You're listening to the Getting Salty Experience podcast. You muted your knucklehead again?
He did myself, all right, Hold on and go at a word we
go. Welcome back to the unmuted version of the Getting Salty Experienced podcast.
It's the only one we don't bring only to kitch your table anymore. I'm
not saying that anymore. Guns. We bring the whole fire house experience to
you, bro, right to wherever you are. I agree. We pee
Wee's down in kate May. You know, he's ten eighty four from Kate
May. But we're bringing it right to him. He can't be at the
fire house. So what do we do? We bring it to you wherever
you are. This is Brocuccini. Ain't checking in. I know, heat
down in like North Carolina or something. So his wife sweating, that's what
he's doing. He's sweating like an animal. Not hot down there at all.
Yeah, yeah, I think the whole country sweating. That's it was
hot, not hot enough to wear in New York jets a A ron Jersey
baby taking to the Promised Land this year a Jersey I don't even know that
guy. Who is that guy? Come on, stop it now? I
mean, you promised land that's what we're doing. I'm gonna see one.
I'll be more than one years old of the season. Kid, what's up?
Well that yesterday brother? Yeah, me and Roofy went to the twenty
fifth anniversary of the Squad. Had a grand old time. Look that cup.
Yeah, salute. I got there in great, great turnout, really
great turnout, right, bro. A lot of guys showed up from the
past. Blast in the Past was good. It was a good time.
There was a good turnout, good food, good times. Coo Coops walked
in. It was like, I don't know, he was a little early,
but maybe there was like twenty five guys just hanging around before we had
about ninety guys. I think Coops. He came in. He's like,
hey, hey, you don't has everybody doing that? Good to see you,
Good to see it. I'm like, where's Coops eating. I'm like,
he's the first guy on the line. He's the first guy. You
know, he's got goes up and down like three times if anybody else gets
anything. My grandfather, my grandfather, Johnny Foist. You gotta be Johnny
Foist to get your calories in for the day or something when I dude,
I waited, I capted my calories. I had like fifteen hundred left.
I went to town, right to the super sad. I had the brute.
Could you imagine being fifty five years old and still worrying about that stuff?
I had the brute. I had everything I had to meet, not
a bit. My tongue almost in half. It was bleeding all over the
place. I hate that. In a while, still see it. Look,
Oh it was bleeding for two days. Broop. I was chopping on
the lamp chop and I slipped up the bone right in my fucking tongue.
Bro Damn, Maybe you take it easy, Take it easy, guy,
Yeah, man, something the rest of us when you gotta display like that
a food bro right had the chicken franchise, me balls, the egg plant
role, the team drinking top notch too. Bro you can never go wrong
with Italian food. Man. It's just like we just came to the meal,
every couple of each Yeah, it was smoked. You smoke that he
just took one. I'm giving it to my friend that one of those guys
just to take it because it's free, you know what I'm saying. But
they put it in the thing. I didn't take it. They gave it
to me. I comnd it. Get one because you're too busy eating obviously
too busy. Stuff on your face. I was, he says, gob
a goal over here. Let's hear that again. I'm a goal over here
over here. You're out cool. I'm not even to see. I don't
even touch anything. I can't hope until I get old. He has certain
ones we need. I hold them. I gotta be useful somehow, so
I hold them by all right now, God's couldn't pull out. I got
one shout out for the night. The guy met in the bathroom at I
can't maybe can't pull it out anyway. His name is Percy L. Del
Aguila, Senior from Florida. He said, I was the guy to meet
you in the bathroom and Yankee Stadium, so held junk for you up very
What did he say? What do you like? The what do you like?
Salty guy? I saw him what I see one of them. He's
looking at me in the corner of his eye. I'm like, either he's
checking up my junk or maybe he uh. He probably know he watches the
show and came out and see he watched the show Really Good Guy, Yep
and Yankee Stadium. I told that we took the selfie. My wife's in
the corner like this. Oh my god, we this day. He didn't
sign any hats, did you? No, I would have if he asked
me too, that you have a show up. That's how I go.
I carry you a shopping around just in case. That's the kids they see
somebody in the tarlet. Yeah, oh want you to sign boo yeah,
fight his tongue coops gave Fox through that I can't get to that or wait
to the commercials. Yea, yeah, yeah, all right, get the
commercials quick because we have to get a steamed guest in here, all right
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I love that Vince Prince is a good guy, which too up on him.
He's gonna biyous then it next time? Oh really, you you know
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from here guns. I'm not really, I'm not. Do you a favorite.
This is what I ed to have the guys do, bro, when
I became the senior man, I said, listen, you have for twenty
four hours. You need to drill on something, you need to read something,
and you need to exercise for at least forty five minutes. Bro.
If you can't get your fats in the gym for forty five minutes, shame
on you. You have to exercise. It's a very difficult, demanding job
and it's something that you have to do. For the rest of your life,
even past retirement. Stay in shape, Put down the canoli and get
your fats on the treadmill. All right, that's all I gotta says,
like every hour, what's that you are, Craig? That's what he is
he doing right now? Craig, He'll tell us a litt about it,
say he knows how to do it dirty push up and then I used to
make them go up. Remember we used to do the elevator appreciation. I
used to make them in full bunker gear go up eighteen stories while it was
working. Once, sometimes with the spreaders, yeah, sometimes with the heart
we had. We had contests. A lot of guys didn't do it.
They didn't like it. They kind of we'ren't too happy with me. But
listen, you know you got to go up eighty flights and then operate,
so you'll be thanking me for sure. Yep. I played the last one
gons before we have hours and we want to do Mike Honors tonight or we
want to just do hours? Do what hours? And then we have mikes?
Do we want to how we could do mikes? And you know what,
I want to give out a condolences to mikey Lois's grandpa h this past
week, so let's do Mike's give him a little shout out. Ten four
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the range route outfit. It just gets me every time I want to be
stress free. You can't make it. I can't remember the mimic the eyeballs.
But you know, here's it's better than the other one. You had
to air brosch the whole thing. I don't know what he had going on
there. Yeah, all right, god's play the last and final one.
You know what. We gotta do it here, bro, you all right?
Hold on? What's up? If you want this ready? If you
want to do a seven nine eight on your pizza, get telegraphy. We
want to pizza cut up. Pizza cut is coming soon. The pizza that's
not bad. I can't even believe you remember those. You're all bro?
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Let's well for you do it. You do the honors, buddy. I'll
actually had the honor of working with Craig uh my last year at stock Island,
so that's where I got the Norman. That's why I wanted him on
the show. So coming to the stage, fire fire to Craig Free,
I'll at gons problem, let's gonna go, let's gonna go. Oh what
happened? He's a little under the cons Are you a little onto the weather?
You would sick us up? And you listen to weight what happened there?
Welcome to the show, mister, if we thank you for having me
listen. The guy worked with you for the last year and he's got to
ask you how to pronounce your last name, and I don't know. I
don't want to make sure I didn't. You know, it's a little silly
at the end there. Well my name has been butchered throughout the year.
I appreciated asking. Yeah, so you I see you still keep in shape?
Like like I was saying the uh during the commercials likes to see did
you always work out way on the job? I did? Uh? What
kind of uh? I'm a lightweight? Well, I'm a middleweight. I'm
like most out of the wave was one eight five and that's when I went
on the cycle of Creton. But I'm usually like now I'm hundred and seventy.
I've been that weight for thirty years. It's pretty cool. It does.
It's a very you know, this job is hard, bro, So
this is it's a difficult, demanding job, right. You gotta stay stay
in shape. And I was fortunate my dad was in good shape. He
died, but he died at sixty four. So I'm fifty nine. So
I'm making a point that I'm gonna do as much as I can to talking
about that all the time. What did dad pass from a heart attack.
Yeah, my dad fifty seven from a heart attack. Yep. So we
want to collect a long time right, right, we want to get back
at the city. We gotta we gotta collect a long time brother. Yeah,
need to collect a lot of the vengeance. Keep it coming. All
right, let's say, let's do it. Let's get that picture out before
we dive into mister Tweet's Korea copy. All right, here we go.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
Republic, for which it stands, one nation under God. Oh, I
didn't touch a god. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States
of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible with liberty and justice. For all that might have been on
me, I think I may have touched the right. But right, do
you get on your computer too? Yeah? Lock it? Ye sweet,
that's a rescue guy. I didn't feel like I'm in the room, sad
guy. Figure it out. I got to work on his curtains, though,
Kooby, what do you think you got to work on his curtains?
You don't have the you don't have the gainzel, curtains, curtains. He
doesn't want to get some I don't want to take him down. Be a
man already. Will you say? The Oval office here? You know what
I'm saying. Yeah, Yeah, looks like Abraham Lincoln's bedroom or something.
You guys coming all the day. Let's dive into visits, sweets queer quick
his career. So let's talk about I know your dad was on the job,
right, so I'm assuming that's what's got you into the fire service.
So let's talk about your dad and the rest of your family, where you
grew up, all that stuff. Uh, My dad got on the job
nineteen sixty, got out in nineteen eighty, and I was born in sixty
four. We moved out to Lakeview, Long Island, which is part of
West Hempstead and it surrounds Hempstead Lake State Park. So it was really nice
place to grow up. I mean, you know, it's one of those
neighborhoods where everyone rolled their bikes, played kickball, spud, Hot peas and
butter, Hot peas and butter. What's that one? I don't know,
Hot peas and butter. You take a belt and hide it. Everyone turns
around. You hide the belt. And now people are looking for the belt,
and you're like, warmer, warmer, and whoever farm to get it.
There's hot peas and butter. Could you hide today past some people?
Some people will use the buckle. Oh, kids to hot peas and butter.
Right, playing hot peas and butter. Today. We just played steps.
We played Johnny on the Pony. We played all those games. Right,
play those games today. But it was not a lawyer. Yeah,
park had uh everything. We played sports all year round. We even played
tennis because the park was right there. It was just a very nice community
to grow up in. The high school was good. Malvern High School at
that time. The ratio was almost fifty fifty fifty fifty black and everyone pretty
much got along. Um the Malvern Mules. The Mules exactly close today.
I don't know from you were basketball giants, so it's nice you play ball,
you play any played football football. I was an outside linebacker and the
wide receiver. This guy man, So did you did you actually when you're
going to the firehouse with your dad, like, what did you know about
parties and all that stuff? Yeah? I remember the Christmas parties, the
picnics, and then I actually remember the first night that I was in the
firehouse. I was I think twelve. I used to go get my hair
cut over the twenty three truck. My dad would give me five dollars,
he would tell me what. In fact, he would let me take the
Long Island Railroad to Penn Station and take the subway uptown. That's crazy,
right, I would get my hair cut by twenty three truck. They knew
instantly I wasn't from harm and I had like the Presidentiam joint. You know,
you could just tied. I didn't look like I was from the neighborhood
and never had an issue. And then he told me to go down to
forty second Street because Playland used to be down there, the game room,
and I would go there play game moves and take the train back to the
firehouse. While you were down there back of that little peacan, you know,
a little peakan little no I had, I WoT want to do.
It was like pinball and the driving games. So what your dad was in
twenty three truck the whole time? Yeah, you look like your dad?
Man. My son looks more like him than I do. Does he?
How old your son? He's eleven and he interested in getting on the job.
I look at that guy. That's a boy, he says. Uh.
