WEBVTT

1
00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:28.160
You're listening to the Getting Salty Experience
podcast. You muted your knucklehead again?

2
00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:36.439
He did myself, all right,
Hold on and go at a word we

3
00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:42.079
go. Welcome back to the unmuted
version of the Getting Salty Experienced podcast.

4
00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.320
It's the only one we don't bring
only to kitch your table anymore. I'm

5
00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:48.960
not saying that anymore. Guns.
We bring the whole fire house experience to

6
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.960
you, bro, right to wherever
you are. I agree. We pee

7
00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.920
Wee's down in kate May. You
know, he's ten eighty four from Kate

8
00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.039
May. But we're bringing it right
to him. He can't be at the

9
00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.119
fire house. So what do we
do? We bring it to you wherever

10
00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:02.039
you are. This is Brocuccini.
Ain't checking in. I know, heat

11
00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:04.879
down in like North Carolina or something. So his wife sweating, that's what

12
00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:07.200
he's doing. He's sweating like an
animal. Not hot down there at all.

13
00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:11.519
Yeah, yeah, I think the
whole country sweating. That's it was

14
00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.239
hot, not hot enough to wear
in New York jets a A ron Jersey

15
00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.879
baby taking to the Promised Land this
year a Jersey I don't even know that

16
00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.079
guy. Who is that guy?
Come on, stop it now? I

17
00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:26.000
mean, you promised land that's what
we're doing. I'm gonna see one.

18
00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:30.719
I'll be more than one years old
of the season. Kid, what's up?

19
00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:34.359
Well that yesterday brother? Yeah,
me and Roofy went to the twenty

20
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.640
fifth anniversary of the Squad. Had
a grand old time. Look that cup.

21
00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:45.359
Yeah, salute. I got there
in great, great turnout, really

22
00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:48.799
great turnout, right, bro.
A lot of guys showed up from the

23
00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:55.560
past. Blast in the Past was
good. It was a good time.

24
00:01:55.599 --> 00:02:00.719
There was a good turnout, good
food, good times. Coo Coops walked

25
00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:02.040
in. It was like, I
don't know, he was a little early,

26
00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:06.439
but maybe there was like twenty five
guys just hanging around before we had

27
00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:09.520
about ninety guys. I think Coops. He came in. He's like,

28
00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:12.360
hey, hey, you don't has
everybody doing that? Good to see you,

29
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:15.360
Good to see it. I'm like, where's Coops eating. I'm like,

30
00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:19.199
he's the first guy on the line. He's the first guy. You

31
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:22.360
know, he's got goes up and
down like three times if anybody else gets

32
00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:27.400
anything. My grandfather, my grandfather, Johnny Foist. You gotta be Johnny

33
00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:32.039
Foist to get your calories in for
the day or something when I dude,

34
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:37.120
I waited, I capted my calories. I had like fifteen hundred left.

35
00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.759
I went to town, right to
the super sad. I had the brute.

36
00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:44.120
Could you imagine being fifty five years
old and still worrying about that stuff?

37
00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:46.240
I had the brute. I had
everything I had to meet, not

38
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:50.159
a bit. My tongue almost in
half. It was bleeding all over the

39
00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:54.039
place. I hate that. In
a while, still see it. Look,

40
00:02:55.120 --> 00:03:00.400
Oh it was bleeding for two days. Broop. I was chopping on

41
00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:04.719
the lamp chop and I slipped up
the bone right in my fucking tongue.

42
00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:14.639
Bro Damn, Maybe you take it
easy, Take it easy, guy,

43
00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:20.199
Yeah, man, something the rest
of us when you gotta display like that

44
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:25.639
a food bro right had the chicken
franchise, me balls, the egg plant

45
00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:31.039
role, the team drinking top notch
too. Bro you can never go wrong

46
00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:35.000
with Italian food. Man. It's
just like we just came to the meal,

47
00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:39.599
every couple of each Yeah, it
was smoked. You smoke that he

48
00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:46.360
just took one. I'm giving it
to my friend that one of those guys

49
00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:47.240
just to take it because it's free, you know what I'm saying. But

50
00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.919
they put it in the thing.
I didn't take it. They gave it

51
00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.120
to me. I comnd it.
Get one because you're too busy eating obviously

52
00:03:54.599 --> 00:04:02.159
too busy. Stuff on your face. I was, he says, gob

53
00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:09.080
a goal over here. Let's hear
that again. I'm a goal over here

54
00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:15.639
over here. You're out cool.
I'm not even to see. I don't

55
00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.519
even touch anything. I can't hope
until I get old. He has certain

56
00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:24.360
ones we need. I hold them. I gotta be useful somehow, so

57
00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.560
I hold them by all right now, God's couldn't pull out. I got

58
00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:30.439
one shout out for the night.
The guy met in the bathroom at I

59
00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.040
can't maybe can't pull it out anyway. His name is Percy L. Del

60
00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.759
Aguila, Senior from Florida. He
said, I was the guy to meet

61
00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:45.680
you in the bathroom and Yankee Stadium, so held junk for you up very

62
00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:46.680
What did he say? What do
you like? The what do you like?

63
00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.319
Salty guy? I saw him what
I see one of them. He's

64
00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:51.839
looking at me in the corner of
his eye. I'm like, either he's

65
00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:56.240
checking up my junk or maybe he
uh. He probably know he watches the

66
00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:59.759
show and came out and see he
watched the show Really Good Guy, Yep

67
00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:02.040
and Yankee Stadium. I told that
we took the selfie. My wife's in

68
00:05:02.120 --> 00:05:06.319
the corner like this. Oh my
god, we this day. He didn't

69
00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:10.160
sign any hats, did you?
No, I would have if he asked

70
00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:14.600
me too, that you have a
show up. That's how I go.

71
00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.759
I carry you a shopping around just
in case. That's the kids they see

72
00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:27.439
somebody in the tarlet. Yeah,
oh want you to sign boo yeah,

73
00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:34.720
fight his tongue coops gave Fox through
that I can't get to that or wait

74
00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:39.279
to the commercials. Yea, yeah, yeah, all right, get the

75
00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:42.759
commercials quick because we have to get
a steamed guest in here, all right

76
00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:50.720
to Armor Tough interlocking floor tiles are
the best choice to replace new or aging,

77
00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:57.800
stained or cracked concrete or epoxy floors. Here's why. Armor Tough tiles

78
00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:01.879
come with a lifetime warranty and are
usually installed in one or two days,

79
00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.920
depending on the size of your station, with virtually no disruption in daily operation.

80
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:14.160
Armor Tough interlocking tiles are guaranteed from
chipping, cracking, peeling, breaking

81
00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:18.839
or staining once installed. The tiles
are non skid and non slip and meet

82
00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:25.759
the ADA standards for the friction coefficient. The tiles are stain resistant and impervious

83
00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:30.000
to any chemicals or vollatles that are
used in the fire service. Once installed,

84
00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:34.000
your floor will be easy to clean
with just soap and water. Install

85
00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:39.759
an armor tough tile floor in your
apparatus, base offices, training rooms,

86
00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:44.920
workshops, exercise rooms, kitchens,
banquet halls, or any other room in

87
00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:48.560
your station. Call Vinced Today for
a no obligation quote at nine O eight

88
00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:55.600
nine one seven seven six nine seven. Why install a breakable epoxy floor that

89
00:06:55.639 --> 00:06:59.240
will need replacing in five to ten
years when you could have a floor that

90
00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:03.319
will last a lifetime. Drop a
Halligan on an armor tough floor and you

91
00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:09.560
won't see any damage. Don't try
this with concrete or epoxy. Join the

92
00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:15.959
hundreds of career and volunteer fire departments
nationwide who have chosen an armor tough interlocking

93
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:20.560
tile floor. Armor tough interlocking tiles
are half the price of epoxy and will

94
00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:27.040
last a lifetime without issue. Again, call Vince Today for a no obligation

95
00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:33.439
quote at nine O eight nine one
seven seven six nine seven. Yeah.

96
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:36.759
I love that Vince Prince is a
good guy, which too up on him.

97
00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:41.600
He's gonna biyous then it next time? Oh really, you you know

98
00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:45.160
what I mean? My man Vince
got to save those Yeah, all right,

99
00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:49.000
all right, let's hear from first
responder. The First Responders Center for

100
00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:54.720
Excellence is it not for profit organization
dedicated to protecting the lives and livelihoods of

101
00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:59.959
first responders. Their education or research
initiatives aim to bring greater awareness and understand

102
00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:03.319
ending the challenges to the health,
safety, and well being of firefighters,

103
00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:07.000
EMS, personnel, and other first
responders too. They are an affiliate of

104
00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:13.399
the National Falling Firefighter Foundation. All
right, tonight's health and safety is coming

105
00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:18.639
from here guns. I'm not really, I'm not. Do you a favorite.

106
00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:20.319
This is what I ed to have
the guys do, bro, when

107
00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:22.759
I became the senior man, I
said, listen, you have for twenty

108
00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:28.160
four hours. You need to drill
on something, you need to read something,

109
00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:31.240
and you need to exercise for at
least forty five minutes. Bro.

110
00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:37.679
If you can't get your fats in
the gym for forty five minutes, shame

111
00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.960
on you. You have to exercise. It's a very difficult, demanding job

112
00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:43.919
and it's something that you have to
do. For the rest of your life,

113
00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:48.440
even past retirement. Stay in shape, Put down the canoli and get

114
00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.679
your fats on the treadmill. All
right, that's all I gotta says,

115
00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:58.600
like every hour, what's that you
are, Craig? That's what he is

116
00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:00.440
he doing right now? Craig,
He'll tell us a litt about it,

117
00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.600
say he knows how to do it
dirty push up and then I used to

118
00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:07.080
make them go up. Remember we
used to do the elevator appreciation. I

119
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:11.919
used to make them in full bunker
gear go up eighteen stories while it was

120
00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:16.000
working. Once, sometimes with the
spreaders, yeah, sometimes with the heart

121
00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.279
we had. We had contests.
A lot of guys didn't do it.

