Shortly after the book "Report from Engine 82" came out, I decided to relocate from the busy Harlem area, that I had been buffing for about two years, to the area with the busiest firehouse in the world. The Arson Capital of the world known as The South Bronx. I guess it was around 1973 when my favorite hangout was around Intervale Ave and 169 St in the Bronx. Even by then, the area was pretty well burned out, but there was still heavy fire duty.
For me one of the problems I had when I left Harlem to go to this South Bronx area was learning the streets. In Harlem it was pretty easy as all east/west streets were numbered. With only about a dozen named streets running north/south, like Amsterdam Ave, Lexington Ave, Lenox Ave, Park Ave etc. Basically, the area was from 110th St up. Pretty easy to go to a fire say on 135th St. And those Harlem companies were very busy. But learning the streets of the South Bronx was more difficult. They also had numbered streets, but they also had streets with names. Fox St, Tinton Ave, Huntspoint Ave, Fulton Ave, Clarmont Ave., etc. Trying to drive to a fire and following a map didn't always work. Some streets were one way, dead end etc.
Also hanging out was another buff who I got to know. I found out that he lived in New Jersey, not too far from the South Bronx. He hung out in the Bronx almost every night and he knew the area much better than I did. I got to know this guy pretty good and he told me to just follow him to the jobs. If I was by myself he would take me in his car. And I'd just hope that my car would still be there when I came back. His name was Harvey Eisner.
Harvey knew the area well. He was really good to me and I enjoyed meeting him. He would tell me about some of the jobs that they had caught in the area for the times that I wasn't able to make it down there. He took a lot of pictures of these jobs. And sometimes he told me he would make up a few and give the pictures to the guys on the job that caught it.
Later when author of the book "Report from Engine 82", Dennis Smith started a popular magazine called "Firehouse", Harvey went to work there as an editor. He did dozens of stories from around the country. He interviewed firefighters who worked these incidents and then put their words into articles in that magazine. He covered the stories and lessons learned. We all learned from his articles.
Harvey Eisner was a part of "Our Younger Buff Years". We lost Harvey at a young age of 59 on October 23, 2014. My memories of Harvey Eisner go back as far as 1973. He was there and his photos captured some of the conditions that existed then in the South Bronx, as well as other parts of the city. When they say he was a "Legend", that is what he was.
His card that he gave me just two weeks ago at Get Together, 2014 says:
Harvey Eisner
Former Editor-in-Chief
Firehouse Magazine
Retired Fire Chief Tenafly, NJ FD
Honorary Assistant Chief FDNY
I was told at that meeting by retired FDNY member Ken B., of Engine 94, that he would make up 8 x 10 photos and pay for these out of his own pocket to give to the guys. I had remembered the picture he took of a blind man with a New York City Firefighter on a fire escape that made the front page of the NY Daily News. When I mentioned that, he went out to his car to get a book full of pictures. In that book there was that Daily News front page photo from 1978.
Rest in Peace Harvey. And thanks for all the help you gave me with getting around those streets.
Some people say that we will meet again. "I hope that's true".