My wife took him to uh, the marine unit. They were doing
the high line, so I said, park over about the marine unit,
and he went there. He told me he's going to be in the marine
unity all right, And I told him he's very smart. Yeah, right,
that's the way to go. You won't get beat up, that's for
sure. No, So your dad was did twelve you know what, Craig,
My dad got on in nineteen sixty and he went to twenty eight truck
So they worked together. That's crazy. They worked together. So Craig,
well, we were we were sitting that the reason I remembered. I remember
you telling me about the story of like he did a roof rope rescue or
something. Right, is that the picture that we have? Yeah, he
uh did a rope rescue. What's so cool about it is I was three
months old. So he's on the job four years and they ended up getting
a woman from the inside. But that picture stayed in my locker my whole
career because it was really uh he said a high bar and unfortunately he passed
away. I was only on the job for like a year and a few
months. Actually it was a year and three months because it was December two,
I'm sorry, December ninety two. He passed away, and so that
actually was my first well, I never been to um fire department funeral because
when I was in the academy, Kevin Kane was killed, but they didn't
allow the probies to go to the funeral. So I never been to a
fire department funeral. I had no idea of the etiquette, how it worked.
Nothing. And then when my dad died, you know, the guys
in the fire outs were like, go, we got you whatever you need
to go, and I went. My parents moved down to snow Hill,
Maryland. That's my mom grew up. It's like half an hour from Ocean
City, Maryland, six hours from here. I went down there, did
everything we had to do. My sisters took care of everything for the funeral,
and now it was time to go to the funeral. And we're literally
going down the cornfields and you can see the steeple. When I turned the
block, there was a sea of Fireman Street. And that that's when I
realized how good the job was. In regardless of whatever goes on, I've
never experienced anything like that. You know, I worked a chemical bank before
I got on the job. If I died, there wouldn't be a line
of the money out your account, that's rightful through my desk. Hey,
we didn't know that about That says a lot about the Brothers man all the
way down in Maryland, right, it does. And and it really said
a lot about my father, who he was an amazing dude because everything he
did he did to the to the top. He was lieutenant colonel the army,
a power trooper. He was our scout leader. Um, and but
he was he was the nicest guy in the world. He was strong as
hell. I remember him playing football with us in high school for Thanksgiving.
He was on the ground playing with a heart and said that it was great.
So, you know, I go to firehouse and at the time,
my mother was going to a Delphi to get her masses. She was a
teacher. She taught in the Malvern School District, a third grade teacher.
And um, so we're, um, since she's going to school, we're
trying to cut down. So we're having franks and beans every Saturday. Hated
franks and beans. When I'm at the firehouse. On Saturday. No,
but you know, they're having steak sandwiches at the firehouse. So I started
writing notes. I'm taking notes to tell mommy, you know, steak sandwiches
and beans. No. Now they finished the food, put everything away.
They go laid down like they have beds here. You know, you're not
supposed to give out any of those. And I go into TV room and
we didn't have cable on Long Island. They had cable there, and I
turned onto a channel that I shouldn't have been watching. Nice like that,
right, So I'm in there by myself now like, oh my gosh.
The door opens and my dad goes, what goes on here? Stays here?
And he shut the door, and uh, you know, things like
that. I got to see a different side. Then I went to a
job with them, and I was scared. I didn't even look up.
I could feel the radiant heat from the cab. And that's when I said,
oh, you know, it's not just you know, naps and steaks.
These dudes, Yo, they really did it. They really did it
with no mask. Army guys, veterans, they will all shake your hand
real hard, you know, it was. It's impressive. I never wanted
to be a firefighter. I was going to be a drummer or DJ or
speed racer or something else. But he told me to take the test.
Uh. And I was working a chemical bank and I was working for Dreyfust
and I hated it. I took the test, and Uh, Columbus Circle,
who was in New York cuts I took it. I was just gonna
say, we took the same test, because it was like eighty six to
eighty seven, and you got on ninety one. I got on ninety three.
And they only had I think, what number were you less than a
thousand? Probably like at one thousand and probably I think I was. I
can't remember twelve and one. Maybe yeah, I was seventeen hundred. So
so think about that. Only five hundred names. And it was a two
year difference, and we had to delay because the guy died. I died
right getting physical. That's where they had the dirty the dirty ratty um mattresses
in the corner. Right you walked in, You're like, what are those
four? At the end you were laying on those dirty Well I remember,
you know, I was partying hard. I mean I didn't do any preparation.
So the day of my test, I go to Pudgy Washes and Uh
Jamaica, and I put the role up on my shoulder's start running up the
steps. When I got to the top of the steps, I started seeing
spots and getting dizzy, and I said, what the hell did I?
I thought I blew it. But going through that test, I knew how
to pace myself. When I got to the coliseum and I was trying to
tell these two guys who had on like tight cope copezios on and I was
like, yo, that wasn't me, was it? I have a picky
ring on. I was trying to tell them how you gotta pace yourself and
it's about to stairs, and like they didn't want to listen to me.
I finished that test, flopped down, and this older black woman came to
me. She said, baby, you did it. You did it.
You got a hundred plus. I look at the guys next to me,
they're all throwing up in buckets. Yeah, that was guys throwing up that
right. And people don't understand. You know, it's a hard job,
so don't ever expect it it to be given to you. It's not.
Because I almost blew it and it had I now gotten on. You know
who knows. I'm sure I would have done something, but to see the
look in my parents eyes when I was in the academy, Yeah, that's
cool, man, it was cool. You know what I wanted to ask
you when I first, when you first set your timeline. Your dad was
in twenty eight, right, all those years? How come he didn't he
was still working obviously, ain't twenty until is that while you didn't go to
twenty eight or no, he got on nineteen eighty. Oh, you were
right. He was already retired, right right, right right. I asked
him, how can I need go to twenty eight? He said, you
had to. I need to forge my own path and to the to the
end of my career, I would have some old guy in a walker come
up to me and said, your father was this you had? You had
a gentleman. A couple of sessions ago, I actually mentioned my dad.
I think I remember that, Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's it's
so funny because when he passed we're going through his um awards. He had
all these awards from the army. I'm here like a Class three. All
these a's and b's never went to medal day. But just knowing this,
the bar was set very high, and I'm still trying to attain that as
a father, just as a person who's typically active. If I could do
half what he did, then I'll be okay. But he really set the
ball high, and he wanted me to force my own path. So when
I got out the academy or right at the end, he's like, where
do you want to work? And I said, there's a firehouse down in
Houston in six I want to work down there. He's like, why do
you want to work there? And I said why, I can go record
shopping for DJ maybe. He said, do you want to shop or be
a fireman? And I said i want to be a fireman. Daddy,
he says, you're going to Harlem, and then he sent me up to
Harlem, and uh, Jack McDonald was working, Gary Wright, Kenny O'Brien,
and Abe Hayman was my first captain, and I was in good hands.
I mean, first of all, Abe Hayman as a captain was all
about integrity, very integriss man. He good five five, He came from
seventy one and fifty five, then was a lieutenant in twenty eight truck and
then he's a captain the thirty, So I was working with While I'm working
with all these guys like Jack McDonald and Gary right, I almost felt like
I was working with my dad because it would tell me stories how sometimes people
worked around him because he would always make them check the rig. And you
know, and even you know, like we I think we all have if
we're on the job long enough, we have ebbs and flows. Like sometimes
I'm really on the rig, sometimes I might not check it as much.
It's that time you don't check, it's going to happen, right as well,
you don't know what the tool is, Oh my god. And you
know, so that's a good point, Greig. We don't talk about that
enough. You know. We say, yeah, yeah, we did all
this, all this, but there were times, you know where maybe we're
out or maybe you got in laid or whatever it was, and you might
not have done it exactly as you've always done it, or you know,
like anything, you're human, right, so and get them to your point,
like you know, where everybody was there and maybe today wasn't done as
it always was, and everybody gets complaced and everybody maybe has a bad day
or has something else on their mind and their personal life, and maybe that's
what they normally. Fortunately, sometimes it's indicative of a house. Yeah,
but um, and that's why I feel very fortunate now the duration of my
career. It's so sad because five Truck in that house probably have lost more
people through my tenure on the job than any other house. Because Seidenberg was
in my class, was right, right, right, right, that was
the first tragedy day I just came on the job. I was only on
the job. A yeah, when that happened, right, they had that,
they had nine to eleven, then they had Deutsche Bank, and then
right after Deutsche Bank. I'm in one three and that's when um um Martinson
was killed. So who had to counsel us five truck. It was for
me blew my mind because now I'm witnessing they were going through some pain,
you could tell, and it's very painful and a lot of firefighters. If
you've never been on the bus that's going past the procession, it is unbelievable
of first of all the sea of blue and then also the doppel gangs.
You see people who look like that's a literally refinal No it's not, No,
it's amazing. Job is huge, but it's like small, it's it's
just amazing. It's a blessing. And it's twenty deep, right, it's
not. It's not just the line of guys. It's twenty deep for block
after the block after block after block after block. I've done it a few
times and I have to say and a lot of people don't understand that.
The thing about the longer around it means the more friends you have. That
means the more friends you can lose. And there is trauma in that and
we we of outlet like you have here with getting salty is very good because
you feel like you're involved. And that's why I try to tell people to
get involved, like in the Vocal Society or whatever society you're in, get
involved so you can stay in touch and then you can also heal because we
have a language that not a lot of people understand. Very true. Yep,
huh, what's Keith there? Yeah, that's my manner. So my
first day there, right, I have my class a's on my bag.
I knock on the door. He's the first person, he's like, hold
on. My second slams the door all the fat and then they opened the
door. And the guy has a hose and I was like, we're not
doing civil rights shit here. I said stop and he got to put it
down. And then I went along with my business as a proby and I
remember my dad saying like, uh, don't say anything, just keep your
mouth shut and learn. You gotta learn. You have to watch and learn,
stay busy. And he said there's there any issues. He says,
you're gonna know. You don't know how to handle it. And again I
only had him for a year and a year and change while you were on
the job, right, um, because you know, um, I actually
spent most of my time in conversation and family events with my cousin Peter.
And he was in the other picture. He was in twenty eight He went
to twenty eight truck and were after you. He came after he was in
one eighteen and transferred uptown. And uh so it was Nick. Nick was
Nick is the reason why, uh, for my duration of my career because
he did forty years, right, he almost did forty something like that.
He was drill, drill, drill, And the epitome of that is that
picture of the ladder pipe and Nick's on there. Because a lot of people
like, we're not gonna do the ladder pipe. We have two tower ladders.
There's twenty three's up there, fourteen and who had the ladder pipe thirty
truck. So that was a proud moment, and that was one of the
things that I um, I try to let the young guys know. When
I went up to Rescue three, they complimented the companies in Harlem for their
readiness because a lot of places, like you know, have a cigar on
the turntable with a stone coat. That's not readiness. Someone pops up at
the windows. It's like that kid, Oh man, I can't even get
into it. It can't be on the you can't be you can't be a
ladder company show for with shots on and taking Yeah, yeah, you can
come on, come on. You know, well that guy, a couple
of those guys in the past, I've caught grief and we say that all
the time on the show too, right, we don't go on that many
runs that we can't be one percent ready, right, And again that comes
back to what you said. You know, you're at the thirty truck,
you what thirteen You've been in places that have a lot of pride, right,
that they're always ready to go, that you go to work. So
but at the same token, there are are places that don't do that unfortunately,
just you know, it's the way it is, and they don't they
don't have the same type of guys that you had, you know, showing
you the ropes and you know, teaching you to firefighters like, oh,
there's no work around anymore. I'm like, oh, yes, there is.
Only takes one come to South Jamaica. I live in South Queens.
I hear the sirens and I can tell the difference between My kids say that
all the time. Dad. I'm like, I know it's a bus,
that's all. How do you know that's a police car. I know it's
a police call. That's how you around a long time when you can make
it. U. I worked with um uh. He retired as a captain
might carbone hmmm. He was a thirty truck right and he we teamed up
a lot of an inside and I'll never forget we're going to a job.
Multiple calls, he stick sticks his head out the window. He's a it's
in the cock loft. You know certain people, certain people the way they
assess the job and are the job you want to be like them, and
I'll save that for a. That's that's my tip man. That might car
I think he that's the carbon he was in two nine. Yeah, yeah,
no doubt. And then he went to uh three h three as a
captain. Great. Let's go back to your first tour where it said your
first fire. It was a thirdle on on your first tour. My first
tour, we went to a third along fire. I think thirty four truck
might have been first due. And I couldn't understand why the guys were like
going WHOA. I was like, wait, hold up, and they were
like getting amped up. I was literally coughing in the street. You know.