122
00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:20.639
They didn't like it. They kind
of we'ren't too happy with me. But

123
00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:24.720
listen, you know you got to
go up eighty flights and then operate,

124
00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.559
so you'll be thanking me for sure. Yep. I played the last one

125
00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:31.799
gons before we have hours and we
want to do Mike Honors tonight or we

126
00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:35.240
want to just do hours? Do
what hours? And then we have mikes?

127
00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:35.799
Do we want to how we could
do mikes? And you know what,

128
00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:41.559
I want to give out a condolences
to mikey Lois's grandpa h this past

129
00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:45.120
week, so let's do Mike's give
him a little shout out. Ten four

130
00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:48.159
need advice and how to start your
podcast? Frustrated with the editing process?

131
00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.519
Can't find a voiceover guy? Hi, I'm Michaeloge and I'm here to help.

132
00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:56.720
I'm the owner and founder of MC
Media Editing Services, your premier consulting

133
00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:01.519
company for all things media, where
can offer you consulting advice on how to

134
00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.480
get started and once you get started
editing, as well as voice over work,

135
00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:07.519
all for a very reasonable price if
you want to reach But you can

136
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.559
contact me at nine one seven seven
eight one six one eight nine or the

137
00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:13.879
email that you see listed here.
I'm always available and I'm always willing to

138
00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:18.600
help again. Nine one seven seven
eight one six one eighth nine. Why

139
00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:20.120
go to some giant consulting from It's
going to charge you an arm in the

140
00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.720
leg when you can just come to
me. If you want to be stress

141
00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.879
free, the way to go is
to call mc MC Media Editing Services,

142
00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:33.039
your premier consulting company. All right, I was glad to see him in

143
00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.519
the range route outfit. It just
gets me every time I want to be

144
00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.360
stress free. You can't make it. I can't remember the mimic the eyeballs.

145
00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:41.080
But you know, here's it's better
than the other one. You had

146
00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:45.039
to air brosch the whole thing.
I don't know what he had going on

147
00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:46.519
there. Yeah, all right,
god's play the last and final one.

148
00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:48.679
You know what. We gotta do
it here, bro, you all right?

149
00:10:48.759 --> 00:11:03.600
Hold on? What's up? If
you want this ready? If you

150
00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:09.080
want to do a seven nine eight
on your pizza, get telegraphy. We

151
00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:15.039
want to pizza cut up. Pizza
cut is coming soon. The pizza that's

152
00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:20.039
not bad. I can't even believe
you remember those. You're all bro?

153
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.000
All right, here we go.
If you're looking for a gift for that

154
00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.559
special firefighter in your life, then
head on over to get in Salty Apparel

155
00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:30.919
dot com. Yes, getting Salty
apparel dot com. What we have,

156
00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:33.960
what we carry, hands drawn original
t shirts, glassware such as bugs,

157
00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.480
shot glasses, pine glasses, engraved
Arctic cooler cups, and much much more.

158
00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:43.200
There's also a full line of firefighter
tool bottle openers like Halligan's nozzles and

159
00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.279
wine bottle opener accesses too. And
if you're a cigar smoking congratulations, we

160
00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.960
have partner saw cigar cutters and humid
oors. I think we're done. Far

161
00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.679
from it. We got toiletry gear
bags, poosies, a full line of

162
00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:00.399
hats, decal sweatshirts, and once
again, so much more. We could

163
00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:03.480
also personalize most of these products.
And if you want discounts, hey,

164
00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.759
you've come to the right place.
We got discounts on large orders for promotion

165
00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:11.360
dinners, weddings as well as installation
dinners. Just head on over to get

166
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.279
in Salty Apparel dot com. All
right, that's enough of that stuff.

167
00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:22.159
Let's well for you do it.
You do the honors, buddy. I'll

168
00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:26.960
actually had the honor of working with
Craig uh my last year at stock Island,

169
00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:28.960
so that's where I got the Norman. That's why I wanted him on

170
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:35.600
the show. So coming to the
stage, fire fire to Craig Free,

171
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:41.519
I'll at gons problem, let's gonna
go, let's gonna go. Oh what

172
00:12:41.600 --> 00:12:45.399
happened? He's a little under the
cons Are you a little onto the weather?

173
00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:46.480
You would sick us up? And
you listen to weight what happened there?

174
00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:50.399
Welcome to the show, mister,
if we thank you for having me

175
00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:52.720
listen. The guy worked with you
for the last year and he's got to

176
00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.480
ask you how to pronounce your last
name, and I don't know. I

177
00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.159
don't want to make sure I didn't. You know, it's a little silly

178
00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:01.159
at the end there. Well my
name has been butchered throughout the year.

179
00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:07.519
I appreciated asking. Yeah, so
you I see you still keep in shape?

180
00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:11.120
Like like I was saying the uh
during the commercials likes to see did

181
00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.919
you always work out way on the
job? I did? Uh? What

182
00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:16.799
kind of uh? I'm a lightweight? Well, I'm a middleweight. I'm

183
00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:22.399
like most out of the wave was
one eight five and that's when I went

184
00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.159
on the cycle of Creton. But
I'm usually like now I'm hundred and seventy.

185
00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:30.039
I've been that weight for thirty years. It's pretty cool. It does.

186
00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:33.399
It's a very you know, this
job is hard, bro, So

187
00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.440
this is it's a difficult, demanding
job, right. You gotta stay stay

188
00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:41.879
in shape. And I was fortunate
my dad was in good shape. He

189
00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:46.840
died, but he died at sixty
four. So I'm fifty nine. So

190
00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:50.960
I'm making a point that I'm gonna
do as much as I can to talking

191
00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:56.000
about that all the time. What
did dad pass from a heart attack.

192
00:13:56.120 --> 00:14:01.399
Yeah, my dad fifty seven from
a heart attack. Yep. So we

193
00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:05.600
want to collect a long time right, right, we want to get back

194
00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.879
at the city. We gotta we
gotta collect a long time brother. Yeah,

195
00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:16.840
need to collect a lot of the
vengeance. Keep it coming. All

196
00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:18.200
right, let's say, let's do
it. Let's get that picture out before

197
00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:24.320
we dive into mister Tweet's Korea copy. All right, here we go.

198
00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:35.039
I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the

199
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:43.320
Republic, for which it stands,
one nation under God. Oh, I

200
00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:50.679
didn't touch a god. I pledge
allegiance to the flag of the United States

201
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:56.759
of America and to the Republic,
for which it stands, one nation under

202
00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:13.320
God, indivisible with liberty and justice. For all that might have been on

203
00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:18.679
me, I think I may have
touched the right. But right, do

204
00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:26.679
you get on your computer too?
Yeah? Lock it? Ye sweet,

205
00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:30.559
that's a rescue guy. I didn't
feel like I'm in the room, sad

206
00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:33.480
guy. Figure it out. I
got to work on his curtains, though,

207
00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.279
Kooby, what do you think you
got to work on his curtains?

208
00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:39.080
You don't have the you don't have
the gainzel, curtains, curtains. He

209
00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:43.879
doesn't want to get some I don't
want to take him down. Be a

210
00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:48.200
man already. Will you say?
The Oval office here? You know what

211
00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:52.240
I'm saying. Yeah, Yeah,
looks like Abraham Lincoln's bedroom or something.

212
00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:56.480
You guys coming all the day.
Let's dive into visits, sweets queer quick

213
00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.519
his career. So let's talk about
I know your dad was on the job,

214
00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:03.799
right, so I'm assuming that's what's
got you into the fire service.

215
00:16:03.799 --> 00:16:07.039
So let's talk about your dad and
the rest of your family, where you

216
00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:11.200
grew up, all that stuff.
Uh, My dad got on the job

217
00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:15.919
nineteen sixty, got out in nineteen
eighty, and I was born in sixty

218
00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.600
four. We moved out to Lakeview, Long Island, which is part of

219
00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:26.840
West Hempstead and it surrounds Hempstead Lake
State Park. So it was really nice

220
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:30.399
place to grow up. I mean, you know, it's one of those

221
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:36.360
neighborhoods where everyone rolled their bikes,
played kickball, spud, Hot peas and

222
00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:38.279
butter, Hot peas and butter.
What's that one? I don't know,

223
00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:45.840
Hot peas and butter. You take
a belt and hide it. Everyone turns

224
00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:49.039
around. You hide the belt.
And now people are looking for the belt,

225
00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:52.799
and you're like, warmer, warmer, and whoever farm to get it.

226
00:16:52.320 --> 00:17:00.480
There's hot peas and butter. Could
you hide today past some people?

227
00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:07.359
Some people will use the buckle.
Oh, kids to hot peas and butter.

228
00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.559
Right, playing hot peas and butter. Today. We just played steps.

229
00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:14.000
We played Johnny on the Pony.
We played all those games. Right,

230
00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:18.400
play those games today. But it
was not a lawyer. Yeah,

231
00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:22.880
park had uh everything. We played
sports all year round. We even played

232
00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:29.920
tennis because the park was right there. It was just a very nice community

233
00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:33.559
to grow up in. The high
school was good. Malvern High School at

234
00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:37.160
that time. The ratio was almost
fifty fifty fifty fifty black and everyone pretty

235
00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:44.599
much got along. Um the Malvern
Mules. The Mules exactly close today.

