physical training every morning after checking out the equipment. They of course were always responding to EMS calls. I remember Eng 46 and 33 in L.A. City were in the middle of the Watts area in South Central L.A. They did a lot of running, but in those 6 days I never caught a fire. There were a lot of strip mall shopping centers, but Watts was all one story single family homes. It was quite different from what I was familiar with in NYC. Of course the members were very good to me. I did spend some time with Eng 10/Truck 10 which was just outside of the downtown area. One guy in particular I got to be friends with. He was also a buff and collector of older fire collectibles. I think his first name was Mike and he was about my age. About a month later there"s a big high rise fire in downtown L.A. and I"m watching it on CNN News, while working at the firehouse. Who did I see sitting taking a break from the job, but my buddy Mike along with about 10 other L.A. City Guys. Of course I told the guys I was working with that I knew that guy. Of course, my boys just laughed it off. "Ya we know the guy sitting next to him" !!!! Just part of Firehouse life I guess. "I guess they didn"t believe me".
  But let me say, without trying to hurt The L.A City and County Brothers, I"m sure glad I get to buff the FDNY. No offense guys, I"m sure you do a good job, but my team is the FDNY.

 

[nfd2004]

As the WAR YEARS were coming to an end, the view in most places were like the place had been "bombed-out". The South Bronx, Bed-Sty, Brownsville, Bushwick, Harlem and the Lower East Side were the hardest hit areas. But it wasn"t a bomb that caused this, it was from the staggerring amount of fire activity that had occurred over a short period of time. You could drive for blocks and see nothing but burned out shells of what were once thriving apartment buildings or business"s. It was like walking through a "Ghost Town". If you saw anybody, it was probadly a homeless drug user seeking shelter in these buildings. Or you"d see a poor starving dog with its rib bones showing. It was like these areas had become a Third World Country, right in the middle of the "Heartbeat of The World". Just a few short miles from the Wall St Financial Center of The World. A video posted earlier I believe by "r1smokeater" tells the story.
  There were companies where in their first due district, half to three quarters of the buildings were gone or abandoned burned out shells. Of course their runs went down. There was nothing left. I guess the City had basically wrote these area"s off. The police precinct (41st ? ) on Simpson St was once called "Fort Apache", now became "Little House on the Prairie". I think it was the retired Captain from Eng 82, who told us that as time went on, the police precinct was the only building left standing on Simpson St.
  For years, nothing was done. Just a wasteland in one of the richest cities in the World. Two Presidents had visited the area and walked among the rubble in disbelief. All with promises of good things to come. One large hand painted sign was on the upper walls of a Bronx tenement. It said: "We Are Still Here". Basically, the only ones that were still there were the homeless, drug users, the very poor who couldn"t move, and the firefighters and cops that made these areas their homes for 40 or so hours a week. Nobody cared and anybody that mattered, just buried their head in the sand, hoping it would all go away. Well, it did, after about 30 years. Today there is new buildings, rehabbed buildings, new businesses, new schools, parks, homes, apartments etc.
 

 

[fdce54]

I was from the more western areas of the Bronx. When I started my full time adult job in 1974, which I still hold to this day, I remember driving down Boston Rd from West Farms Rd and seeing the Charlotte St area for the first time. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was like looking at Dresden. It was a "No Man's Land." And a well kept secret. Harlem had Adam Clayton Powell screaming for it and Bed-Stuy had Shirley Chisholm bringing attention to it but the Bronx had nobody.

 

[nfd2004]

The Most Famous Box in the World, espically during the Busy War years of the 1970s.
Bronx Box 2743, Charlotte and 170 St.
Engs 82, 85, 45, Ladders 31, 59, and Batt. 27...."That was Then". For then and Now, try this: http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=51552 .
Hope it works

Go to : You Tube South Bronx Wolfen Charlotte Street 1981 ..... "For Then"

 

[guitarman314]

  Charlotte St? Back in the day, we would hear boxes like: 2743-Charlotte & 170 and know right away that there would be a big job. Buffing at 60/17 we heard that box come in so often that we didn't have to pull up the card because we already knew that 60 was 1st due on the 4th. And a couple of times that box went to 4 alarms.  