It was I was not used to it and went through it. The
pitch is great because I was happy and there was a chief there I forget
his name. He had a cigar in his mouth. After the job.
He was like nice. You know he saw that it was my first day.
He's like, uh, you're gonna love this job. You're gonna get
the ship scared out of you, but you're gonna like and I really I
once I got broke my chariot, I was really all I wanted to do
was get like burnt up, but be effective, you know what I mean?
You know, really go to a job and go as hard as I
could. And when you're young, you really it's amazing. I was twenty
seven. Yeah, I was reading an impact at the job. Got some
dirty truck picks right there, guys picks. All right, here we go.
We're gonna bring this guy up here. It's my guy right there.
When you show me that picture before Tommy Gardner, Mommy, one of my
favorite guys I ever met in the fire uparm and he was in Hashmat when
I was in the squad. He was a very very bright guy, smart,
funny, he was lock. It was right next to mine. You
also have um my big brother John Barry is with the white shirt. In
front of him is Donnie Whoop. Great show for great trucky. He's there's
another picture. Donnie Whoop is a chauffeur at that fire and Tim Ridden he
was a chief. He was walking street at some point too. I don't
know if whether he was a boss in one of the companies or what was
chief. Yeah, Timmy ridden, really nice guy. Was a reference to
this picture. She will talk about this is uh that's Steve Elliott on the
left. He actually gave me this picture, not in my retirement. We
were probi's together. He was a month ahead of me. They ran two
classes simultaneously, was a total of two hundred. I was the only brother
in the class. And then uh he and I go to UM thirty together.
It was great. He's he's the captain of twenty three truck. Now
wow, was some lieutenant nat who was the boss there? That's Gary Wright,
he worked in twenty eight truck as a boys. This is a picture
I have of him at the door with no mask. That right there,
that's Gary right ruin it. That doesn't inspire uh right? Yeah, yeah,
that is the greatest Firefox photographer ever because this is not digital. The
two things, because I I would have classes at Vulcan Hall that was show
is like this first of all, to inspire them, to let them know
that they've they've been brothers on this job for a long time. And for
anybody in the firehouse, whether you're black, white, whatever, if you
want respect, you have to produce on the fire floor, right and when
somebody cares, bro, nobody cares what colors you're doing. What that guy's
doing right there? Yeah, then if I'm doing this, and then if
you're you're beef and when back in the kitchen, it must be personal and
then we can take care of at another way. But when you're doing this
and then go back to the firehouse, everybody is like loving each other.
Yeah, because everybody's But when you're actually coming back from work. That guy's
pictures, I've been posting pictures on Instagram. All his pictures are just like
this, like where he was able to see the fire A lot of times
he was able to sneak up behind the guys and take pictures in the hall
like of that means the roof man, Yeah, vented right, because he
this is an analog camera and the flash would catch all the particles of smoke
if it was really smoky. This is well vented. He forced the door.
It's rolling. I mean I get excited looking at that pitch. I
think we all do, because I remember I dressed like this when I had
the OV. I wouldn't do it on the inside. When I had the
OV, I wore my boots and we had the belts like pirates. I
only had that for a few years. Like you you had that, you
got too, man, I've seen that I think I probably don't pick.
I didn't know who it was over here. Well, I have a good
one here from thirty truck as well. Share with you guys. Not that
much fire. You got another one that was some one that was right down
the street from the firehouse. That was my first roast um very impactful.
I mean we got there in there and woman had gone to the corner store.
It was burning. You see how it was burning. It was burning
so clean that when we were in the apartment in the living room, we
couldn't get in there, and you could see the crib and you could see
the body of the baby. And once we put the fire out, they
had me placed the baby in the bag. And that was the same weekend
that my um nephew was coming to stay with me. So you know,
I cried and I realized that this is not this is not a joke.
So I gotta try my best. And the boss was Jack McDonald. I
remember Jack McDonald's a Gordon Bennett winner and from what I understand from what everyone
told me, his reputation in Stella, he was a great fire off cercom
as hell. But I remember him pounding on the floor as this room is
just lit up. They came with the line put it out and because they
knew he couldn't do anything, that couldn't do it. We couldn't and m
he was the boss. The first time. I was on the floor above
and it lit up because I went to the front. I think I took
the window on the front, and then I went into the window in the
shaft. It was in the kitchen, and I said, hey, boss,
I don't need to take that. As soon as I said take it
got black instantly and hot, and I just went to the floor and I
spun around a few times. Now I was disoriented, and I hear him
on the radio. It's calm as day. He's like, hey, sixty
nine, you got any water in that life? All of a sudden,
all the sudden, you hear the scraping of the you know, of the
water underneath you, and it got cool, it lifted, and I said,
that's the type of guy I gotta be. I have to be calm,
calm, you know. So I had bosses, all the bosses I
had, uh Jack McDonald, Gary Wright, Kenny O'Brien, e J Tenney,
Jim McClusky. Yeah, that was my harm McClusky, big hands,
right, big calves. There's a picture actually got my calf and his calf.
His calf is like the size of my thighs. Yeah, oh my
goodness, gracious. So it was harm was really uh. First of all,
it was the nineties. I'm twenty seven. It's the best time for
hip hop. So I would be in Harlem on a Friday night on a
rig um. They had the flat top back then. Guys, let's see
the flat top. Oh the death Come on, I'm coming up, said,
you know what decade it was like if you had that, Harry is
Yeah, I don't even look like you man, I get that all the
time. I didn't better. Now, thank you. I can't believe this
guy's holding en us. I had that little you know. It was the
nineties. That's what we did. Nice. I love it. That's gable.
This is the kitchen table, bro. But hall was I mean two
job nights. I remember specifically one night early in the tour. Job came
in. It was on the west side and near fourteen truck. I saw
the smoke went up the fire escape. I rided myself and being agile and
quick, go to the window. It's not that apartment. So I went
to fourteen and said, hey, this is thirty truck. Ov I took
the wrong fire escape. Make sure you open it up for for the boys,
and then go above and I'll make my way in, because that's what
the old is supposed to make a way out for the inside team. You
know all that stuff. Basic ladders three. We were taught ladder three,
make your position. That was it. Make your position, that's all you
have to do. And I was pissed off. We go back getting ready
to pull the rig, and someone says, holy shit, fire right from
the firehouse. Twenty five truck was in the firehouse, so they would second
due because we took it right in. And now I got it. I
go to the rear's top floor, fly up, get in there, make
a report. I came in off the rear. Let me know when you're
gonna open up the line. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Sweet.
I felt like Superman. I get down in the street and John Barry
was the showfee. He say, what did you do? I said,
I went up the rear, went in. It's like cool, he says,
but now you know you're supposed to take the saw to the roof.
That's when they changed it, right. It used to be Ope didn't really
have that wasn't his tool. And this job, no matter where, you're
as good as your last fire. You had an opportunity right there. Guys
don't get a chance to do that time nowadays, for like six you make
a mistake. Now, I mean you had you had like an hour in
between, not even you know you had a job. You came back ten
seconds. You had an opportunity to to redeem yourself if you felt like you,
you know, you did something wrong. The first day that I had
the OV, we caught a job. We got in first Dunia forty truck
and this particular one had the steps and then you actually had a moat underneath
the steps. So went down to where the U I guess the super will
go and uh, the woman's right there with her lips on the child gate,
wow, pushing out black cotton. So I go run up, jump
on the ledge. I take my halige and then what are you supposed to
do on the scissor gate? Were you supposed to hit what part? You
talk about the child the hinges? You know the Yeah, I went for
the lock and fell. Next thing, you know, Nick put the ladder
through. I landed on my feet, came around and then it ended up
getting her from the inside. But I that was first of all I messed
up. I should have gone for the hinges, popped it open. I
would have been like boom, got her, got her out and been but
every fire like, I remember the mistakes more than anything else, and I
try to pass that along because you know, we all listen, everyone knows
what a Halligan falling down the stairs of a boat caead sounds like that means
the guy felt the roofing or can't getting thrown down the Oh I want to
go back. He put the through the through the gate. Yeah, Nick,
Nick was good with the stay. You know, we learned. I
mean we were very exactly. I thought we were very technical. Um rear
amount when we try to use it to our advantage. You don't see guys
putting it in the window and doing what they're supposed to do a lot of
things. You know, for me, it was always about getting in fast
and it's not it's like just getting fast. Um. You know, it
was an athletic house, very good softball team. Um we played handball after
dinner. All the time. Captain Hayman was an incredible handball player. I
think he only lost once in the firehouse. He was in the truck on
the engine. He was my captain in the truck, Abe Hayman. He
was a really great guy. RAI no, Um, I didn't even go
across the floor for thirty days. I was going to ask you that the
only time I went across the floor one of my uh but he's becoming a
lieutenant um Blake McLaughlin. So he switched with me. He was in the
engine and he went to the truck. They never gave me in a novel.
I always had, you know. So I put my first fire.
The first time I ever touch the nozzle at a fire was in tactical support
one at a seventh long up. And I never as a jobs all bullshit
anyway, and I was exhilarated. I was like, now I see what
the hype is about. But this, to me, I was definitely a
trucky. I like climbing, I like crawling in uh a fire apartment on
fire with no hose. It is amazing how your senses are so heightened that
a chair seems like it's this big, everything is exaggerated. Yeah, you
have to literally calm your mind down and slow yourself down. So yeah,
when you hear yourself. You know what the greatest thing is when you go
to a room and then they knocked the fire down and then it clears and
you look back at what that room looks like and what you thought it was
like, you know, from just crawling in the dark. You know,
it's it's that that to me was always pretty amazing. Like it feels like
Masson Square Garden and it's you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's
like exactly, that's the truth. How long do you think it took before?
I mean, you work with so many legends on I mean, Keith
was a great guy, you know, and the legend of your dad.
How long did it take before you felt comfortable, like, you know,
like I got this, I could do this, you know. Um,
I'd say five years. I started really feeling. I knew you were going
to say that, because that's the truth. And five And I tell you
what, even once I started getting detailed, I felt a difference. Um,
you know, we'll go downtown, nobody was dirty. Um oh,
they will come uptown to our house and they will look at it like with
disgust and just like um. And I also remember my friend, I forget
his name, Bernie. What was Bernie's name. He was in sixteen truck
at the time. Now he's in thirty seven, but sixteen truck got relocated
and he was like, man, he said, you work in a premier
truck company. And I had never never thought about him, like and then
I started looking at the numbers. Oh yeah, because we will. We
will always like top fifteen. And the thing about Harlem, Um, this
is Harlem. This phone right here we go, So this is one hundred
twenty fifth street. Down here, this is one hundred fifty fifty fifth.
So this is thirty four truck twenty three. It's crazy. It's crazy.
Now there's a map, a couple of maps around to have the whole city.
This is one fifty seven's first two district. Yeah, it's crazy,
brother, I got you, man, So it's crazy banging it out.
But our numbers were different. In fact, one of the things about Harlem
and the Bronx, the engines have very high numbers in comparison with the trucks.
They were almost like together. Most houses went together. But in Brooklyn
you would have places like even like UM one eleven and two fourteen, both
companies, but the numbers are just off. One eleven is first through with
five engines. Yeah, we didn't have that. We were first through with
and so it was a different feel and just a different and that's why our
response is where they were like, you know, you turn the corner,
you see twenty eight coming down the street. You're like, yo, you
got a twenty eight. We would definitely turn out quick. We would hit
the corner first. If you see the company and you look down the street
and nothing's really popping off, they got it. And even if it's popping
we were. We were literally on top of each other. And Craig,
I'm not kidding. I think I've said this before. When I was got
on the job. I got on ninety three, right, so two years
after you give a take, and I used to start listening to the radio,
right, I started getting into who was working right where the work was,
and I was catching good work in the store for queens, you know,
And I would hear the you know, the scanner would scroll right boop.