236
00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:49.680
I don't know from you were basketball
giants, so it's nice you play ball,

237
00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:53.720
you play any played football football.
I was an outside linebacker and the

238
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:59.119
wide receiver. This guy man,
So did you did you actually when you're

239
00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:00.839
going to the firehouse with your dad, like, what did you know about

240
00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.920
parties and all that stuff? Yeah? I remember the Christmas parties, the

241
00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:11.119
picnics, and then I actually remember
the first night that I was in the

242
00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.960
firehouse. I was I think twelve. I used to go get my hair

243
00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:19.160
cut over the twenty three truck.
My dad would give me five dollars,

244
00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.720
he would tell me what. In
fact, he would let me take the

245
00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:27.599
Long Island Railroad to Penn Station and
take the subway uptown. That's crazy,

246
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:33.440
right, I would get my hair
cut by twenty three truck. They knew

247
00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:40.039
instantly I wasn't from harm and I
had like the Presidentiam joint. You know,

248
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:42.559
you could just tied. I didn't
look like I was from the neighborhood

249
00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:48.519
and never had an issue. And
then he told me to go down to

250
00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.480
forty second Street because Playland used to
be down there, the game room,

251
00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:56.160
and I would go there play game
moves and take the train back to the

252
00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:00.000
firehouse. While you were down there
back of that little peacan, you know,

253
00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.359
a little peakan little no I had, I WoT want to do.

254
00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:07.319
It was like pinball and the driving
games. So what your dad was in

255
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:15.480
twenty three truck the whole time?
Yeah, you look like your dad?

256
00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:18.279
Man. My son looks more like
him than I do. Does he?

257
00:19:18.400 --> 00:19:22.319
How old your son? He's eleven
and he interested in getting on the job.

258
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.000
I look at that guy. That's
a boy, he says. Uh.

259
00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:30.319
My wife took him to uh,
the marine unit. They were doing

260
00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.160
the high line, so I said, park over about the marine unit,

261
00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.599
and he went there. He told
me he's going to be in the marine

262
00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:40.720
unity all right, And I told
him he's very smart. Yeah, right,

263
00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:42.279
that's the way to go. You
won't get beat up, that's for

264
00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:47.559
sure. No, So your dad
was did twelve you know what, Craig,

265
00:19:47.640 --> 00:19:49.559
My dad got on in nineteen sixty
and he went to twenty eight truck

266
00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:56.000
So they worked together. That's crazy. They worked together. So Craig,

267
00:19:56.039 --> 00:20:00.240
well, we were we were sitting
that the reason I remembered. I remember

268
00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:03.400
you telling me about the story of
like he did a roof rope rescue or

269
00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:06.440
something. Right, is that the
picture that we have? Yeah, he

270
00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:11.319
uh did a rope rescue. What's
so cool about it is I was three

271
00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:18.759
months old. So he's on the
job four years and they ended up getting

272
00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:22.839
a woman from the inside. But
that picture stayed in my locker my whole

273
00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:30.559
career because it was really uh he
said a high bar and unfortunately he passed

274
00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.240
away. I was only on the
job for like a year and a few

275
00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:37.920
months. Actually it was a year
and three months because it was December two,

276
00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:45.759
I'm sorry, December ninety two.
He passed away, and so that

277
00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:52.240
actually was my first well, I
never been to um fire department funeral because

278
00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.160
when I was in the academy,
Kevin Kane was killed, but they didn't

279
00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:00.400
allow the probies to go to the
funeral. So I never been to a

280
00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:04.200
fire department funeral. I had no
idea of the etiquette, how it worked.

281
00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.480
Nothing. And then when my dad
died, you know, the guys

282
00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.599
in the fire outs were like,
go, we got you whatever you need

283
00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:17.839
to go, and I went.
My parents moved down to snow Hill,

284
00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:21.559
Maryland. That's my mom grew up. It's like half an hour from Ocean

285
00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:25.279
City, Maryland, six hours from
here. I went down there, did

286
00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.599
everything we had to do. My
sisters took care of everything for the funeral,

287
00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:30.720
and now it was time to go
to the funeral. And we're literally

288
00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:36.880
going down the cornfields and you can
see the steeple. When I turned the

289
00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:44.960
block, there was a sea of
Fireman Street. And that that's when I

290
00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:51.119
realized how good the job was.
In regardless of whatever goes on, I've

291
00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.880
never experienced anything like that. You
know, I worked a chemical bank before

292
00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:56.519
I got on the job. If
I died, there wouldn't be a line

293
00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:10.640
of the money out your account,
that's rightful through my desk. Hey,

294
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.599
we didn't know that about That says
a lot about the Brothers man all the

295
00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:17.960
way down in Maryland, right,
it does. And and it really said

296
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.720
a lot about my father, who
he was an amazing dude because everything he

297
00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:27.079
did he did to the to the
top. He was lieutenant colonel the army,

298
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:33.480
a power trooper. He was our
scout leader. Um, and but

299
00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.359
he was he was the nicest guy
in the world. He was strong as

300
00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.319
hell. I remember him playing football
with us in high school for Thanksgiving.

301
00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:53.559
He was on the ground playing with
a heart and said that it was great.

302
00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:59.480
So, you know, I go
to firehouse and at the time,

303
00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:03.519
my mother was going to a Delphi
to get her masses. She was a

304
00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:06.519
teacher. She taught in the Malvern
School District, a third grade teacher.

305
00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:14.000
And um, so we're, um, since she's going to school, we're

306
00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:18.279
trying to cut down. So we're
having franks and beans every Saturday. Hated

307
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:23.440
franks and beans. When I'm at
the firehouse. On Saturday. No,

308
00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:29.319
but you know, they're having steak
sandwiches at the firehouse. So I started

309
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.599
writing notes. I'm taking notes to
tell mommy, you know, steak sandwiches

310
00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:40.759
and beans. No. Now they
finished the food, put everything away.

311
00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:48.640
They go laid down like they have
beds here. You know, you're not

312
00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.519
supposed to give out any of those. And I go into TV room and

313
00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.960
we didn't have cable on Long Island. They had cable there, and I

314
00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:00.160
turned onto a channel that I shouldn't
have been watching. Nice like that,

315
00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:03.519
right, So I'm in there by
myself now like, oh my gosh.

316
00:24:07.400 --> 00:24:11.920
The door opens and my dad goes, what goes on here? Stays here?

317
00:24:11.960 --> 00:24:15.759
And he shut the door, and
uh, you know, things like

318
00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.359
that. I got to see a
different side. Then I went to a

319
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.400
job with them, and I was
scared. I didn't even look up.

320
00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:26.200
I could feel the radiant heat from
the cab. And that's when I said,

321
00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.440
oh, you know, it's not
just you know, naps and steaks.

322
00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:37.279
These dudes, Yo, they really
did it. They really did it

323
00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:42.559
with no mask. Army guys,
veterans, they will all shake your hand

324
00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:47.279
real hard, you know, it
was. It's impressive. I never wanted

325
00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:49.240
to be a firefighter. I was
going to be a drummer or DJ or

326
00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:53.400
speed racer or something else. But
he told me to take the test.

327
00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:57.319
Uh. And I was working a
chemical bank and I was working for Dreyfust

328
00:24:57.359 --> 00:25:02.759
and I hated it. I took
the test, and Uh, Columbus Circle,

329
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:06.000
who was in New York cuts I
took it. I was just gonna

330
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.440
say, we took the same test, because it was like eighty six to

331
00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:10.960
eighty seven, and you got on
ninety one. I got on ninety three.

332
00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:14.119
And they only had I think,
what number were you less than a

333
00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:18.799
thousand? Probably like at one thousand
and probably I think I was. I

334
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.640
can't remember twelve and one. Maybe
yeah, I was seventeen hundred. So

335
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:26.480
so think about that. Only five
hundred names. And it was a two

336
00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.799
year difference, and we had to
delay because the guy died. I died

337
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:34.759
right getting physical. That's where they
had the dirty the dirty ratty um mattresses

338
00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:37.759
in the corner. Right you walked
in, You're like, what are those

339
00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:41.960
four? At the end you were
laying on those dirty Well I remember,

340
00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:47.680
you know, I was partying hard. I mean I didn't do any preparation.

341
00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:49.960
So the day of my test,
I go to Pudgy Washes and Uh

342
00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:56.240
Jamaica, and I put the role
up on my shoulder's start running up the

343
00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:57.960
steps. When I got to the
top of the steps, I started seeing

344
00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:03.359
spots and getting dizzy, and I
said, what the hell did I?

345
00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:07.839
I thought I blew it. But
going through that test, I knew how

346
00:26:07.880 --> 00:26:11.200
to pace myself. When I got
to the coliseum and I was trying to

347
00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:18.720
tell these two guys who had on
like tight cope copezios on and I was

348
00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:25.759
like, yo, that wasn't me, was it? I have a picky

349
00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:30.440
ring on. I was trying to
tell them how you gotta pace yourself and

350
00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:32.920
it's about to stairs, and like
they didn't want to listen to me.

351
00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.839
I finished that test, flopped down, and this older black woman came to

352
00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:40.920
me. She said, baby,
you did it. You did it.

353
00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.759
You got a hundred plus. I
look at the guys next to me,

354
00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:45.599
they're all throwing up in buckets.
Yeah, that was guys throwing up that

355
00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:52.400
right. And people don't understand.
You know, it's a hard job,

356
00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:56.200
so don't ever expect it it to
be given to you. It's not.

357
00:26:56.319 --> 00:27:00.079
Because I almost blew it and it
had I now gotten on. You know

358
00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.839
who knows. I'm sure I would
have done something, but to see the

359
00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:07.079
look in my parents eyes when I
was in the academy, Yeah, that's

360
00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:10.839
cool, man, it was cool. You know what I wanted to ask

361
00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:15.039
you when I first, when you
first set your timeline. Your dad was

362
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.759
in twenty eight, right, all
those years? How come he didn't he

363
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:22.440
was still working obviously, ain't twenty
until is that while you didn't go to

364
00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:26.559
twenty eight or no, he got
on nineteen eighty. Oh, you were

365
00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:29.000
right. He was already retired,
right right, right right. I asked

366
00:27:29.079 --> 00:27:33.000
him, how can I need go
to twenty eight? He said, you

367
00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:38.640
had to. I need to forge
my own path and to the to the

368
00:27:38.839 --> 00:27:42.680
end of my career, I would
have some old guy in a walker come

369
00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:45.880
up to me and said, your
father was this you had? You had

370
00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.079
a gentleman. A couple of sessions
ago, I actually mentioned my dad.