  Dejavu all over again?

 

[efd274]

Interesting tidbit - Dean Meminger from station NY 1 is the son of Dean Meminger of the Knicks, Marquette, and Rice HS!!

 

[nfd2004]

As things started to slow down a little bit, I started to see what the other areas of New York City was like. I was also getting interested in taking different types of apparatus photos. I made another trip to Staten Island. I wanted to get a photo of Tower Ladder 85 which was a new rig and the First Tower Ladder to be painted the Red/White colors, replacing the solid red rigs. What really caught my eye was the fact that this rig had several metal pump cans attached to the side of the rig. These were used for brush fires and in the areas I was familiar with, they really didn"t get brush fires. But I really didn"t see many 6 brick "H" type buildings out there.
  Another time, Queens had a Third Alarm. It was in a "Queen Anne" type building. Operating at this fire was Ladder Co 121 from Far Rockaway. This Tower Ladder had a Yellow Surf Board on the side of the rig. It was obvious that they respond to "Water Rescues" in their area. I had Never seen a Ladder Truck with a "Surf Board" on it. And at the time, with the Hundreds of fires that I buffed in the busiest areas of the City, I didn"t remember ever catching a "Queen Anne" frame building. There were also loads of 2 1/2 peaked frame dwellings. These were the type of buildings that I was familiar with where I worked.
    I remember talking with Warren Fuchs. I think at the time it was before he retired as a Brooklyn Fire Dispatcher. He was also a buff and I asked him where he thought the latest hot spot was to hang out. He told me, the area around Eng 275 is starting to pick up. This was before Ladder 133 was added with them. He said alot of those frames are "Packed with people". It was a new style of firefighting from what I had seen earlier on in the South Bronx with its 6 Bricks and Taxpayers, or the 3-4 story row frames of Bushwick. So I spent some time in that area too. Most of my time was still spent in the Bronx at the McDonald's on Webster Ave in the Bronx. But for a change of pace, I knew where I could buff and catch "Frames" instead of "Brick Dwellings".
  I guess the real point I"m trying to make is that whatever style of firefighting that somebody wanted to learn, the FDNY offers it. Whether its buffing the 6 Brick M.D.s, Rowframes, Private dwellings, Taxpayers, High Rises, Brownstones, Water Rescues, MVAs, Brush Fires, etc, etc. The FDNY offers it. As a buff, its certainly the place to see it. As a visiting firefighter that wants to learn, the FDNY shows the way to do it.
  I remember stopping in Ladder 33s Qtrs in the Bronx. My brother (georged4997) who was with me was a Lt on a pretty busy Rescue Co in Ct. He had responded to a call a few days earlier of what was called "Surfing the Elevator". Some of the kids would ride the tops of elevator cars, especially in the Housing Projects. Of course, it is a very dangerous thing to do and this time one of these "little angels" fell off the roof of the elevator car and was caught between the wall and the elevator car. He was talking to this average FDNY firefighter from Ladder 33, and the guy said to my brother: "Did you put a halligan bar between the gears of the elevator in case it started to move" ? For them apparently this was just an average call. The FDNY guy didn"t give it a second thought when he said this. Just a matter of routine I guess. But how many of us outside the FDNY have ever done this before. Like I say, "They know their stuff". It"s the place to buff and the place to Learn.

 

[georged4997]

riding the top of the elevator cars. two kids brother and sister , jumping the
roofs of the elevator cars. she got her foot caught between the wall and car
and was hanging upside down. that was the day we just got in the small
air bag. it was enough to move the car just over to release her. she had been dangling 4 stories up of a 8 story building.