Manhattan Uh, Manhattan Box twelve hundred forty two, Manhattan Box fourteen hundred,
Manhattan Box sixteen hundred, Manhattan Box thirteen forty, Manhattan Box ten seventy
five to Box ten seventy five to Box ten seventy five. I cannot tell
you how many times I heard that, and then, I mean for years,
for for quite a few years, and then I would say, I
don't know how long. It kind of you know, that was a drastic
change, like from when when the white people were stripping cup of you know.
But yeah, I mean it was a drastic change from the twelfth Betalion
sixteen Betalion. It was, you know, the sixteen hundred boxes were all
the way nor. I didn't even know the boxes, but I started to
figure out in sixteen eighteen seventeen hundred was all the way north, you know,
twelve hundred was by fifty eight or lower right. I didn't even know
where the boxes were, but I kind of had a feel just from how
many jobs they were going to, you know what I mean, Like it
was every night I would listen, guys would go to sleep, I would
listen, you know, I would buffet, and uh, it was all
the time. Bro, I'm not and I tell guys all the time that
was no joke. I would be upset. If we had a night where
I slept all night, I would be upset. And then by the time
I was gonna say, bro thirty years, you're like chick. Allegedly,
all your expectation was you were going to work, and you just were.
It was sweet, man, especially when we had the robe of boots.
Man, it was so different because we didn't have Like thirty Truck was a
pilot company for the hoods, and so we put the hoods on when it
and I was like, I hate this. I didn't I didn't wear a
hood until I went to Brooklyn because older tenements in the Brownston they're kind of
they're more open than a private dwelling or some of the smaller three stories threet
ones that go into uh in Brooklyn are everywhere. Um and everyone. Everyone
in Brooklyn was hooded up too. Yeah, let's talk about to start moving
along. Actually, the question I've been dying, I don't I know what
he's gonna ask them, Why why did you leave thirty Truck and go to
Brooklyn? To one thirteen? I moved to Brooklyn? Was it ninety six?
I was living in Brooklyn and I got to see the big buildings in
Brooklyn because we used to make jokes about the little Brooklyn buildings. We'd say,
now, how do you get to the roof from Brooklyn? Someone's like
how and you would just jump on a chair. Um so. But the
thing that really got me we were having some type of a function at the
house firehouse. We had a detail there and he's like, yeah, this
place is just like our place. I'm like, where do you work?
He's like one thirteen. It's like, this is just like our firehouse.
And I was like hmm. And then went to the numbers. I was
like, what number two? Number one? When they were two forty eight
number one the city for a couple of years, but they were always up
there. And when I looked at the neighborhood, I loved his tenements brownstones
and yeah, yea. So I never went to a private only fire so
I went to firehouse. At the cake, I saw Pete Frontera. He
gave me this there a long time many He's been on Roger's Avenue his whole
career. Long time. Man's that guy. Look at that young guy.
Holy shit, that's out Grogan on the left. He's a super gentleman.
His son works in twenty three truck. That's partly my best friend on the
job, Kirk Koy and that's Nick the Dick. He's a great When I
talked about last if we will work out together, he we were. We
had a very good synergy because we were buffed out, like we talked about
fires. And he's so I don't really since I met him, he's he's
in the top three guys that I've ever met. That is I mean absolutely
lives it. I mean that's all he's doing, like every fiber of that.
I was worried about him, like what are you gonna do? But
he know, he put in. He put in good work, you know,
and he loved love thirty truck, and thirty Truck was a lovable place.
It was a great firehouse. We partied hard, like if it was
barbecue was packed. Uh. Everyone took the job seriously. Um. They
kept most things in the firehouse like if there was an issue, we we
dealt with it accordingly. Um. And I learned. I learned how to
manage myself. I learned how to manage others. And the thing that again
that made it easier was if you performed on the firefloor, then if there
was a beef in the kitchen. You could really handle it, you know,
let's talk about it. Because can't be that. The tools aren't oiled
up, the coffee's ready, there's ice, everything was squared away. Why
is there problems? Yeah, you said it has to be personal, then,
right, that's always don't matter what it doesn't matter, right, There's
always gonna be guys. There's fifty guys in a place. Let's say,
there's gonna be guys that you become brothers with, like tight for your whole
life, your whole life. And then there's gonna be guys that you know
you're gonna have to tolerate. Well, you know, occasionally back then that
was the case. You know, you had to say, let's talk,
let's do some people like someone. I had someone say something disparaging as soon
as I got in the files. I'm a probat, you know, using
the N word. I had to talk to them, I said, listen.
I talked to him on a side, So listen, I'm new here.
I'm happy to be here, I said, but when I'm here,
don't use that because it's a it's a loaded word. Stuff my dad had
to deal with. I'm not trying to deal with that, and I said,
I just wanted to come here and prove myself. And guy was very
apologetic with friends to this day. But I had to address it right away.
I didn't know whether it was a litmus test to see what I was
gonna do or woefully ignorant. But the one thing I know is when a
pro becomes everyone knows. It's like when a woman comes into the firehouse.
Everybody knows. So, like my dad said, I would know the difference,
and I whenever I the difference would come up, I would address it.
Because the job is I've met so many beautiful people on his job that,
oh this guy had needs talking to. Yeah, you know, it's
sticks out too too easy, right, It's just too easy because I've had
so many people helped me, and especially towards the end of my career and
when my mom was sick, the job took care of me and they showed
me some much love that it was. You know, I can't say enough,
but people have to be addressed, and I encourage everyone to address people
direct and then if it gets out of hand, then you have other tools.
Unfortunately, that's why I stayed in the gym. I'm not a big
guy. But I was like, okay, let's go. I'd rather get
my ass kicked out and I have to deal with talking. And it never
came to that, and it became to that because it's addressed immediately. I
always feel that you have to performance before advocacy first, not that you should
be quiet ever, but you gotta do your job. I can't, you
know, drop the line in the basement and run out and then go in
the kitchen and protest like, yeah, that's not gonna word. That's the
truth right there. I don't care what truth the problem is. It's not
gonna work. So when you when you that's the truth. When people just
counting you to do your job. You don't have to be the superman.
But if you just do your job now we can address the problem because it
just has nothing to do with my profession. That that's really the key,
Craig. You hit it right on the head, brother, I mean,
that's really the key is and we've said it. I can't say it enough.
I know it didn't matter to me. I didn't care what the heck
you are as long as when I went down the stairs, you went down
the stairs, right, So I think that that. I don't know how
that is now, But back then it seemed like that was easy to shake
out. I don't know if it's easy to shake out now if you don't
do your job. That was. I think that's always been kind of like
the feel that I've had, where you could say anything to anybody anytime if
you weren't doing the job, and it would shake out, whether you aren't
going to be there anymore, you're gonna put your paper in or whatever it
was right, you were going to be able to move on, just so
that you aren't in that house anymore because people couldn't depend on you. Whatever
it was, it didn't matter white guy, black guy, didn't matter what
the heck it was, you know what I mean. Everything there was about
accountability, like you had to be accountable for your position. Where after the
job, the chief would come to the firehouse and talk to you. What
did you do? Where'd you go? The chief would come and we're talking.
I always find of Chief Kennedy. He was one of the authors of
the Lattest Three. I believe he would drill with us, all those chiefs
in the sixteenth for thorough and they would come and just question us right after
the job. What we did, how do we do it? Any problems?
Any issues? And you had to be accountable. He you know,
first thing Chief Kenny to do. He would come into build and look around.
Then he would look right up the stairs to look at the skylight.
So when I see young guys now and I'm taking the skylight all because I'm
like, you have no idea what's going on? Just because it's like smoke,
doesn't they probably holding the doorback with the can. You don't know what's
going on. Take the skylight until you're told not to. That's it,
bread and butter Man. You should if you're in the truck, you should
be able to pull yourself up. And that's why I work out you have
to. Can you do ten pull ups? You gotta be able to do
ten poles, because that's pulling yourself up once in the bulkhead, which I
can't do one up now anyway? Now, could you're not breaking any skylight?
So good, let's get let's get into one thirteenth. So when you
finally do get there, how the guys accept you a rat? I feel
like I recall I was at the sink. I'm the new guy. So
I'm doing new guys stuff. I'm in the sink. Someone throws firecrackers at
my feet and pops off, and another guy yells, my heard, what
are you doing in this ship hole? And I said, I came from
the ship hole ten years? Right? How much time did you have with
ten years? Ten years? Ten years? But I think my glasses in
the way I look at its very unassuming. Some people yeah, and I
was like, I said, nah, I said, I came here,
you know, and I never let anything bother me because that's what I was
brought up, you know, you brought up. I've seen so much like
I'm talking about guys, And this is another Chief Kennedy thing. I'll be
quick. When my dad died, my first day back was Christmas and I
was and again I didn't know etiquette because they've never done a Christmas VHS.
I'm not coming to work. The guys like, are you sure? I
said, yeah, yeah, I'm not coming to work. Okay. Click.
Five minutes later, Hey, it's Chief Kennedy Craig. You should go
to work. I said, okay. Chief. He's like, yeah,
you don't want the guys to think you're a rubber, So just go to
go to work. I said, you gotta chieve click just like that,
because I saw a guy five years later not come in who had a lot
of time. His locker was thrown off the roof into the street. Because
you're a rubber and you know little lessons like like straight no chaser. It
was very It was therapeutic for me because he's looking out for me, right,
And when when you're getting advice from the chief, you need to take
it. Some guys, I've seen guy not when I argue with chiefs,
I'm like, you're a firefighter's guys trying to hook you up, trying to
save face. And so I go to one thirteen and I felt right.
I felt right at home, felt right at home because now I feel like
I just have to get used to the neighborhood. And that's when I learned.
I'm looking at the rig, it's like the first run. I'm like,
why is that boat cutter on the rig that should be in the back.
We didn't have boat cutters like that in Harlem. In harm you go
to an old law, even a new law, you look at it.
If you have the ov nothing shown, you go inside and go under the
stairs to the rear every single time. Now I'm in Brooklyn on Westbury Court,
I look up, don't see anything. I go in doors locked,
there's no door artist. I come out, I see one thirty two with
bowl cutters, And I said, okay, and that that's the beauty of
going to different places, Like you're gonna learn stuff how they do it,
You're gonna adapt. And that was a fun part um about going there and
just seeing how they did it. And they had phenomenal firefights, they had
a phenomenal attitude about work. The turnout was was quick. Um, we
had uh that's the captain there isn't it. No, that's Danny's Rocker.
That's my buddy. I drove him. He's uh, he's he's a jolly
Rogers before he Uh oh is that right into the rats. Yeah, he's
another Rodgers Avenue guy and he's uh. Um. And And for anyone watching
this, if I don't remember names, charge it to my head and not
my heart. Because I did have to go through a detox of this job.
I had to like pull back, you know, I had gone through
Uh. You realize when you start going through the real of the stuff you've
seen, it can and I wanted to center myself on this chapter. And
that was a great group. That firehouse is great. We had a lot
of last now he had Yeah, Um, what about Dennis Murphy because he
was there for a while, A little while, wasn't he He was a
lieutenant there, but he was probably I was. The bosses there were Um,
Tom Cruiser, Eric Skink and Danny Larrocco. And that's Danny right there.