371
00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:52.480
I think I remember that, Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's it's

372
00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:57.720
so funny because when he passed we're
going through his um awards. He had

373
00:27:57.720 --> 00:28:02.839
all these awards from the army.
I'm here like a Class three. All

374
00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:07.480
these a's and b's never went to
medal day. But just knowing this,

375
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:11.799
the bar was set very high,
and I'm still trying to attain that as

376
00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:15.559
a father, just as a person
who's typically active. If I could do

377
00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:19.319
half what he did, then I'll
be okay. But he really set the

378
00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:23.759
ball high, and he wanted me
to force my own path. So when

379
00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:26.000
I got out the academy or right
at the end, he's like, where

380
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.279
do you want to work? And
I said, there's a firehouse down in

381
00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.759
Houston in six I want to work
down there. He's like, why do

382
00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:36.960
you want to work there? And
I said why, I can go record

383
00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.640
shopping for DJ maybe. He said, do you want to shop or be

384
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.960
a fireman? And I said i
want to be a fireman. Daddy,

385
00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:48.039
he says, you're going to Harlem, and then he sent me up to

386
00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:53.599
Harlem, and uh, Jack McDonald
was working, Gary Wright, Kenny O'Brien,

387
00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:59.440
and Abe Hayman was my first captain, and I was in good hands.

388
00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:03.920
I mean, first of all,
Abe Hayman as a captain was all

389
00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:08.960
about integrity, very integriss man.
He good five five, He came from

390
00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:14.200
seventy one and fifty five, then
was a lieutenant in twenty eight truck and

391
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:18.640
then he's a captain the thirty,
So I was working with While I'm working

392
00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:22.200
with all these guys like Jack McDonald
and Gary right, I almost felt like

393
00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:26.279
I was working with my dad because
it would tell me stories how sometimes people

394
00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:30.000
worked around him because he would always
make them check the rig. And you

395
00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:33.400
know, and even you know,
like we I think we all have if

396
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:37.759
we're on the job long enough,
we have ebbs and flows. Like sometimes

397
00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:41.799
I'm really on the rig, sometimes
I might not check it as much.

398
00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:47.880
It's that time you don't check,
it's going to happen, right as well,

399
00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:51.920
you don't know what the tool is, Oh my god. And you

400
00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:55.000
know, so that's a good point, Greig. We don't talk about that

401
00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:56.680
enough. You know. We say, yeah, yeah, we did all

402
00:29:56.680 --> 00:30:00.599
this, all this, but there
were times, you know where maybe we're

403
00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:02.920
out or maybe you got in laid
or whatever it was, and you might

404
00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.640
not have done it exactly as you've
always done it, or you know,

405
00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:07.839
like anything, you're human, right, so and get them to your point,

406
00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:12.599
like you know, where everybody was
there and maybe today wasn't done as

407
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:17.559
it always was, and everybody gets
complaced and everybody maybe has a bad day

408
00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:19.559
or has something else on their mind
and their personal life, and maybe that's

409
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:25.960
what they normally. Fortunately, sometimes
it's indicative of a house. Yeah,

410
00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.839
but um, and that's why I
feel very fortunate now the duration of my

411
00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:38.440
career. It's so sad because five
Truck in that house probably have lost more

412
00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:45.079
people through my tenure on the job
than any other house. Because Seidenberg was

413
00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:48.400
in my class, was right,
right, right, right, that was

414
00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:51.119
the first tragedy day I just came
on the job. I was only on

415
00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:52.319
the job. A yeah, when
that happened, right, they had that,

416
00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:56.759
they had nine to eleven, then
they had Deutsche Bank, and then

417
00:30:56.519 --> 00:31:03.480
right after Deutsche Bank. I'm in
one three and that's when um um Martinson

418
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:08.480
was killed. So who had to
counsel us five truck. It was for

419
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:14.319
me blew my mind because now I'm
witnessing they were going through some pain,

420
00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:18.400
you could tell, and it's very
painful and a lot of firefighters. If

421
00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:26.119
you've never been on the bus that's
going past the procession, it is unbelievable

422
00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:30.000
of first of all the sea of
blue and then also the doppel gangs.

423
00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:37.359
You see people who look like that's
a literally refinal No it's not, No,

424
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:41.440
it's amazing. Job is huge,
but it's like small, it's it's

425
00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.160
just amazing. It's a blessing.
And it's twenty deep, right, it's

426
00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.680
not. It's not just the line
of guys. It's twenty deep for block

427
00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:52.559
after the block after block after block
after block. I've done it a few

428
00:31:52.680 --> 00:31:55.839
times and I have to say and
a lot of people don't understand that.

429
00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:00.200
The thing about the longer around it
means the more friends you have. That

430
00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:04.160
means the more friends you can lose. And there is trauma in that and

431
00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:09.440
we we of outlet like you have
here with getting salty is very good because

432
00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:14.839
you feel like you're involved. And
that's why I try to tell people to

433
00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:17.720
get involved, like in the Vocal
Society or whatever society you're in, get

434
00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:22.160
involved so you can stay in touch
and then you can also heal because we

435
00:32:22.279 --> 00:32:27.079
have a language that not a lot
of people understand. Very true. Yep,

436
00:32:30.319 --> 00:32:35.720
huh, what's Keith there? Yeah, that's my manner. So my

437
00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:38.799
first day there, right, I
have my class a's on my bag.

438
00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:43.559
I knock on the door. He's
the first person, he's like, hold

439
00:32:43.559 --> 00:32:52.079
on. My second slams the door
all the fat and then they opened the

440
00:32:53.160 --> 00:32:55.720
door. And the guy has a
hose and I was like, we're not

441
00:32:55.839 --> 00:33:00.720
doing civil rights shit here. I
said stop and he got to put it

442
00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:05.799
down. And then I went along
with my business as a proby and I

443
00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:10.759
remember my dad saying like, uh, don't say anything, just keep your

444
00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:16.480
mouth shut and learn. You gotta
learn. You have to watch and learn,

445
00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:22.400
stay busy. And he said there's
there any issues. He says,

446
00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:27.119
you're gonna know. You don't know
how to handle it. And again I

447
00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:30.599
only had him for a year and
a year and change while you were on

448
00:33:30.680 --> 00:33:35.880
the job, right, um,
because you know, um, I actually

449
00:33:35.880 --> 00:33:38.839
spent most of my time in conversation
and family events with my cousin Peter.

450
00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:43.160
And he was in the other picture. He was in twenty eight He went

451
00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:47.920
to twenty eight truck and were after
you. He came after he was in

452
00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:58.480
one eighteen and transferred uptown. And
uh so it was Nick. Nick was

453
00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.880
Nick is the reason why, uh, for my duration of my career because

454
00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:05.680
he did forty years, right,
he almost did forty something like that.

455
00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:10.280
He was drill, drill, drill, And the epitome of that is that

456
00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:15.880
picture of the ladder pipe and Nick's
on there. Because a lot of people

457
00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:19.559
like, we're not gonna do the
ladder pipe. We have two tower ladders.

458
00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:23.440
There's twenty three's up there, fourteen
and who had the ladder pipe thirty

459
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:27.960
truck. So that was a proud
moment, and that was one of the

460
00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:31.400
things that I um, I try
to let the young guys know. When

461
00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:38.679
I went up to Rescue three,
they complimented the companies in Harlem for their

462
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:45.199
readiness because a lot of places,
like you know, have a cigar on

463
00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:51.400
the turntable with a stone coat.
That's not readiness. Someone pops up at

464
00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:53.960
the windows. It's like that kid, Oh man, I can't even get

465
00:34:54.000 --> 00:34:58.719
into it. It can't be on
the you can't be you can't be a

466
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:01.679
ladder company show for with shots on
and taking Yeah, yeah, you can

467
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:06.360
come on, come on. You
know, well that guy, a couple

468
00:35:06.400 --> 00:35:08.480
of those guys in the past,
I've caught grief and we say that all

469
00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:12.239
the time on the show too,
right, we don't go on that many

470
00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:15.800
runs that we can't be one percent
ready, right, And again that comes

471
00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:17.679
back to what you said. You
know, you're at the thirty truck,

472
00:35:17.760 --> 00:35:22.639
you what thirteen You've been in places
that have a lot of pride, right,

473
00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:24.280
that they're always ready to go,
that you go to work. So

474
00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:29.840
but at the same token, there
are are places that don't do that unfortunately,

475
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.039
just you know, it's the way
it is, and they don't they

476
00:35:32.079 --> 00:35:36.280
don't have the same type of guys
that you had, you know, showing

477
00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:38.280
you the ropes and you know,
teaching you to firefighters like, oh,

478
00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:42.039
there's no work around anymore. I'm
like, oh, yes, there is.

479
00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:46.840
Only takes one come to South Jamaica. I live in South Queens.

480
00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:53.079
I hear the sirens and I can
tell the difference between My kids say that

481
00:35:53.159 --> 00:35:55.519
all the time. Dad. I'm
like, I know it's a bus,

482
00:35:55.679 --> 00:35:58.960
that's all. How do you know
that's a police car. I know it's

483
00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:02.840
a police call. That's how you
around a long time when you can make

484
00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:10.239
it. U. I worked with
um uh. He retired as a captain

485
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:17.639
might carbone hmmm. He was a
thirty truck right and he we teamed up

486
00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:21.320
a lot of an inside and I'll
never forget we're going to a job.

487
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:25.639
Multiple calls, he stick sticks his
head out the window. He's a it's

488
00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:36.440
in the cock loft. You know
certain people, certain people the way they

489
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:39.800
assess the job and are the job
you want to be like them, and

490
00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:45.760
I'll save that for a. That's
that's my tip man. That might car

491
00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:49.320
I think he that's the carbon he
was in two nine. Yeah, yeah,

492
00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:52.440
no doubt. And then he went
to uh three h three as a

493
00:36:52.519 --> 00:36:54.519
captain. Great. Let's go back
to your first tour where it said your

494
00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:59.440
first fire. It was a thirdle
on on your first tour. My first

495
00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:02.440
tour, we went to a third
along fire. I think thirty four truck

496
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:07.760
might have been first due. And
I couldn't understand why the guys were like

497
00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:12.400
going WHOA. I was like,
wait, hold up, and they were

498
00:37:12.440 --> 00:37:20.119
like getting amped up. I was
literally coughing in the street. You know.