 

[nfd2004]

I found this on another Web Site, but I thought I"d pass it on here. Its from a guy who was there and knows what he"s talking about.
  Bronx Box 2323 at Cauldwell and 160 St was referred to as "Gasoline Alley". At the time there were several 6 and 7 story brick MDs there. In July, maybe 1971 there were 17 All Hands or Greater just at that one box location in one month. The Fire Statics for those War Years were "Staggering". For me, as just a buff, its hard to believe it actually happened. We"d go from one fire to another. Seeing a fire truck responding to a call was like seeing a taxi cab in Midtown Manhatten. Most people didn"t give it a second look. I wonder what the Bronx, or the other parts of New York City, would have looked like if the fires continued. I used to think that there would be enough left for me to buff in my life time. But on second thought, "Maybe Not".
 

 

[johnd248]

Another old goodie from the 60s: we had an all hands fire in a 4 story brick OMD in the area of Flatbush and Foster Avenues.  I was riding with Engine 248 and Battalion 41 had the fire.  I was in the hallway outside the fire apartment and a member of the NYPD told the chief he had taken a lot of smoke prior to FDNY's arrival.  He had been in the building alerting civilians about the fire.  At the time, only Battalions carried resuscitators.  The chief told me to take the cop outside to the Battalion rig and give him some oxygen.  I got out the resuscitator, plugged in the hose, and handed him the end of the hose with the mouthpiece attached.  He immediately started puffing away at the hose and said: "That's much better."  I looked and said: "Now, I will turn on the oxygen, let me know how much better it gets."  You shoulda seen the guys face!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[nfd2004]

Another story about Bronx Box 2323, Cauldwell and 160 St. Its not my story but a well respected retired member of the FDNY who told this story, and I don"t think he will mind if I pass this on.
  While on the air with Eng 50, "dispatcher would say, "50 start out for Gasoline Alley". There were two sections of 50 then. The Box got Eng 50-1, Eng 50-2, Eng 73, Lad 19, and Lad 42. Had a Second or Third at the box one tour. We come back to quarters as a relocator Engine was there. As we get off the rig, 2323 comes in again. We look over that way and see a huge column of smoke. It went to a Second or Third. Burnt the whole neighborhood out in about two years. A lot of guys got injured from that box. Some had to even get off the job".
  From another member, "Same thing at Hoe and Aldus." "94, Start out for 2508, you know where it is".
  I remember riding by Aldus St, with another buff friend in my car. This guy spent more time down there than I did. He knew the streets and area much better than I did. Aldus St wasn"t a very big street, but whenever we"d ride by there, he"d say to me; "Willy, they been catching a lot of jobs on that street." When I"d ride down the street, I could see what he was talking about. A few jobs in the building on the right. Another job down the street. A job across the street. That"s the way it was.

 

[guitarman314]

 What a coincidence  , as soon as you posted this a 10-75 came in for Hoe & Aldus box 2508,  go figure

 

[nfd2004]

Guitarman314, "I"d say thats some pretty good timing". Next time I"m down there, I will take a ride down that street. It"s been a long time since I was there. I"m curious as to what it looks like today. I"m sure its a lot different from seeing the several burn outs of many years ago.
  Interesting that some of the busiest streets during the Busy War Years, were actually some of the smaller streets. Like Charlotte St, Aldus St, and Cauldwell Ave. Yes, the bigger streets of Boston Rd, Southern Blvd etc had their share of burned out buildings, but I think it was probadly more noticeable on the smaller streets because of the number of burn outs verses the number of buildings on the street. Driving on these streets and seeing half or more burn outs on a small single street certainly left even the most seasoned buffs astonished.

