NO FRILLS MEMORY: I recall on 7/4 night tour early 90's, L 112 I got the "Roof"... we ate early...and a van full of buffs from NH has joined us and is now following us to each alarm. We rapped up a job in E 237 area and on the way back to Knickerbocker Av. we cruise by another job in the area with L 124 "Tonka Truck" operating...they're working at a vacant 6 brick... we faintly hear a "Mayday" given over the handi-talkie. There is no response from command, we stop the rig and listen, again very faintly...almost a whisper, "Mayday" ...we can hardly make out "fireman down in the rear". Now we stop, hop off the rig as the Boss advises command (remember, this is before FAT, FAST and RIT days)...we are put to work but cannot access the rear. It is between two vacants, the first is the fire building and exposure 3 is a similar vacant, but there is a solid cinder block between the two buildings about 8-10 feet high. We throw a portable up and scan the darken backyards that are filled with high weeds and rubbish. Hard to see anything, but there is a portable ladder to the second floor that is leaning off to the left of the window. Shining our flashlights over the wall we finally make out a reflective stripe of a turnout coat laying along the exposure 3 wall about 30 feet away from the fire building. Over the fence I go, followed by another Brother and we locate Firefighter Tommy O'B...a great guy, heads up firefighter. He has been knocked semi unconscious from the heavy plywood that was blocking the windows from above. Found out later he was trying to gain entry from the rear when inside team removed the plywood from third floor, Tom was on a portable ladder and the plywood smacked him from above knocking him off the portable.
As we packaged Tom up, the other Brothers breached a wall in the cement blocks and Tommy's Fourth of July was a blurred memory in the ER. We went back in service...pretty sure the lads from NH got some cool pics and a story for back home.
SIDENOTE: Small world. About 5-6 years after the incident I ran into Tommy at Hershey Park, PA, we were both on vacation. We were glad to see each other, I asked him if he remembers anything from that night, he told me his only recollection was "seeing my face" bent over him.