499
00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:22.960
It was I was not used to
it and went through it. The

500
00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:28.639
pitch is great because I was happy
and there was a chief there I forget

501
00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:30.920
his name. He had a cigar
in his mouth. After the job.

502
00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:34.320
He was like nice. You know
he saw that it was my first day.

503
00:37:34.440 --> 00:37:36.920
He's like, uh, you're gonna
love this job. You're gonna get

504
00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:43.079
the ship scared out of you,
but you're gonna like and I really I

505
00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:46.400
once I got broke my chariot,
I was really all I wanted to do

506
00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:51.440
was get like burnt up, but
be effective, you know what I mean?

507
00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:55.280
You know, really go to a
job and go as hard as I

508
00:37:55.360 --> 00:38:00.320
could. And when you're young,
you really it's amazing. I was twenty

509
00:38:00.360 --> 00:38:05.039
seven. Yeah, I was reading
an impact at the job. Got some

510
00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:08.599
dirty truck picks right there, guys
picks. All right, here we go.

511
00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:13.639
We're gonna bring this guy up here. It's my guy right there.

512
00:38:13.679 --> 00:38:17.760
When you show me that picture before
Tommy Gardner, Mommy, one of my

513
00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:22.320
favorite guys I ever met in the
fire uparm and he was in Hashmat when

514
00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:27.480
I was in the squad. He
was a very very bright guy, smart,

515
00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:30.199
funny, he was lock. It
was right next to mine. You

516
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:35.760
also have um my big brother John
Barry is with the white shirt. In

517
00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:39.760
front of him is Donnie Whoop.
Great show for great trucky. He's there's

518
00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:45.719
another picture. Donnie Whoop is a
chauffeur at that fire and Tim Ridden he

519
00:38:46.199 --> 00:38:51.480
was a chief. He was walking
street at some point too. I don't

520
00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:53.280
know if whether he was a boss
in one of the companies or what was

521
00:38:53.519 --> 00:38:59.480
chief. Yeah, Timmy ridden,
really nice guy. Was a reference to

522
00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:04.320
this picture. She will talk about
this is uh that's Steve Elliott on the

523
00:39:04.440 --> 00:39:07.920
left. He actually gave me this
picture, not in my retirement. We

524
00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:10.599
were probi's together. He was a
month ahead of me. They ran two

525
00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:15.519
classes simultaneously, was a total of
two hundred. I was the only brother

526
00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:22.000
in the class. And then uh
he and I go to UM thirty together.

527
00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:24.639
It was great. He's he's the
captain of twenty three truck. Now

528
00:39:25.039 --> 00:39:30.199
wow, was some lieutenant nat who
was the boss there? That's Gary Wright,

529
00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:34.840
he worked in twenty eight truck as
a boys. This is a picture

530
00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:37.760
I have of him at the door
with no mask. That right there,

531
00:39:37.840 --> 00:39:46.440
that's Gary right ruin it. That
doesn't inspire uh right? Yeah, yeah,

532
00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:53.599
that is the greatest Firefox photographer ever
because this is not digital. The

533
00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:59.719
two things, because I I would
have classes at Vulcan Hall that was show

534
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:01.360
is like this first of all,
to inspire them, to let them know

535
00:40:01.880 --> 00:40:07.280
that they've they've been brothers on this
job for a long time. And for

536
00:40:07.480 --> 00:40:13.079
anybody in the firehouse, whether you're
black, white, whatever, if you

537
00:40:13.159 --> 00:40:16.719
want respect, you have to produce
on the fire floor, right and when

538
00:40:16.840 --> 00:40:21.719
somebody cares, bro, nobody cares
what colors you're doing. What that guy's

539
00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:24.760
doing right there? Yeah, then
if I'm doing this, and then if

540
00:40:24.920 --> 00:40:28.719
you're you're beef and when back in
the kitchen, it must be personal and

541
00:40:28.760 --> 00:40:31.920
then we can take care of at
another way. But when you're doing this

542
00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:36.880
and then go back to the firehouse, everybody is like loving each other.

543
00:40:37.159 --> 00:40:44.480
Yeah, because everybody's But when you're
actually coming back from work. That guy's

544
00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:47.519
pictures, I've been posting pictures on
Instagram. All his pictures are just like

545
00:40:47.679 --> 00:40:52.280
this, like where he was able
to see the fire A lot of times

546
00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:54.159
he was able to sneak up behind
the guys and take pictures in the hall

547
00:40:54.280 --> 00:41:00.639
like of that means the roof man, Yeah, vented right, because he

548
00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:05.679
this is an analog camera and the
flash would catch all the particles of smoke

549
00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:09.159
if it was really smoky. This
is well vented. He forced the door.

550
00:41:09.639 --> 00:41:14.480
It's rolling. I mean I get
excited looking at that pitch. I

551
00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:19.559
think we all do, because I
remember I dressed like this when I had

552
00:41:19.599 --> 00:41:22.400
the OV. I wouldn't do it
on the inside. When I had the

553
00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:28.039
OV, I wore my boots and
we had the belts like pirates. I

554
00:41:28.159 --> 00:41:30.079
only had that for a few years. Like you you had that, you

555
00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:34.920
got too, man, I've seen
that I think I probably don't pick.

556
00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:38.559
I didn't know who it was over
here. Well, I have a good

557
00:41:38.599 --> 00:41:42.719
one here from thirty truck as well. Share with you guys. Not that

558
00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:49.599
much fire. You got another one
that was some one that was right down

559
00:41:49.639 --> 00:41:54.880
the street from the firehouse. That
was my first roast um very impactful.

560
00:41:57.880 --> 00:42:01.079
I mean we got there in there
and woman had gone to the corner store.

561
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:05.599
It was burning. You see how
it was burning. It was burning

562
00:42:05.679 --> 00:42:08.480
so clean that when we were in
the apartment in the living room, we

563
00:42:08.519 --> 00:42:12.440
couldn't get in there, and you
could see the crib and you could see

564
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:19.039
the body of the baby. And
once we put the fire out, they

565
00:42:19.119 --> 00:42:22.920
had me placed the baby in the
bag. And that was the same weekend

566
00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:28.320
that my um nephew was coming to
stay with me. So you know,

567
00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:32.079
I cried and I realized that this
is not this is not a joke.

568
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:39.920
So I gotta try my best.
And the boss was Jack McDonald. I

569
00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:45.440
remember Jack McDonald's a Gordon Bennett winner
and from what I understand from what everyone

570
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:51.320
told me, his reputation in Stella, he was a great fire off cercom

571
00:42:51.559 --> 00:42:54.760
as hell. But I remember him
pounding on the floor as this room is

572
00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:59.679
just lit up. They came with
the line put it out and because they

573
00:42:59.719 --> 00:43:04.559
knew he couldn't do anything, that
couldn't do it. We couldn't and m

574
00:43:06.159 --> 00:43:09.360
he was the boss. The first
time. I was on the floor above

575
00:43:09.400 --> 00:43:15.599
and it lit up because I went
to the front. I think I took

576
00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:19.360
the window on the front, and
then I went into the window in the

577
00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:22.079
shaft. It was in the kitchen, and I said, hey, boss,

578
00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:24.360
I don't need to take that.
As soon as I said take it

579
00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:30.119
got black instantly and hot, and
I just went to the floor and I

580
00:43:30.199 --> 00:43:34.320
spun around a few times. Now
I was disoriented, and I hear him

581
00:43:34.360 --> 00:43:37.960
on the radio. It's calm as
day. He's like, hey, sixty

582
00:43:37.079 --> 00:43:42.079
nine, you got any water in
that life? All of a sudden,

583
00:43:43.920 --> 00:43:50.079
all the sudden, you hear the
scraping of the you know, of the

584
00:43:50.519 --> 00:43:55.079
water underneath you, and it got
cool, it lifted, and I said,

585
00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:59.199
that's the type of guy I gotta
be. I have to be calm,

586
00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:04.920
calm, you know. So I
had bosses, all the bosses I

587
00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:08.639
had, uh Jack McDonald, Gary
Wright, Kenny O'Brien, e J Tenney,

588
00:44:09.360 --> 00:44:16.159
Jim McClusky. Yeah, that was
my harm McClusky, big hands,

589
00:44:16.280 --> 00:44:22.119
right, big calves. There's a
picture actually got my calf and his calf.

590
00:44:22.599 --> 00:44:28.480
His calf is like the size of
my thighs. Yeah, oh my

591
00:44:28.599 --> 00:44:31.639
goodness, gracious. So it was
harm was really uh. First of all,

592
00:44:31.719 --> 00:44:35.880
it was the nineties. I'm twenty
seven. It's the best time for

593
00:44:36.039 --> 00:44:38.480
hip hop. So I would be
in Harlem on a Friday night on a

594
00:44:38.599 --> 00:44:45.519
rig um. They had the flat
top back then. Guys, let's see

595
00:44:45.559 --> 00:44:50.079
the flat top. Oh the death
Come on, I'm coming up, said,

596
00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:53.639
you know what decade it was like
if you had that, Harry is

597
00:44:54.360 --> 00:44:59.039
Yeah, I don't even look like
you man, I get that all the

598
00:44:59.119 --> 00:45:01.320
time. I didn't better. Now, thank you. I can't believe this

599
00:45:01.400 --> 00:45:07.519
guy's holding en us. I had
that little you know. It was the

600
00:45:07.639 --> 00:45:20.760
nineties. That's what we did.
Nice. I love it. That's gable.