Um, they were phenomenal bosses. Uh Cruiser was there. He Cruiser
was from one twenty three and went to uh right to one thirteen. He
did over twenty years there. Wow, Danny was in UH two fifty five
seven came over. I think he was in both companies. So it was
Captain front Terra he came right now. I mean it was I'll never forget
Captain front Terra. Out of fire it's like a torch job and people were
bailing out of windows. Um, and he was just stood up in the
middle of the crowd when just pointing telling everyone what to do. Calm as
heck. And whenever you see for me, whenever I see that, I'm
like, that's how I gotta be. I have to stay calm um,
because it's like being in the woods. You don't just run you run into
a tree. You have to be calm and make your way through. And
I was very impressed by the leadership in that firehouse. The engine was top
mount. The engine, I think was one of the biggest engines. When
I first got there, all the guys were like two hundred and fifty pounds
in the engine. Huge. And then I got to see how rescued two
was rescued. Two is very on top of you as opposed to three.
Three was always in the gaps, and I remember two was on I mean,
they're different. I so I see why everyone gets out and turns out
like that. You gotta got a piece of the pie. Yeah, And
it was very, very very exciting. I loved it. But my first
three months there, all I heard was boop boop, second along Manhattan box
one five. I was going to ask if you had any second thoughts at
all? I did. I was like, what's going on? The camp
said, they called this place to camp. They have rodgers. I'm like,
this neighborhood's beautiful. First of all, it's a beautiful neighborhood. It
really has got a great buildings there right across the street. I mean even
the firehouse itself has like the little couple on it, right, I mean
that's where the Dodgers lived. They lived on Maple and a couple of streets
right near the firehouse. That's where the Dodgers lived. Because I have the
picture which I was I'm sorry, Jackie Pete. Oh, this picture was
given to me by a fireman, Dempsey, who was in one thirteen.
He ended up where do you go? Three thirteen? But this picture is
phenomenal. And that's another thing I dug when I got there. If you
go to one thirteen, it says Brooklyn Fire Department on the front of the
fire day, doesn't it know? It says Brooklyn? Is that right?
That's freaking I worked at a few times. I remember saying to myself,
one h three is a shift hall, but this place is a ship hall.
Well, those firehouses like one O three, one twelve, they're like
pirate ships. Yeah. No, one's really concerned about it being pretty.
Everybody just wants to go to work, and then when they come back,
everybody wants to just you know, get ready for the next one. That
it was. It was great. That was a good fire and there was
a lot of synergy. I made a lot of good friends there. The
guys were great and they have one guy in particular, very quiet man,
but he was a beast. Was um Mark Conaway. He's a marine unit
now. But this dude, I mean, he showed me a technique with
the twelve foot straight ladder. He's like, you know, can you use
this ladder? And I was like not really. He was like watch he
took the hooks out boom, made it a scaling ladder. And that became
the drill that I did all the time, Like, if you're in a
truck, you should be able to pull yourself up this ladder, and not
everyone can do it. I said, maybe you should be in Queens or
something. She's always off for you, or Florida. You should be in
Miami Day or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
oh there it is. Yeah. I never realized seeming himself now. See
I called Pete and you see that little uh they see a couple of that
coop's on the right down. It's really awesome. I passed the fires whole
time. I used to stop and do you know there's the mirror images engine
two forty. It's the same firehouse, but the couple is on the other
it's reversed, is that right? Yeah? Cool? Cool? So I
was great. Uh. I remember eating on the pink punk table over there
a few times. I remember. It's um one of those things too.
I never wanted to say what if, like what if I went to brook
Moore to be like I just I had to see for myself. And the
beautiful thing was Captain Hayman thirty truck. He said, if you don't like
it, you can come back. Can you imagine that it was open?
That's great? I mean it usually does it. That usually doesn't happen just
because guys take it personal, right, you're leaving them kind of thing,
you know. Well they rode me, but most guys, yeah, they
were like, you're making a good move, you know, because it was
just different for your family, right, I mean the bottom line, that's
a beautiful, fireous Yeah, that's the bottom line. Like we share all
the time. Man, if you live in Brooklyn, you're traveling to hall
them. I mean you're passing a lot of places. You know, you
take a time away from your family, right, I mean you want to
do it wasn't even a travel because it was more, Um, I want
to experience Brooklyn. What's the hype, what's the And what I found is,
um, it's the same but different. That's it. It's the same.
But because the three Battalion reminded me of the sixteenth because all three of
the firehouses got a long yeah, when you got out of someone more like
in the East State, were more combative, like what you guys were,
you know what I mean? They were acreage. There was a lot more,
a lot of hate. But it's a competitive nature that made Brooklyn.
What you also saw when Brooklyn lieutenants came, how they were weirded out by
how we were like, hold up, bro, you know that come there
right there? They got it. They would look at us crazy. And
I remember one particular guy. He had a jolly Rogers patched on. He
was ridded, didn't smile or nothing passed forward. I'm looking at this guy,
this is twenty ten. I'm like, you were that lieutenant. It
was Tommy Gardner. He was oh is that right? Yeah? Yeah,
yeah yeah yeah, crazy man. Love to man. So what do your
job? What do you think the biggest differences between the two places? Um?
Location, that's it. Just the buildings. Location, that is,
it's the same further um especially now you know Brooklyn was the first time I
had an e MS run and I remember, and I won't even name the
company, but they looked at the patient. They didn't touch the patient.
That's when the Brooklyn was protesting I had. I was in thirty got detailed
and I was like wow because we were actually doing it. And but I
understood, but it didn't make sense to me not to help somebody, right,
That's like I was told never. My father told me, never go
and strike. We if we're going to strike and we're gonna lose the confidence
of the people. Man, Yeah, it's it's it's ap. My son
asked me about striking. I was like, no, we don't strike.
I say, I'm not gonna strike. Nobody ever wins in the strike,
man, you know, not with the no. I couldn't even imagine seeing
that baby in that fire I could never not. You know, that's a
fireman's that happened to that kid in Brooklyn last year. He made a grab
walking down the street. I forgot where he was from. Oh yeah,
I remember. That just got him duty. Yeah, and he happened to
have his cell. He was doing like probably for his kid a demonstration,
so he had a Scott Pack. Shit, dude, that's when you know
things are lining up for you. Man, I dreamt about that. I've
actually had more nightmares where the person is behind bars in a basement, I
can't get to I can't get on the rig on my gear don't fit,
or I have you have that dream you can't find you all the time.
I have the dream where I'm around the block and can't make it. I
have the same po bro crazy, that's anxiety. Do you did quite a
bit of time then? Though you did the eighty right? Yes? So
came a colon or what happened? No? I always wanted to go to
rescue three. I was detailed the twenty eight truck and like ninety three at
the Polo grounds, we had an elevator emergency, so we had I had
the elevator kit which had bobstacle sticks. I don't know if anyone used though,
yes you to move the elevator. Yeah, you can move the elevator
up on the top. We tried everything, nothing worked, and housing came
Housing, EESU came housing used to have e sue. They tried everything,
nothing happened, and then these two guys from Rescue three come up with stone
coasts that are shredded, tiny little Jamaica helmets, and they put the Halligans
on the brake on the big wheel. They loosened it just a little and
the wheel slowly turned and then you heard rail say stop, we got him,
We're up. And they just walked out and I said, okay.
So one day when my helmets shriveled and I'm old, I wanted to and
I, you know, I felt I had to be ready to go.
And I went there with eighteen years and I was humbled. I was humbled.
I thought it was the best firefighter in Brooklyn coming. I felt I
felt great. It was like uh forty something. I was really I was
lifting heavy, deadlifting. I was just ready. I was humbled by the
knowledge base that these men had. Who'd you go to see Captain Shaw?
No? I saw Captain Nelson. That was my first day. Yeah,
is that right? Yeah? Yeah. When we sat down for like about
an hour and he said, well, the Chief's on his way over.
The chief came talked to me and then he told me, um, he
would consider me, put me on the list. And I waited how many
years? Two years? I waited. And you know a lot of guys.
I've seen guys now who won it right away, and you know anyone
doesn't who's never been applied to sock. What happens is you applied, they
say you're on the list. If someone comes before you, they send you
a letter saying someone else went before you. If you want to, um
protest, you can, And I chose not to. The guy came before
me had twenty three years on Timmy for debt. Oh my god, what
a great guy. Then Brian Brown, Oh my god, I just Brown.
Brian Brown trips over medals. He gets so many medals. I'm gonna
get him. I just my daughter plays flick footballward his daughter. I gotta
I gotta get him on and um. And then my classmate Jimmy Lowe started
out in UH three thirty two hundred seventy five. Then he went to thirty
three truck and it's the same. I left thirty and then went to Brooklyn.
Was like that, and then we end up working together. It was
a blessing. Steve Carney was in the class. Steve has been there a
while a long time. And these are all guys with steady, steady hands.
And I learned from everybody. It's it was, like I said,
it was very humbling because I felt I was a very good firefight. But
the technical stuff, yeah, it takes time for that. And even the
firefighting techniques that we all have collectively just makes you a better firefighter. You
have to be ready to absorb that information humbly and then apply and listen to
the stories. Listen to you know, when the roof is laying down on
the beams, not to bug out. If you never had that happen,
list if you hear it, talk about it, you can understand what's happening.
So you can articulate to the chief that we are okay up here.
And you have to be able to articulate to that lieutenant who has him putting
a line into the venthole that hey, boss, you're spreading the firehows they
want to tell them to shut it down so it doesn't blow down on them.
Know, you have to because it's it's a different ballgame. It's like
becoming a chauffeur is different than being on the irons. You have to see
the whole vanished point and when you're in rescue, you have to see everything,
and at first it's overwhelming. Even a tool assignment was hard. It
was hard for me not to have a halligan in my hand. I didn't
have a halligan. I felt naked, and I think, I forget what
position doesn't have the halligan? And you're supposed to team up with the They
had outside team and inside team, and I remember it was Dave Donna Telly.
Oh. We had we had a small job or whatever. And he
put his halligan and I had my halligan. He looked at me, He's
like, where's your acts? I said, come on, you know,
I got to carry the acts. And it's just you should never stop learning,
and you should be humble in your learning because this job will smack you
in your PP at any given moment. How are the bobbies? Oh,
incredible, especially both of him. If fanis was very He's like, listen,
if you think about leaving or going back, you talk to me first.
And just knowing that, you know, was a blessing. Like and
when I when I first got there, I actually cut my original helmet almost
in half with the partner. So I was cutting and it foo fell off
right at the blade and it went across the roof, shot across the roof
and I kept cutting as I cried, and you can see the cuts.
It's like sitting super low. That was eighteen years a soft in that joint
and it did it crushed it, you destroyed it. No, I couldn't
be fixed. I still have it. I ended up giving it to my
daughter. Um, that was my oldest helmet. I remember giving it to
her. She's like, uh, why are you giving me this ugly helmet?
And I told I said, hey, this is this is my oldest
helmet. It's my first helmet. And it's the helmet I wore nine to
eleven. That's the helmet on the right. Yeah, you can see the
cuts. Dude, was it the frow? What happened? Save me too?
Man? That second helmet? Um, they gave that to me.
Um, yeah, if you had over thirty years, right, you got
to keep your second helmet. Yes, I kept every I kept. Yeah,
I kept all my helmets. Actually, I have a plastic helmet that
my son has. When I got to the tack, I couldn't wear leather.
They told me it couldn't. So Cameron Peak said you on the tour.
Yeah, that's how sick they are. What it was for our Meddle
day or something, and I said, hey, Um, I said,
yeah, I got you, when when he's like, nah, man,
I got you. Yeah yeah, Now listen, Cam, I had to
work that tour anyway because I wasn't trying to pay the city back, so
I worked it out. I had to work though those tours. They when
you're going, they're gonna look at all your tours, So make sure your
I was straight. You don't want to you don't really screw it us up.