 

[guitarman314]

  Talking about short streets, remember Crimmins Ave., Beekman Ave., Beech Terrace and Oak Terrace in the Mott Haven section?  Re Aldus St.: from 1976-78 I played on a Latin American softball team named for Aldus St. even though I actually lived on Grand Concourse & 196th St. We played many night games at Franz Ziegel Park opposite Cardinal Hayes HS.  My two most memorable events while playing there were hearing that Elvis had died and the Blackout of 1977.  I was playing rightfield in a tied league play-off game that some of the locals had bet money on. When the lights went out they told us to stay on the field and continue playing. We did for about 15 minutes then we heard noise, commotion and sirens to the east around the Melrose area and some kid on a bike going down Grand Concourse yelling: "Repent sinners, it's the end of the world!". I got in my van and drove north to my home in what was then still a relatively "quiet" area.

 

[rdm258]

When that blackout occured was there a mandatory call in to work for the FF's and cops. Is that true that Yankee stadium was used as a holding cell for all the perps that were locked up. Thank you?

 

[nfd2004]

rdm258, in response to your question regarding the Blackout of 1977, I believe there were over 2,000 arrest that night. Of course there should have been at least 10 or 20 times that, but it was just an impossible task to do. Every service was just so completely overwhelmed.
  I also somewhere remember hearing of Yankee Stadium becoming a temporary cell block but at this point, I can"t really confirm that. As far as calling in off duty firefighters, I believe that did happen. As soon as I can, I will check out a book I have called "Blackout looting". It pretty much has all the facts in there of what went on.
  Guitarman314, yes streets like Crimmins Ave, Beekman Ave etc, do have that familiar ring to them also. I kinda remember a few of those 10-30s (working fire, requesting 2 Engs, 2 Lads, and Chief), and 10-75s on those streets too. And if I was there (Bronx) when the lights went out, and some guy was riding a bicycle yelling; "Repent Sinners, It"s the end of the world", I"d probadly believe him. Scarey thought to be in those neighborhoods with the lights out.

 

[rdm258]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UAI2gzf0mw    figured was around the same time that refer to the War years

 

[nfd2004]

  "rdm258" let me Thank you for putting "The Bronx is Burning" on "My Younger Buff Years". Yes, for me, "this is where it all began". When Buffs and Firefighters talk about the busy "War Years", this is what most think of. Eng 82, Lad 31 and Batt. 27. It was probadly the most famous firehouse in the World. Dennis Smith wrote his best selling book "Report from Engine 82" based on his experience working there. Everyone of those Firefighters you see there were "The Greatest Generation of Firefighters" ever known. They would be out most of the night fighting fires or chasing false alarms. In busy houses like this, if you got to eat your evening meal about 3 AM you considered yourself pretty lucky. I believe it is said in part of the entire program, "in one entire month, Eng 82 never got to finish their entire meal without getting called out". In my opinion, not only were they the "Greatest Generation of Firefighters", but they "WERE THE GREATEST GENERATION"- - - - "PERIOD". As kids they grew up in the Great Depression. Later they fought World War II, and they came back and "Built America". They were tough guys and very seldom complained. They truly were Americas Heroes. They didn"t look for self gratification, only to do their job and go home to their families. You talk about "Role Models", these guys were the real Role Models. Not some guy that could hit a baseball, or some drugged out Hollywood Star.
  When I started writing this, I wanted to try and tell my story as a young guy who chased fire trucks in New York City as a hobby. But I also wanted to let people know what this group of Firefighters did over and over again, under some of the worst, most dangerous conditions any Firefighter could face. While fighting fires will probadly never be a safe job, it was these guys that faced this danger all too often. "Lets Not ever forget them".
    Thanks rdm258. And for anybody that doesn"t know, this is just a small segment of a documentary that was made back in the 1970s. The total program runs about 45 minutes (?) and is called : "The Bronx is burning". I understand, sometimes you can still pick up a DVD of the complete program. (see History on this site).

 

[patrickfd]

I picked up a copy of The Bronx is Burning on ebay. I had started by buffing career in the war years with my dad by hanging out at E-231, L-120 sitting on the box out front waiting for them to go out. Then going over to Squad 4 on Bristol St with E-283. A very eye opening experience for a 9 y/o kid.