601
00:45:22.599 --> 00:45:28.840
This is the kitchen table, bro. But hall was I mean two

602
00:45:28.960 --> 00:45:34.679
job nights. I remember specifically one
night early in the tour. Job came

603
00:45:34.719 --> 00:45:37.559
in. It was on the west
side and near fourteen truck. I saw

604
00:45:37.639 --> 00:45:40.199
the smoke went up the fire escape. I rided myself and being agile and

605
00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:45.400
quick, go to the window.
It's not that apartment. So I went

606
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:50.159
to fourteen and said, hey,
this is thirty truck. Ov I took

607
00:45:50.239 --> 00:45:52.920
the wrong fire escape. Make sure
you open it up for for the boys,

608
00:45:53.079 --> 00:45:57.199
and then go above and I'll make
my way in, because that's what

609
00:45:57.360 --> 00:46:00.320
the old is supposed to make a
way out for the inside team. You

610
00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:05.199
know all that stuff. Basic ladders
three. We were taught ladder three,

611
00:46:05.280 --> 00:46:07.800
make your position. That was it. Make your position, that's all you

612
00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:15.320
have to do. And I was
pissed off. We go back getting ready

613
00:46:15.320 --> 00:46:19.239
to pull the rig, and someone
says, holy shit, fire right from

614
00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:22.760
the firehouse. Twenty five truck was
in the firehouse, so they would second

615
00:46:22.800 --> 00:46:27.360
due because we took it right in. And now I got it. I

616
00:46:27.480 --> 00:46:31.039
go to the rear's top floor,
fly up, get in there, make

617
00:46:31.079 --> 00:46:34.760
a report. I came in off
the rear. Let me know when you're

618
00:46:34.760 --> 00:46:37.719
gonna open up the line. Blah
blah blah blah blah blah blah. Sweet.

619
00:46:37.760 --> 00:46:42.320
I felt like Superman. I get
down in the street and John Barry

620
00:46:42.360 --> 00:46:44.079
was the showfee. He say,
what did you do? I said,

621
00:46:44.079 --> 00:46:45.960
I went up the rear, went
in. It's like cool, he says,

622
00:46:46.000 --> 00:46:49.079
but now you know you're supposed to
take the saw to the roof.

623
00:46:49.159 --> 00:46:52.599
That's when they changed it, right. It used to be Ope didn't really

624
00:46:52.639 --> 00:46:58.760
have that wasn't his tool. And
this job, no matter where, you're

625
00:46:58.800 --> 00:47:04.119
as good as your last fire.
You had an opportunity right there. Guys

626
00:47:04.199 --> 00:47:07.280
don't get a chance to do that
time nowadays, for like six you make

627
00:47:07.320 --> 00:47:08.679
a mistake. Now, I mean
you had you had like an hour in

628
00:47:08.760 --> 00:47:13.079
between, not even you know you
had a job. You came back ten

629
00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:17.000
seconds. You had an opportunity to
to redeem yourself if you felt like you,

630
00:47:17.440 --> 00:47:22.400
you know, you did something wrong. The first day that I had

631
00:47:22.480 --> 00:47:25.519
the OV, we caught a job. We got in first Dunia forty truck

632
00:47:27.960 --> 00:47:31.559
and this particular one had the steps
and then you actually had a moat underneath

633
00:47:31.599 --> 00:47:37.239
the steps. So went down to
where the U I guess the super will

634
00:47:37.280 --> 00:47:45.440
go and uh, the woman's right
there with her lips on the child gate,

635
00:47:45.960 --> 00:47:50.400
wow, pushing out black cotton.
So I go run up, jump

636
00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:52.920
on the ledge. I take my
halige and then what are you supposed to

637
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:58.400
do on the scissor gate? Were
you supposed to hit what part? You

638
00:47:58.519 --> 00:48:05.519
talk about the child the hinges?
You know the Yeah, I went for

639
00:48:05.639 --> 00:48:08.880
the lock and fell. Next thing, you know, Nick put the ladder

640
00:48:08.960 --> 00:48:13.599
through. I landed on my feet, came around and then it ended up

641
00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:16.719
getting her from the inside. But
I that was first of all I messed

642
00:48:16.760 --> 00:48:19.880
up. I should have gone for
the hinges, popped it open. I

643
00:48:19.920 --> 00:48:23.079
would have been like boom, got
her, got her out and been but

644
00:48:23.239 --> 00:48:28.519
every fire like, I remember the
mistakes more than anything else, and I

645
00:48:28.599 --> 00:48:32.400
try to pass that along because you
know, we all listen, everyone knows

646
00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:37.639
what a Halligan falling down the stairs
of a boat caead sounds like that means

647
00:48:37.719 --> 00:48:49.119
the guy felt the roofing or can't
getting thrown down the Oh I want to

648
00:48:49.159 --> 00:48:52.400
go back. He put the through
the through the gate. Yeah, Nick,

649
00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:55.960
Nick was good with the stay.
You know, we learned. I

650
00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:00.920
mean we were very exactly. I
thought we were very technical. Um rear

651
00:49:00.920 --> 00:49:06.440
amount when we try to use it
to our advantage. You don't see guys

652
00:49:06.559 --> 00:49:08.840
putting it in the window and doing
what they're supposed to do a lot of

653
00:49:08.960 --> 00:49:14.159
things. You know, for me, it was always about getting in fast

654
00:49:15.400 --> 00:49:20.679
and it's not it's like just getting
fast. Um. You know, it

655
00:49:20.760 --> 00:49:27.039
was an athletic house, very good
softball team. Um we played handball after

656
00:49:27.119 --> 00:49:30.960
dinner. All the time. Captain
Hayman was an incredible handball player. I

657
00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:35.840
think he only lost once in the
firehouse. He was in the truck on

658
00:49:35.920 --> 00:49:40.280
the engine. He was my captain
in the truck, Abe Hayman. He

659
00:49:40.360 --> 00:49:49.039
was a really great guy. RAI
no, Um, I didn't even go

660
00:49:49.079 --> 00:49:52.920
across the floor for thirty days.
I was going to ask you that the

661
00:49:52.039 --> 00:49:55.960
only time I went across the floor
one of my uh but he's becoming a

662
00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:00.639
lieutenant um Blake McLaughlin. So he
switched with me. He was in the

663
00:50:00.760 --> 00:50:04.599
engine and he went to the truck. They never gave me in a novel.

664
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:07.320
I always had, you know.
So I put my first fire.

665
00:50:07.599 --> 00:50:13.639
The first time I ever touch the
nozzle at a fire was in tactical support

666
00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:22.320
one at a seventh long up.
And I never as a jobs all bullshit

667
00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:25.119
anyway, and I was exhilarated.
I was like, now I see what

668
00:50:25.199 --> 00:50:30.239
the hype is about. But this, to me, I was definitely a

669
00:50:30.280 --> 00:50:37.920
trucky. I like climbing, I
like crawling in uh a fire apartment on

670
00:50:38.079 --> 00:50:45.159
fire with no hose. It is
amazing how your senses are so heightened that

671
00:50:45.320 --> 00:50:50.280
a chair seems like it's this big, everything is exaggerated. Yeah, you

672
00:50:50.360 --> 00:50:54.199
have to literally calm your mind down
and slow yourself down. So yeah,

673
00:50:54.440 --> 00:50:59.840
when you hear yourself. You know
what the greatest thing is when you go

674
00:50:59.880 --> 00:51:02.119
to a room and then they knocked
the fire down and then it clears and

675
00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:06.360
you look back at what that room
looks like and what you thought it was

676
00:51:06.440 --> 00:51:08.679
like, you know, from just
crawling in the dark. You know,

677
00:51:08.800 --> 00:51:13.960
it's it's that that to me was
always pretty amazing. Like it feels like

678
00:51:14.039 --> 00:51:15.679
Masson Square Garden and it's you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's

679
00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:20.760
like exactly, that's the truth.
How long do you think it took before?

680
00:51:20.800 --> 00:51:22.679
I mean, you work with so
many legends on I mean, Keith

681
00:51:22.800 --> 00:51:25.599
was a great guy, you know, and the legend of your dad.

682
00:51:25.679 --> 00:51:30.599
How long did it take before you
felt comfortable, like, you know,

683
00:51:30.719 --> 00:51:32.960
like I got this, I could
do this, you know. Um,

684
00:51:37.559 --> 00:51:39.320
I'd say five years. I started
really feeling. I knew you were going

685
00:51:39.400 --> 00:51:45.760
to say that, because that's the
truth. And five And I tell you

686
00:51:45.840 --> 00:51:53.360
what, even once I started getting
detailed, I felt a difference. Um,

687
00:51:53.719 --> 00:52:00.199
you know, we'll go downtown,
nobody was dirty. Um oh,

688
00:52:00.440 --> 00:52:04.000
they will come uptown to our house
and they will look at it like with

689
00:52:04.159 --> 00:52:13.000
disgust and just like um. And
I also remember my friend, I forget

690
00:52:13.039 --> 00:52:15.000
his name, Bernie. What was
Bernie's name. He was in sixteen truck

691
00:52:15.039 --> 00:52:20.280
at the time. Now he's in
thirty seven, but sixteen truck got relocated

692
00:52:20.360 --> 00:52:22.519
and he was like, man,
he said, you work in a premier

693
00:52:22.639 --> 00:52:28.559
truck company. And I had never
never thought about him, like and then

694
00:52:28.599 --> 00:52:31.159
I started looking at the numbers.
Oh yeah, because we will. We

695
00:52:31.199 --> 00:52:39.320
will always like top fifteen. And
the thing about Harlem, Um, this

696
00:52:39.519 --> 00:52:45.840
is Harlem. This phone right here
we go, So this is one hundred

697
00:52:45.880 --> 00:52:49.400
twenty fifth street. Down here,
this is one hundred fifty fifty fifth.

698
00:52:49.440 --> 00:52:52.800
So this is thirty four truck twenty
three. It's crazy. It's crazy.

699
00:52:55.199 --> 00:52:59.039
Now there's a map, a couple
of maps around to have the whole city.

700
00:53:00.119 --> 00:53:01.840
This is one fifty seven's first two
district. Yeah, it's crazy,

701
00:53:01.920 --> 00:53:07.679
brother, I got you, man, So it's crazy banging it out.