Huh back, Yeah, there's no getting no. You woll that have
taken cash from me? When that happens up there At that time, I
read yeah, um it was um Captain Nelson, Kevin Williams, Kevin Williams,
Man Body, Maxwell, John Ciderella, Nicky Conboy came the Legend,
Glenn ba Ruby, Tommy Claire, Um just very all super CON's like,
when you see competence, it's really all that matters. I don't care how
your personality is, And that's how I kind of molded my career. Even
if I didn't really particularly like you. If I saw what you did worked,
I'm gonna do the same thing because it's it's seconds. You can't go
like this with a cigarette lighter and hold it there. That's this job is
seconds and you have to realize that. And whether it's putting on your gear
quickly, because they've had guys try to come through. They can't even put
gloves on the get nervous putting gloves on it wrong. Um, and I
remember, oh it was I forgot his name is an instructor at the academy.
But he was talking about when you're on the rig, take your time
putting your gear and be like, calm yourself down and be um. Should
be doing the same things every time. I always faced my gloves a certain
way. How I did that every My stuff was exactly the same way every
run. When I um, my wife's probably laughing to because she's she sees
us. My stuff is all over the place. But I have an order
and sup at home. But even when I was when thirteen is a seed
chauffeur, I had my bed right near the pole hole and I wore blue
track pants, so I had to put them on. They were light,
and I had slip ons. I didn't have my boots because your boot you
could push the tongue down, can't get your foot in the boot. Meanwhile,
you see everyone running past you in the dark, right going down,
and you're the show for So I had I had my boots and I had
everything in the rig, and as soon as I heard the tone, I
slid the pole, started the rig, put my pants on. I was
ready, I took I was ready to go. And because I had one
fifty seven down the street. They're not giving up anything, nothing. That
was my main contention, because they weren't giving up and they they're very prideful
company. Get phenomenal work, and that's who you're you're ilish. She didn't
even say competing with, but that's what it was. In Brooklyn. We
all try to get it in. It's so funny. I forgot to ask
you if you would drive, if you were a chauffeur. Yeah, I
was. I was a Cedy show for two years. I had sixteen years
old and I was protesting. I was like my first mutual partner was Richie
Degman at um On one thirteen, because we didn't do that in Harlem.
We didn't get married because the theory was the guy who doesn't hook anyone up
is not going to get anyone working for him. So it was kind of
like, hey, can you do this? It was very cool. But
when I went to one thirteen you got married to somebody and at sixteen years
I was like, I don't want to drive. He was like, how
many years do you have? Like sixteen? He was like, it's time
to grow up. And I love it. I loved it. Was nice
knowing your position and the rear amount was quick anyway, so I didn't have
to worry about putting ladders if I could just boomp right to the window and
go right in, it was great. Who was your favorite guy in three
that you really enjoyed working with? Who were you became close with? And
it was just one guy in particular a few One of the guys who was
just instrumental in making me feel comfortable with Patrick Hickey. As soon as I
walked through the door, He's like, oh, look what I did.
He did Steve Urkele. He made the Steve Urkele. So I didn't know.
I thought it was like super buffy that I did I do that,
laughing, Oh my shit. Then he said, oh, you look like
the sheriff from Blazing Saddles. I was like, you looked like the guy
bro like nothing like a little and I said that all brothers look alike.
You know, Patrick, Patrick is two days older than me, so we're
like, oh the spirit. You know, I love that guy. He's
a great guy. Manum, he had like, um again, a fantas
was just the father figure of the house. Um. The bosses are always
willing to give you information. It was nice Steve Farney. Um. Brian
Brown's five One of the Funniest Guys that Ever worked with Brian Brown and Paul
Felling from one thirteen, two of the Funniest guys that ever worked. Brian
Brown is so funny that you don't even know how funny he is because it's
so under the radar that they who, Yeah, when I hang out with
him in the stand I'm gonna get him. When I get him in the
stands, it's hilarious because he's just quietly funny. Man, He's just so
so it's classic. And the senior guys then, you know, I was
working with guys who had like thirty years and uh, you know these guys
were could look, um, oh my god, situation and figure it out.
Because I'm not a tools guy. I was the one thing I could
put on my application was I'm a DJ. You know, you know that.
Really I have to tell you a story about DJ too. Um,
I want to talk about that. So but anyway, the guys there showed
me so much love and support. UM and it really truly is a gentleman's
firehouse. Uh, it really was, and it was right that time in
my career. It was good to be around older guys because I would be
in the rat house fireworks, burning the kitchen down, and don't get me
wrong, I would I would be there all night partying. You know,
I was getting I was, I was getting older, and and I had
aspirations to go to Rescue three because I remember another image that I saw was
UM Connie Tenney, who was UM from twenty eight truck. He was a
Rescue three and I forget the other brother's name, but you had two huge
black men getting off the backstep of Rescue three and ninety one. And it
left such an impression on me and I often tell especially working in Harlem and
Brooklyn and Flatbush having a black firefight. It sends a message to the kids
that this job is Jorge because they don't know what's going on behind those walls,
and it's so important for them to see themselves. Now. I had
it easy. I saw my father, so it was easy. But if
you don't see somebody like yourself, you're just gonna think it's not for you.
I never had that. I always thought I was gonna be speed racer
or I always thought I would be a thunderbird flying Thunderbird two. I always
had this. I always felt like I was a pilot, not anything else.
But a lot of kids, I'm sure don't feel that because they don't
have that imagery in their head. Craig I had. Well, I think
we said this on the show many. I don't even think I've talked about
this. We had a bullshit box. It was like a man and under
or something under the l right, So we had gone up, come down,
and Rescue four showed up. This was early in my career, and
Terry Hatton was in Rescue four and the guys got off, and I remember
he looked like a kid to me, and I was a kid. I
was twenty three, twenty four, right, and he looked very young to
be a lieutenant in Rescue four. And he was buttoned up, put on
helmet, kyla stuff hanging off from right, the flashlights everything and I remember
what you just said. That's just made me think about it is how I
looked at him and said, wow, in my mind, wow, look
at that guy like you know that that guy looked like he was squared away,
ready to go competing, right, I mean now now obviously years and
years later, even being in sock know when he was in rescue one when
when we were in socks as fireman in squad who he was, right,
But that was the first impression I had of him as a young guy looking
at a guy coming off of rescue rig as a boss looking as young as
he did. Yeah, and how squared away he was, you know what
I mean? And that goes to your point. You know what I mean,
Like, guys, will you know, hey, maybe go to sock
you should look like your insock because and again like once I got to Brooklyn,
I started really buttoning down um because again now I'm from Harlem, and
I didn't feel like I had anything to prove, but I had to show
that I could what I can do, because you do get side eyed when
you're new. It's just natural, you know. One of the things I
tried to do is disarmed people. My father showed me that when I would
go to the firehouse at twelve years old, I had to shake everyone's hand
around the table. So as soon as I get to one third, take
everyone's hand. Someone dead, fish, someone strong. You know. I
had a guy he's because I can't say this. I can't talk about that.
He thought I was a spy, And I said, what spy brings
a case of Coca cola allegedly, Yeah, you know you have a soda
machine. I'm showing love by bringing my case in coca cola. I thought
you was a spy. I was like, no, I'm not a spy.
I said where I came from. It's got the wrong guy. Yeah,
you got it all wrong, man, Come on, man. And
another thing about going to rescue in general, uh, the people coming have
to recognize you're gonna be first and upfront with the trauma and some of the
some of the incidents that occurred up town. I'm glad I didn't. I
wasn't there, Like I've had people say, oh, I wish I was
there, Like, you don't want to be there. When a bus turns
sideways and goes through a stanchion and cuts through the bus like a blender,
you don't I was that you just want to be able to think. And
I remember Captain Elson tell me about that. He said, you had to
be focused, and you had to take the dead body off the body that's
alive and get the dead body out. You had to just go through like
you're going through you your laundry instead of dragging the bottom. And you have
to stay focused. And we compartmentalize all that trauma that when I hear about
new work, it really hits hard, like I'm glad that I'm have all
my function and I feel bad for all those who went before us, all
our friends at eleven, these tragic fires. It's just you know, and
we have to be thankful for, you know. And if you're working now,
you need to be just try to love one and enjoy the moment,
enjoy being in the firehouse because once it's done, it's done. And some
people still think it's just a job, But for me, it was never
that because I had legacy things in my head the whole time. Oh yeah,
well I was aspiring to just trying to bigger shoes. Yeah yeah,
yeah, yeah, dude. That's when when we first talked, when you
went when you were in the tack, you would come up in the office.
Right I was in the tool room ready to shoot myself in the head,
and you know, he would come up in the office. He would
work out. The gym was right there, and then he would come in
the office and we would sit and I didn't know Craig really, I mean
I knew him just from being in shock. But he would come sit in
the office and we would bullshit for a half hour forty minutes. He would
go down, you know, because you work at twenty four hours at a
clip. But he was doing attack so he would get to have fun and
go to the tax second alog. I mean after that ain't a freaking That
was a very miss under for me. It was kind of miss under.
A great spot man. It is if you're on the way, you know,
you know, that's a great spot man. I had to have.
I had half of the city. I had Atlantic Avenue North. It was
incredible. And he said, I would hear top floor of fire. I
was saw it heading that way, and they banged up the second I was
on it. I would go to command post thing and walk right in and
hook up with the rescue battalion or rescue. It would says it was very
very cool. That's the rig right there with the boat, and that's Malcolm,
Chief Malcolm. Yeah, good dude. Staff is a good guy.
Chief of Special Operations. Right when he was covering as a captain, he
was in one thirteen for a spot. We caught some work together. It
was just fantastic. He's on one eleven guy, right, isn't he one
eleven guy two fourteen? Yeah? Yeah, I don't think he was never
in one two fourteen. Then he was a lieutenant in one thirty six,
captain of one oh seven, So he's never seen any fires. What you're
saying, Nope, we're gonna have to get him on too, and you
would see Chief more in the fires like he he still wants to be on
the knob. He's only committed and his his uh i q is off the
charts. When hit him and Chief Garrity. Chief Garrity when he was there,
got rest of the soul he was. Those guys would talk they were
they were both because they worked together. I guess one eleven or one tis
fourteen. They had definitely old school guys. You could tell their old school
guys just the way they talk at the table and everything. You know,
That was one thing too, that working there that I said. I just
talked to Timmy Garrity the other day when we had the squad party, like
him and his we butted heads chief Guarrity, you know, because I was
in the squad. And but I'll tell you this, when I worked at
at Sock Island, I became closer to him because he was just an old
school guy. You know. He just to be out smoking a cigar right
on the apron, you know, change of tours or whatever, six o'clock
and I would go out and sit outside. He'd beat there and we bullshit.
And I have to say I did become closer to him, you know,
talker to him, because it just didn't. I wasn't put heads with
him at point, you know what I mean. So this job has a
lot of um, but just to be a firefighter and then going to soft
you have to be eight a personality. We all have different types of a
personalities. He was just direct. He was very direct, and he thought
you were slacking. He was gonna, Oh he would call you out on
it, no doubt, you know I was. It's like so when I
would here, guys come on like, well maybe that's cause I don't know,
you know, you're a rubber. Let me ask you a question,
Craig, Like, I know, at some point your whole career, you
know, you thought you had these big shoes to fill what you had dad.
Was ever a point where you said, yeah, I definitely made my
father the prad you know, like Fay to that realization, I think getting
on. I think because by then I thought I was really I was a
lot more serious about the direction I wanted to take my life because I was
a little like I think my life was so nice growing up. That was
like I could float, And I remember just being in the bank in the
suit, hating it, not knowing if I'd like the fire department. But
the one thing I was more scared of than anything was being a loser.
I don't want to be a loser. And I thought this job was stable
and I would enjoy being outdoors, And next thing you know, I'm crawling
out hallways and it's unbelievable the thrill that it gave me. So that all
the things I wanted to be when I was little, I grew up and
I actually could be an adventurer. Do you feel like an adventurer right?
I mean, there ain't the first grab I made. I remember it's a
Brownstone. I go in real quick, make a right. I feel like,
is this a foot? I saw feeling the foot. All of a
sudden, the man grabbed my arm. I think I screamed, and so
I went to grab him. I didn't have my thumblets in and so my
sleeves and I started burning my wrists. And uh, Chris was I think
of Chris's last name. He's a in two fifty, might be a captain
out played football. What's Chris's name? Chris Bagnola was a camn Chris is
huge, and we got to person out. And I mean, but that
intensity of I went from because when you hear when when you hear that build
up multiple calls people, you have no idea like that, that feeling,
and it's like, okay, it's on me, and again it's on me.
We all have a fight or flight reflex, so we pretty much are
working with fighters. Most people most fire fight as a fighter and not fleeing.
So you have all this built up energy and you get to express it
by helping people. It's pretty dope. It it's amazing. And so I
got this adrenaline and then I'm scared shitless, and then you get the gratification
of saving someone's life. And my son had just asked me, has anyone
ever come by and congratulation. I was like no, I said, but
you know that's not what we do with And like I said, when I
saw my dad had a Class three, a's all, I was like,
I have nothing listening, had nothing to complain about. Um what I see
that he has. Like I was at a Rescue three ceremony and this old
timer comes up in the walker. He was like, sweet, that's your
No, shit, that's your his nephew. I was like, no,
that's my father. It's like he was a gentleman. He's like I worked
with him the night that MLK was assassinated and they surrounded the rig and your
father got off and talked of people and they just left and saw him operated
that fire. That's crazy. I've heard so many stories of him, like
great stories. For instance, like it was a stag party. They're playing
cards, they had the girls there and the guy gets a little drunk.
Now he just robes himself in front of the girl, Yeppie, and wants
her to do something. My father grabbed the girls and took them out.
This is like in the sixties. In sixties when eight, you know,
they didn't treat that. We weren't always treated as equals in the job,
just like the country. It's a Michael Cosm. The job is a Michael
Cosmo society. So we have to manage the way some of my father managed
in society. He managed in the fire department. So that I can hear
his name ring out with respect. Sounds like a man with incredible integrity and
morals, very integress. Yeah, he's very integress man. Yeah, I
think he'd be. I think he'd be extremely proud of your career. Man,
it's had a great career, Craig, Really it was. It was
a blast. It was guys are asking why you packed it in some of
you guys, I mean, sorry, what happened? Uh? Well,
I said I was gonna do thirty years because my friend Aaron Martin told me
about the service he had read on Aaron Martin was in rescue four and he
read a thing it was in fire engineering and said, if you retire by
fifty five and you're in the fire service, you'll live to be like eighty.
Maybe nowadays if you retire after that, you'll live to back seventy something.
And when I initially got into jobs, so I'm gonna do thirty years
and thirty truck. But I wanted to see the world. So once thirty
hit, I was beat up anyway, I um, I had a couple
of injuries. You know, we play hurt for a long time and then
it comes a time where you have to tap out. We have to I
didn't. I didn't do uh like duty until twenty five years and I had
back in thirty truck. I remember John Tobin, he was in twenty trucks.
Saved my life. It was a vacant, isolated, vacant on edgecomb.
I had the roof and it was a fire like an abasement. I
took the stick up, did a perimeter. We used to have to take
the fire escape and check the line via the fire escape, but I said,
since it's an abasement, I'm gonna take the bulkhead and take the doors.
I'm not gonna take this rickety fire escape. As soon as I stepped
into the bulkhead, the marbled, the plates had rusted, and I started
falling and I got I caught them banister. Now I'm hanging on the banister
and I hear a pancaking down ka boom boom. I'm just dangling there and
all of a sudden, I feel this boom lifts me up like a mother.
Dude, just like that John Tobin And whenever I see him and said,
you saved my life. And he's very humble too. He's like his
daughter plays on my on my daughter's flat football team. That's and that's again
that's why I work out. I couldn't do that. I would have to
lash him, and he just plucked me off man and you work with him.
That's amazing stuff when you work with cats who can do stuff like that.
Yeah. Um, even reading Metal Days, I remember reading Pritchards.
Oh my god, but the one that got me so oh, here's my
DJ story. I was why one truck was supposed to do I guess Metal
Day, but something happened. They had fire in their kitchen again. Um,
so they asked us and one of the guys like, hey, you
said you're DJ, right, I'm like yes, uh, and my father's
there. My father introduced me to this guy. He's like, I don't
know. Anybody's like, yeah, this is a chief. Um, this
is uh, this is Chief Tom Neary. This is my good friend.
You know. I'm like, okay, okay, Chief, you know,
I don't know anything. And then I read these stories about how he took
that Halligan on the door. I made a shield, walk down the hallway
and made a graph. I'm like, come on, I want to do
that. And I'm playing l so I have these these all these people my
dad did and they I turned the speakers on. All I have with house
music. I'm a house DJ. These guys were looking at me and you
were going to strangle me. Yeah, Bennett, you have sorry, but
I did. I did Metal Date twenty seventeen and it was a great day
and I ended up with South South Bronx and they loved it. It was
great. But it was just amazing to think of the way they were looking
at me. I'm talking about I had that that that Greenwich village house.
They were not feeling it at all. They were bumping. It's what you're
saying, no, no, what everybody's got a dj CT. That's simple
because no one says tweet right, So well, I say on your Facebook
page. Every once in a while, I used to go live I don't
know I did that. That was my pandemic. That's how I was when
I was healing with my Yeah, dude, when he was doing the live
I would just like, you know, every once in a while, I'd
be strolling through there and it would be live next thing. I know.
I'm like, you know, I'm like like being next thing. I know,
like you know, like you know, back in the day in the
eighties, right cool. So I had to finally, uh said something about
the hospital fire or something that fire. The fire that I tapped out that
happens a shot was um when uh what's his name from Rescue one made the
rope rescue Jimmy from from where Rescue one he rescued the old man from the
rear. The whole building top floor was on fire. Um, Jimmy last
game. Sorry forgot somebody in the chattel put it up there. I can't
remember any Yeah. Um, that's the night, Lord Lloyd, Yes,
that particular picture that night. When the that alarm came in, I sighed
and like, I don't want to do this anymore. And I realized that
I was done. Um, And which is a blessing because someone told oh,
I mean has several people tell me, get out when you're ready.
Don't get out before, because if I got out before, I'd be I
would miss you would regret it. And not that I wasn't effective at the
fire, but I just was tied. I was like, okay, because
yo, three o'clock in the morning, turn out and I was driving a
rig by myself with waves. Oh yeah, that's a big rick. D
wait from rescue one late yes, jim Lee, m um. Yeah.
So that particular fire I had, I was in Squad forty one. I
had the roof, so I see the buildings. I'm fire. I gotta
take the adjoining. I go into the four side to go up. I
look, I'm like, oh the smoke. Force the door. I make
a report. You know, Squad forty one roof to command, you have
a fire in the first floor of exposure four. I search out. Everything's
big again because now I'm searching by myself in the building by myself. That's
the only thing bad about to act. Yeah, why wasn't intacting? I
wasn't Square forty one. This is why the medical got hurt right and checked
it. Close the door, go to the rid that one was on fire.
Boom search it again. I searched four apartments before. I never made
it to the roof because it was in the shaft. All the apartments were
on fire and I was taught never to pass fire and there could have been
people in there, so I just made it. It didn't need me too.
They were already executing that rope rescue. It was really pandemonium. And
I remember the guy from he was from fifty Engine. I'm in the hallway
just hanging on my hook and he's like, come on three, help us
with the line. Looking at it. I literally look at him. It
was like last fire and that was in the Bronx and that's when I fell
over the fence. The fence let go and I had the video of that
fire as well, and you see me on the roof on the firewall and
I was shot. I took my helmet off, put it and I just
And the thing about it is, I think it was more mental than physical
because I had just dealt with my mom. She had dementia and we took
care of her for three years, and I wanted to enjoy another chapter in
my life. I remember when you were going through that act. This job
number one held my hand through the whole thing. They gave me a lot
of courtesies through the whole thing, and just psychologically, I was ready to
move on and just enjoy because life is short. And I did thirty years.
I was like, you know, and I'm fifty what was I fifty
six of fifty seven? Something like? It was time and you know,
my ego, that's one of the hardest things to do is when you're sitting
in front of the board. Yeah, I can't do it anymore. Right,
Oh you could say, oh no, I could do another ten for
me, it wouldn't have been another ten anyway, because I was you only
had a couple more to go anyway. Yeah, it was twenty seven when
I got on, So it was time. I felt. I just felt
it was time, and I was very I felt very blessed. God,
He's blessed. Look at the family he's got over here. You got a
picture of his family that ladies, Yeah, just get right here. That's
my beautiful wife, Victoria and Morgan, beautiful family, Christon and Jasmine.
Jasmine's violder. She got the softy helmet, nice. Morgan got the sweet
leather one, and Christen got the plant. I look at that one.
Now it looks like Denzel in that one. Bro. Oh yeah right,
tell him, Craig, tell him, we all look alike. How I
say, I have to say, but you do look like you look like
the shaddle guy. Bro. No, he doesn't know a little bit.
If you put a cowboy hat on, maybe, I don't know. Do
you know the Waco kid? Excuse me? Do you know the Waco kid?
No? No, I'm just kidding. It's the guy who's remember emblazing
Saddles the right hand man Wilson to see that movie too. Oh my god,
Oh this is another shout. I wanted to make those do it?
Jimmy in um In the Quartermaster at the Rock. You know he makes miniature
helmets. I highly recommend people go to him. He made my helmets look
like hold on, let me grab grab it. My face hurts. Man.
I'm so glad we got him on the computer and not the phone.
Yeah, it would have been a little challenging. I think with a computer
this is way better. So this is a miniature. Where's a camera.
This is a miniature of the one that got cut. I look, get
that and he made it exact. He makes it. It's got the cut
he got the he made the cut, he made the leather color of the
cut. Um, then this is the other leather one I have. He
even has see the wire. Yeah yeah, yeah, wow, that's a
good word. Who is this, Jimmy? He does the Um, he's
still there, He's still there. I gotta find out if the rock if
you go to Quartermaster Rock next to the library, and then we'll sell them.
Getting salty paddle, Dude, that's pretty cool, man. Look at
the little he's got the light on it too. Dude, he's pretty What
do you use that for? Like a little Christmas on him in or something?
What do you got? Yeah? I have. I just have him
near my kids pictures, each helmet for each child. I call him kids.
My daughters are beautiful young ladies. But I have my dad's helmet from
one of his helmets from twenty eight's one of the old molded ones. I
got my father's too. Yeah, so I realized how precious those are,
especially um once they passed. My cousin has one of his helmets as well.
My cousin Pete. I think I had a picture of my cousin Pete
because twenty eight truck a little over a year in quarters with us. This
is the night that I met the guy from one thirteen. He was like,
this is just like our firehouse. I was like, wow, you
know. And then I'm telling you they were running like number three, number
two, number one in the city for a good stretch and they're always up
there and they do great. I was gonna say, what you're smoking?
That's what that was a rum twist o nights we have any more? We
have a we have a few we have are we got this one from Rescue
three. That's the day I caught my helmet. Who's the young guy in
the back? Young that is Cinderella's sun? All right, oh, very
nice, good officer. He was really good. He was super calm.
Yeah, super calm. You got your middle day day. It was a
cowboy in the front making it. Yeah, come on, who's gonna have
look at it? Look at the stuff. He's got a rack he's got
on. He's leaning a little to that side too, isn't he. Yeah,
backs going to go on. Cow weights on the other side. There
he is. That was at the Halem explosion gas explosion. Yes, the
train that was on video coops. Why do they got on that tire?
Over there. Oh the dollars. Um, they are all the toe truck
dollys. But I forget what the what the actual term is something jack?
Yeah, you can move that. You can move the car with Yeah.