702
00:53:07.760 --> 00:53:12.440
But our numbers were different. In
fact, one of the things about Harlem

703
00:53:12.599 --> 00:53:16.679
and the Bronx, the engines have
very high numbers in comparison with the trucks.

704
00:53:16.679 --> 00:53:22.320
They were almost like together. Most
houses went together. But in Brooklyn

705
00:53:22.360 --> 00:53:27.320
you would have places like even like
UM one eleven and two fourteen, both

706
00:53:28.920 --> 00:53:32.199
companies, but the numbers are just
off. One eleven is first through with

707
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:37.119
five engines. Yeah, we didn't
have that. We were first through with

708
00:53:37.920 --> 00:53:45.000
and so it was a different feel
and just a different and that's why our

709
00:53:45.079 --> 00:53:49.639
response is where they were like,
you know, you turn the corner,

710
00:53:49.679 --> 00:53:51.559
you see twenty eight coming down the
street. You're like, yo, you

711
00:53:51.639 --> 00:53:54.079
got a twenty eight. We would
definitely turn out quick. We would hit

712
00:53:54.119 --> 00:53:58.519
the corner first. If you see
the company and you look down the street

713
00:53:58.559 --> 00:54:01.079
and nothing's really popping off, they
got it. And even if it's popping

714
00:54:01.199 --> 00:54:05.280
we were. We were literally on
top of each other. And Craig,

715
00:54:05.360 --> 00:54:07.800
I'm not kidding. I think I've
said this before. When I was got

716
00:54:07.840 --> 00:54:10.400
on the job. I got on
ninety three, right, so two years

717
00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:15.280
after you give a take, and
I used to start listening to the radio,

718
00:54:15.480 --> 00:54:17.519
right, I started getting into who
was working right where the work was,

719
00:54:17.559 --> 00:54:21.480
and I was catching good work in
the store for queens, you know,

720
00:54:22.679 --> 00:54:27.239
And I would hear the you know, the scanner would scroll right boop.

721
00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:32.880
Manhattan Uh, Manhattan Box twelve hundred
forty two, Manhattan Box fourteen hundred,

722
00:54:32.960 --> 00:54:37.880
Manhattan Box sixteen hundred, Manhattan Box
thirteen forty, Manhattan Box ten seventy

723
00:54:37.920 --> 00:54:42.039
five to Box ten seventy five to
Box ten seventy five. I cannot tell

724
00:54:42.119 --> 00:54:45.960
you how many times I heard that, and then, I mean for years,

725
00:54:46.159 --> 00:54:51.440
for for quite a few years,
and then I would say, I

726
00:54:51.519 --> 00:54:53.199
don't know how long. It kind
of you know, that was a drastic

727
00:54:53.400 --> 00:55:00.239
change, like from when when the
white people were stripping cup of you know.

728
00:55:00.360 --> 00:55:04.360
But yeah, I mean it was
a drastic change from the twelfth Betalion

729
00:55:04.440 --> 00:55:07.199
sixteen Betalion. It was, you
know, the sixteen hundred boxes were all

730
00:55:07.239 --> 00:55:10.280
the way nor. I didn't even
know the boxes, but I started to

731
00:55:10.400 --> 00:55:15.360
figure out in sixteen eighteen seventeen hundred
was all the way north, you know,

732
00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:17.599
twelve hundred was by fifty eight or
lower right. I didn't even know

733
00:55:17.639 --> 00:55:21.519
where the boxes were, but I
kind of had a feel just from how

734
00:55:21.599 --> 00:55:24.519
many jobs they were going to,
you know what I mean, Like it

735
00:55:24.639 --> 00:55:27.920
was every night I would listen,
guys would go to sleep, I would

736
00:55:27.960 --> 00:55:30.599
listen, you know, I would
buffet, and uh, it was all

737
00:55:30.639 --> 00:55:32.000
the time. Bro, I'm not
and I tell guys all the time that

738
00:55:32.079 --> 00:55:35.880
was no joke. I would be
upset. If we had a night where

739
00:55:35.880 --> 00:55:38.719
I slept all night, I would
be upset. And then by the time

740
00:55:39.599 --> 00:55:46.239
I was gonna say, bro thirty
years, you're like chick. Allegedly,

741
00:55:46.280 --> 00:55:52.280
all your expectation was you were going
to work, and you just were.

742
00:55:53.400 --> 00:55:57.239
It was sweet, man, especially
when we had the robe of boots.

743
00:55:57.320 --> 00:56:00.599
Man, it was so different because
we didn't have Like thirty Truck was a

744
00:56:00.760 --> 00:56:05.679
pilot company for the hoods, and
so we put the hoods on when it

745
00:56:05.719 --> 00:56:07.639
and I was like, I hate
this. I didn't I didn't wear a

746
00:56:07.639 --> 00:56:14.679
hood until I went to Brooklyn because
older tenements in the Brownston they're kind of

747
00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:20.519
they're more open than a private dwelling
or some of the smaller three stories threet

748
00:56:20.599 --> 00:56:27.119
ones that go into uh in Brooklyn
are everywhere. Um and everyone. Everyone

749
00:56:27.199 --> 00:56:31.360
in Brooklyn was hooded up too.
Yeah, let's talk about to start moving

750
00:56:31.400 --> 00:56:35.920
along. Actually, the question I've
been dying, I don't I know what

751
00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:38.360
he's gonna ask them, Why why
did you leave thirty Truck and go to

752
00:56:38.440 --> 00:56:44.920
Brooklyn? To one thirteen? I
moved to Brooklyn? Was it ninety six?

753
00:56:45.639 --> 00:56:52.159
I was living in Brooklyn and I
got to see the big buildings in

754
00:56:52.239 --> 00:56:55.119
Brooklyn because we used to make jokes
about the little Brooklyn buildings. We'd say,

755
00:56:55.159 --> 00:56:58.360
now, how do you get to
the roof from Brooklyn? Someone's like

756
00:56:58.440 --> 00:57:06.159
how and you would just jump on
a chair. Um so. But the

757
00:57:06.280 --> 00:57:08.840
thing that really got me we were
having some type of a function at the

758
00:57:08.920 --> 00:57:13.920
house firehouse. We had a detail
there and he's like, yeah, this

759
00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:15.360
place is just like our place.
I'm like, where do you work?

760
00:57:15.400 --> 00:57:19.159
He's like one thirteen. It's like, this is just like our firehouse.

761
00:57:19.199 --> 00:57:22.119
And I was like hmm. And
then went to the numbers. I was

762
00:57:22.199 --> 00:57:24.800
like, what number two? Number
one? When they were two forty eight

763
00:57:27.119 --> 00:57:29.679
number one the city for a couple
of years, but they were always up

764
00:57:29.719 --> 00:57:34.320
there. And when I looked at
the neighborhood, I loved his tenements brownstones

765
00:57:34.679 --> 00:57:39.760
and yeah, yea. So I
never went to a private only fire so

766
00:57:40.239 --> 00:57:47.199
I went to firehouse. At the
cake, I saw Pete Frontera. He

767
00:57:47.440 --> 00:57:52.719
gave me this there a long time
many He's been on Roger's Avenue his whole

768
00:57:52.800 --> 00:57:55.840
career. Long time. Man's that
guy. Look at that young guy.

769
00:57:55.960 --> 00:58:00.840
Holy shit, that's out Grogan on
the left. He's a super gentleman.

770
00:58:00.920 --> 00:58:04.519
His son works in twenty three truck. That's partly my best friend on the

771
00:58:04.639 --> 00:58:09.480
job, Kirk Koy and that's Nick
the Dick. He's a great When I

772
00:58:09.559 --> 00:58:14.199
talked about last if we will work
out together, he we were. We

773
00:58:14.320 --> 00:58:17.280
had a very good synergy because we
were buffed out, like we talked about

774
00:58:17.440 --> 00:58:23.920
fires. And he's so I don't
really since I met him, he's he's

775
00:58:23.960 --> 00:58:30.480
in the top three guys that I've
ever met. That is I mean absolutely

776
00:58:30.079 --> 00:58:35.079
lives it. I mean that's all
he's doing, like every fiber of that.

777
00:58:37.679 --> 00:58:39.280
I was worried about him, like
what are you gonna do? But

778
00:58:39.679 --> 00:58:43.360
he know, he put in.
He put in good work, you know,

779
00:58:43.480 --> 00:58:47.159
and he loved love thirty truck,
and thirty Truck was a lovable place.

780
00:58:47.239 --> 00:58:52.199
It was a great firehouse. We
partied hard, like if it was

781
00:58:52.480 --> 00:59:00.719
barbecue was packed. Uh. Everyone
took the job seriously. Um. They

782
00:59:00.880 --> 00:59:02.960
kept most things in the firehouse like
if there was an issue, we we

783
00:59:04.159 --> 00:59:09.320
dealt with it accordingly. Um.
And I learned. I learned how to

784
00:59:09.400 --> 00:59:14.440
manage myself. I learned how to
manage others. And the thing that again

785
00:59:15.199 --> 00:59:20.239
that made it easier was if you
performed on the firefloor, then if there

786
00:59:20.320 --> 00:59:22.840
was a beef in the kitchen.
You could really handle it, you know,

787
00:59:23.440 --> 00:59:28.320
let's talk about it. Because can't
be that. The tools aren't oiled

788
00:59:28.400 --> 00:59:32.880
up, the coffee's ready, there's
ice, everything was squared away. Why

789
00:59:32.960 --> 00:59:37.679
is there problems? Yeah, you
said it has to be personal, then,

790
00:59:37.800 --> 00:59:42.159
right, that's always don't matter what
it doesn't matter, right, There's

791
00:59:42.199 --> 00:59:45.719
always gonna be guys. There's fifty
guys in a place. Let's say,

792
00:59:45.760 --> 00:59:49.519
there's gonna be guys that you become
brothers with, like tight for your whole

793
00:59:49.559 --> 00:59:52.360
life, your whole life. And
then there's gonna be guys that you know

794
00:59:52.519 --> 00:59:55.840
you're gonna have to tolerate. Well, you know, occasionally back then that

795
00:59:57.000 --> 00:59:59.000
was the case. You know,
you had to say, let's talk,

796
00:59:59.480 --> 01:00:04.199
let's do some people like someone.
I had someone say something disparaging as soon

797
01:00:04.199 --> 01:00:07.840
as I got in the files.
I'm a probat, you know, using

798
01:00:07.880 --> 01:00:08.800
the N word. I had to
talk to them, I said, listen.