Got these guys. Hey, there you go a little. He's my class.
All three of them are still working too. I gotta go fishing or
something. Man, Come on, come on, Ryan, get out already.
Those are the brothers of Sock. That was for a Black History month
for I think the FireWire or something. That's my boy the al Yeah,
that's a great shot. Man. Where is this taken? Rescue four?
I never heard of it. You get these guys, this is your last
tour. Yeah, that was my last night. My son spent the night.
He thought. He was so excited. He did the housewatch with me
and um, I think there was a multiple long but I was by then.
I was a tool messenger, which was pretty nice because oh, I
know about everybody. Oh I know about the tool messenger. Yeah, I
believe this is the last one. Thirty truck kind of what your zoo get?
Take a quick scan and me get a thirty truck. If you guys
want to see the old truck. Look at that we had. I was
on that rig briefly. Then we had a spare with the phone booth,
and then we ended up getting a thirty eight trucks old rig and thirty eight
truck got the one hundred and ten footer the LPI um So. But this
rig, that lt I was garbage, right, Yeah, it was.
It was so uncomfortable. Yeah, I think UM four truck had one too.
Things are called the god Jacks Jack Jacks, right, that's the African
American Day Parade. I was with the ceremonial Unit. Yeah, I would.
I gotta give Joe the point, nah, because he really you know
again, the beginning of my career was the biggest impact was that that funeral
of my father with everyone down there. Because back then old time was a
pass way, no one recognize them, and now the ceremonial Unit will send
someone there. I've seen a lot of sad funerals, especially up in Harlem,
where the guys dying is just a couple of old dudes. And now
the ceremonial unit will take care. That's great. Tires everyone who's sick.
It's just that was another great thing that, I mean, one of the
great things that came out of nine eleven. Unfortunately, right, is that
those guys that's the ceremonial unit. You work with the ceremonial unit for a
little while, the right then't you? I did? Yeah? I did
too. I mean I thought that was a great thing, you know,
like setting stuff up, and like you said, they don't forget. They
make sure that you know, there's some guys going to every funeral if they
know whatever. It's funny. Some people are are ticked off when they're like,
hey, you got sunglasses on your in the front, you gotta take
them off. Or you got on white socks, you can't stand in the
front. It's all about representation. It's all about presentation. And we're doing
this for the family who lost their Like I said, if you've never been
on that bus, you don't know what it's like. And we need to
represent as best we can when especially we're honoring our families when we're away on
Christmas, Thanksgiving we're in the firehouse eating turkey hotdogs. You know, we
have to let off the families know that it wasn't for nothing. So Craig,
there was nothing better from going to those things, which was such an
awful situation than being at the end of the line and watching the family.
Still you could see it in their face. They could not believe how long
it was going. Right, Like they're looking at the limo, or they're
looking at the bus, or the families looking at the bus. Right,
you're everybody's looking straight. Yeah, but as they go by, you could
see their face. Yes, and that's the truth, right, you can't.
You could tell that they're like, they cannot believe that what we're doing.
And then everybody in the looking It's amazing. Everyone in the bus is
looking out at the alliance because it is something you know, and hopefully no
one has to go through that. But I really have to look back.
If I went to five truck, how many times I would have gone,
oh my gosh. Yeah, Bobby Potchell was one seventeen guy. He was
a big guy to twenty five guy. He was in the ceremony in a
unit too. Patty Lee was saying, and that's another reason why I really
I felt blessed to being busy companies. But I never would look down on
a company that's slower. The only thing I ever looked down on is if
your attitude is like you're not into it, then that's a problem, you
know, because I remember we had a one thirteen. We had a cover
in. Captain didn't do roll call, shut the door. He was in
there building a ship in a bottle, did you not? Right? So
now they turn off the long lights. This guy can't get out of the
office. He finds a phone and calls a dispatcher because you imagine the incompetence.
This guy was on one thirteen right to leave men and he was one
of those ten point mass inspectors. You know, Yeah, that's what happens.
That's what happened. Well, you can shake that. I don't care.
I don't care away from because I've seen guys in busy companies who fall
short because they're they're they're front and it's not you can't front. This job
will sift you out, it will humble you. And I think that's the
best thing about it is. I was just gonna say that, Craig,
that is the best thing about the job is you know, like you said,
you know, if it's something else, you're gonna find that out anyway.
But the bottom line is we all depend on each other and you cannot
have You're only as good as the weakest link, and you have to shake
out the weak link if it's If it's really a weak link, right,
I'm not talking about other bullshit. I'm talking about it. If it's right,
you have to shake it out. There's no doubt about it. I
hope that still is the case. I don't know if that's always the case,
but I think it will always be the case. The job is just
inherently again, it sifts you out. And when I taught at the Academy,
it was awesome because and I taught the first it was a priority higher
class. It was the first list of the priory higher class. And I
remember some people trying to discourage me from being in the class, like,
Oh, you're gonna get jammed up. They're gonna jam you up. I'm
like, I'm not gonna jam me up. I said, my goal is
to teach with integrity, and that's what I tried to do. I tried
to teach all the students with integrity. And if there was an African American
kid will come up and want to talk to me, I can definitely talk
to you about your assignment. Do you know what you're doing? If you're
having issues, I can talk to you about how to deal with the issues,
advice, where to go, who to talk to, and in doing
that, I thought I was doing the right thing. There were people who
complaining about that, saying it was coddling the ProBiS and that's like, that's
someone who doesn't know me. Unfortunate people who knew me stood up for me
and said, no, he's not that way. Um, that's not the
lineage, you know. So you know that my job is to make sure
everyone gets out alive. And when I again, I was the only black
guy in probi school. And when I was when someone came to me and
said, oh, you're gonna be the physical Fitness Award win, I was
like, now I'm gonna be the validictorian. I was neither. But I
mean, and but to assume that is wrong, But I get it.
I get it. And my job was suggest be proficient. Well, you
know what, that's the that's good. Coop says that all the time.
Man, he loves when somebody says he's too short to do something or he's
too this to do something, that that I'm gonna prove you wrong. I'm
gonna stick it right up your ass, you know what I mean. Like,
that's that's my bread and butter. Something or tell me I'm gonna be
something or can't be something. That's that's where you should get the possess to
do right. And I had to think Pat Tracy, he was captain of
a thirty two truck at the time, but he was doing I guess personnel
at the rock. He got me to come, and it says a lot
when someone's likes your work ethic. That's what he said. I liked where
you work. I like how you approach things, and I want to pass
that on because it you can enjoy the job more. If you're feel comfortable
at a fire. That's the worst feeling when you feel like I don't know
what I'm doing. And I even had that in three. It was a
time. You have to drill all the time. If you get no matter
when where you are in your career, you have to drill. And we
had a rope job and I wasn't drilling enough, and I remember I had
the safety took it out, and I took the safety apart and did something
and it was slowing it down, slowing the operation down. And the look
that the guys had when they looked at me. The disappointment. I was
like Jesus Christ, I can't I have this happening again. You know,
so we make everything fire improved. It's ready. I got those clipping in.
And then when you approach everything like that, whether it's your gloves,
whether it's your hood, whether it's pulling up your pants quickly, if you
constantly try to improve yourself, to make yourself better, you can have a
good career. You can be safer. I think you know, uh,
awesome, I'll tell you it was awesome. Dude. You did. You've
done good. As they say, chef failed the avenue brother, But I
think we got one more thing. Oh that is right. You know what
we got count You know, you know you're ready to do it. It's
time for the old school. Oh good day. We're not saying you're old.
It's just an old school tip that referred to your rage. Tell that
to my knees. Anyway, I had a fire. I was detailed the
sixty nine engine. Knew nothing about the end the gym. We're standing fast.
It was just like maybe an edgecomb. It was always fire as an
edgecomb back then. Now it's super expensive. But this particular tenement. People
coming down the fire escapes, and you could see the fire rolling behind the
window, and a woman was hanging on the fire escape and was scared to
move. So now it's a law jam right in front of the fire.
And again I was like, on probation, I'm looking, and I didn't
say anything, and nothing happened. But what I should have done is suggested,
hey, we should have a hose right here for a water curtain in
case that window breaks, because those people would have been roasted. So even
when you you know, I'm a pro but you have We're talking the sixteenth
Battalion thorough Firefighters. But sometimes things get overlooked. And if you see something,
I don't care if you're a probi or the oldest guy, just say
something. Just say something. And I always look back at that and I
had and I'm glad nothing happened. Uh. The other thing, probably the
biggest thing, my father told me this model yourself after a firefighter from the
firefloor back to the kitchen, not the other way. That's pretty much it,
dude. When you told me that's the other day, I was like,
oh my god, that's freaking that's perfect, because great, that's what
the job is about. I mean, I don't have to. I don't
have to like you, but I like the way you forced that door.
H. When we get back to the kitchen, that's a whole different story.
But if you're like this guy's a loud mouth, I've seen that.
I've all seen that loud mouth until it comes time to pay the piper,
right, I'm everybody have seen somebody like that. You know who I'm thinking
about, right, I got a couple of guys. I got a few
guys. But listen, oh, mister Thweet, I thoroughly enjoyed going over
your whole career, and uh, you are a and of integrity yourself.
And uh, I learned a lot. I learned a lot from this show.
Um, and I appreciate it exactly. Thank you. I really like
the show, and uh, continue success. It's refreshing to watch an episode
with that an Italian as a guest. Yeah, that's my that's my lieutenant,
Patty Lee. How can I get a Brownstone light and a cutter?
Yeah? Yeah, you definitely want one of those bad boys. I got
you, brother, I got you for sure. All right, So we
are off again this Monday because it's the summertime, and we're back on Thursday
with Louis and I's old lieutenant, right, Jimmy Leanim, Jimmy Kelly,
I'm sorry, Kelly Lee whatever, Sam, Timmy Kelly, you'll rescue one
cadre. He's coming on next week. And uh again, thank you,
mister sweet great career. Thank you for the hot Toddy and uh and I
want some of the things that you your dads had really inspired me too.
I appreciate you sharing us. Thank you, it was It's nice to recognize
him. Um, you know, and keep this going because younger firefighters need
to hear this stuff and h they'll they'll take it and they'll they're gonna save
someone's life like stuff that's shared on getting salty And we just punched your ticket
for the boat cruise, fella. How do you like them apples? So
yeah, thank you, m yes, thank you. I'll be home.
Yeah, I'm going to Scout camp on Sunday for a week. So,
oh, my wife and Scout camp. Where are you going on, Tiara?
Oh, she's up there now. My boys going u for from Sunday
to Saturday. So it's nice in the state when you're off and retired.
Found upon the boy allegedly he got his shout, No, I don't have
anything God's anything from you. No, No, I just have a great
guys enjoyed the summer. Who's ever done around? Shout out to Al Benjamin
by the way the show over the place. He was very influential, very
influential. A h my one of my presidents, and I like to thank
Kylie Baylor because he um he appointed me first VP of the Vulcan Society.
I did one term and learning how the eighth floor works, and I took
my hats off to all the past Vulcan presidents. Um. Even today,
I saw something about Vinny Julius back in the sixties had the UFA write a
letter saying that we don't condone hosing people who protests. And that was a
Vulcan Society initiative that took place years ago. So they've always been doing great
work. I often feel like a lot of people misunderstan understand the society and
how it moves. But I'm a legacy Vulcan number two, and it's it's
just all the societies. Our goal is to make the bring new people in,
make them better, and make the job better. So we all got
to continue to do that. Do it and I like it all right roughns
mister three again, thank you so much, Thank you very much, brother.
Thanks. We got to get We'll talk to you in the in the
after show. Don't go anywhere, Okay, go anywhere, al right,
guys. We will see you next Thursday. Until then, stay low and
go and let's go jets. Oh, people never learn. All right,
we'll see it the big one, everybody, all right, guys, have
a good night.