799
01:00:09.320 --> 01:00:12.400
I talked to him on a side, So listen, I'm new here.

800
01:00:12.440 --> 01:00:15.639
I'm happy to be here, I
said, but when I'm here,

801
01:00:15.360 --> 01:00:20.360
don't use that because it's a it's
a loaded word. Stuff my dad had

802
01:00:20.400 --> 01:00:22.480
to deal with. I'm not trying
to deal with that, and I said,

803
01:00:22.480 --> 01:00:24.559
I just wanted to come here and
prove myself. And guy was very

804
01:00:24.559 --> 01:00:29.119
apologetic with friends to this day.
But I had to address it right away.

805
01:00:30.039 --> 01:00:31.119
I didn't know whether it was a
litmus test to see what I was

806
01:00:31.159 --> 01:00:37.679
gonna do or woefully ignorant. But
the one thing I know is when a

807
01:00:37.719 --> 01:00:42.360
pro becomes everyone knows. It's like
when a woman comes into the firehouse.

808
01:00:42.480 --> 01:00:47.000
Everybody knows. So, like my
dad said, I would know the difference,

809
01:00:47.079 --> 01:00:51.000
and I whenever I the difference would
come up, I would address it.

810
01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:55.400
Because the job is I've met so
many beautiful people on his job that,

811
01:00:55.599 --> 01:00:59.960
oh this guy had needs talking to. Yeah, you know, it's

812
01:01:00.039 --> 01:01:04.320
sticks out too too easy, right, It's just too easy because I've had

813
01:01:04.480 --> 01:01:07.880
so many people helped me, and
especially towards the end of my career and

814
01:01:07.920 --> 01:01:10.159
when my mom was sick, the
job took care of me and they showed

815
01:01:10.199 --> 01:01:13.960
me some much love that it was. You know, I can't say enough,

816
01:01:15.360 --> 01:01:17.639
but people have to be addressed,
and I encourage everyone to address people

817
01:01:19.519 --> 01:01:22.880
direct and then if it gets out
of hand, then you have other tools.

818
01:01:22.400 --> 01:01:24.960
Unfortunately, that's why I stayed in
the gym. I'm not a big

819
01:01:25.039 --> 01:01:29.400
guy. But I was like,
okay, let's go. I'd rather get

820
01:01:29.440 --> 01:01:31.760
my ass kicked out and I have
to deal with talking. And it never

821
01:01:31.880 --> 01:01:38.239
came to that, and it became
to that because it's addressed immediately. I

822
01:01:38.320 --> 01:01:43.840
always feel that you have to performance
before advocacy first, not that you should

823
01:01:43.880 --> 01:01:47.119
be quiet ever, but you gotta
do your job. I can't, you

824
01:01:47.239 --> 01:01:51.400
know, drop the line in the
basement and run out and then go in

825
01:01:51.440 --> 01:01:54.239
the kitchen and protest like, yeah, that's not gonna word. That's the

826
01:01:54.400 --> 01:02:00.360
truth right there. I don't care
what truth the problem is. It's not

827
01:02:00.480 --> 01:02:04.000
gonna work. So when you when
you that's the truth. When people just

828
01:02:04.119 --> 01:02:06.360
counting you to do your job.
You don't have to be the superman.

829
01:02:07.039 --> 01:02:09.960
But if you just do your job
now we can address the problem because it

830
01:02:10.079 --> 01:02:14.960
just has nothing to do with my
profession. That that's really the key,

831
01:02:15.079 --> 01:02:16.039
Craig. You hit it right on
the head, brother, I mean,

832
01:02:16.119 --> 01:02:20.519
that's really the key is and we've
said it. I can't say it enough.

833
01:02:21.159 --> 01:02:22.920
I know it didn't matter to me. I didn't care what the heck

834
01:02:22.960 --> 01:02:25.039
you are as long as when I
went down the stairs, you went down

835
01:02:25.079 --> 01:02:29.639
the stairs, right, So I
think that that. I don't know how

836
01:02:29.719 --> 01:02:35.400
that is now, But back then
it seemed like that was easy to shake

837
01:02:35.480 --> 01:02:37.000
out. I don't know if it's
easy to shake out now if you don't

838
01:02:37.039 --> 01:02:39.920
do your job. That was.
I think that's always been kind of like

839
01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:45.199
the feel that I've had, where
you could say anything to anybody anytime if

840
01:02:45.239 --> 01:02:47.599
you weren't doing the job, and
it would shake out, whether you aren't

841
01:02:47.599 --> 01:02:51.239
going to be there anymore, you're
gonna put your paper in or whatever it

842
01:02:51.440 --> 01:02:53.280
was right, you were going to
be able to move on, just so

843
01:02:53.440 --> 01:02:57.800
that you aren't in that house anymore
because people couldn't depend on you. Whatever

844
01:02:57.840 --> 01:03:00.079
it was, it didn't matter white
guy, black guy, didn't matter what

845
01:03:00.159 --> 01:03:02.679
the heck it was, you know
what I mean. Everything there was about

846
01:03:02.760 --> 01:03:07.199
accountability, like you had to be
accountable for your position. Where after the

847
01:03:07.280 --> 01:03:09.320
job, the chief would come to
the firehouse and talk to you. What

848
01:03:09.440 --> 01:03:13.840
did you do? Where'd you go? The chief would come and we're talking.

849
01:03:14.880 --> 01:03:19.159
I always find of Chief Kennedy.
He was one of the authors of

850
01:03:19.559 --> 01:03:22.679
the Lattest Three. I believe he
would drill with us, all those chiefs

851
01:03:22.719 --> 01:03:29.400
in the sixteenth for thorough and they
would come and just question us right after

852
01:03:29.480 --> 01:03:31.440
the job. What we did,
how do we do it? Any problems?

853
01:03:31.440 --> 01:03:36.119
Any issues? And you had to
be accountable. He you know,

854
01:03:36.639 --> 01:03:38.320
first thing Chief Kenny to do.
He would come into build and look around.

855
01:03:38.360 --> 01:03:42.320
Then he would look right up the
stairs to look at the skylight.

856
01:03:43.480 --> 01:03:45.519
So when I see young guys now
and I'm taking the skylight all because I'm

857
01:03:45.519 --> 01:03:50.000
like, you have no idea what's
going on? Just because it's like smoke,

858
01:03:50.039 --> 01:03:52.480
doesn't they probably holding the doorback with
the can. You don't know what's

859
01:03:52.480 --> 01:03:58.000
going on. Take the skylight until
you're told not to. That's it,

860
01:03:58.599 --> 01:04:00.599
bread and butter Man. You should
if you're in the truck, you should

861
01:04:00.599 --> 01:04:03.920
be able to pull yourself up.
And that's why I work out you have

862
01:04:04.079 --> 01:04:08.280
to. Can you do ten pull
ups? You gotta be able to do

863
01:04:08.360 --> 01:04:10.840
ten poles, because that's pulling yourself
up once in the bulkhead, which I

864
01:04:10.880 --> 01:04:15.480
can't do one up now anyway?
Now, could you're not breaking any skylight?

865
01:04:15.559 --> 01:04:23.239
So good, let's get let's get
into one thirteenth. So when you

866
01:04:23.360 --> 01:04:30.000
finally do get there, how the
guys accept you a rat? I feel

867
01:04:30.000 --> 01:04:33.480
like I recall I was at the
sink. I'm the new guy. So

868
01:04:33.599 --> 01:04:38.119
I'm doing new guys stuff. I'm
in the sink. Someone throws firecrackers at

869
01:04:38.159 --> 01:04:40.679
my feet and pops off, and
another guy yells, my heard, what

870
01:04:40.760 --> 01:04:43.800
are you doing in this ship hole? And I said, I came from

871
01:04:43.800 --> 01:04:47.280
the ship hole ten years? Right? How much time did you have with

872
01:04:47.559 --> 01:04:53.320
ten years? Ten years? Ten
years? But I think my glasses in

873
01:04:53.400 --> 01:04:56.679
the way I look at its very
unassuming. Some people yeah, and I

874
01:04:56.800 --> 01:04:59.199
was like, I said, nah, I said, I came here,

875
01:04:59.280 --> 01:05:00.960
you know, and I never let
anything bother me because that's what I was

876
01:05:01.000 --> 01:05:04.920
brought up, you know, you
brought up. I've seen so much like

877
01:05:06.119 --> 01:05:11.400
I'm talking about guys, And this
is another Chief Kennedy thing. I'll be

878
01:05:11.559 --> 01:05:16.719
quick. When my dad died,
my first day back was Christmas and I

879
01:05:16.840 --> 01:05:23.400
was and again I didn't know etiquette
because they've never done a Christmas VHS.

880
01:05:23.480 --> 01:05:26.599
I'm not coming to work. The
guys like, are you sure? I

881
01:05:26.639 --> 01:05:29.199
said, yeah, yeah, I'm
not coming to work. Okay. Click.

882
01:05:30.039 --> 01:05:32.559
Five minutes later, Hey, it's
Chief Kennedy Craig. You should go

883
01:05:32.599 --> 01:05:34.719
to work. I said, okay. Chief. He's like, yeah,

884
01:05:34.760 --> 01:05:38.079
you don't want the guys to think
you're a rubber, So just go to

885
01:05:38.519 --> 01:05:41.199
go to work. I said,
you gotta chieve click just like that,

886
01:05:43.440 --> 01:05:46.960
because I saw a guy five years
later not come in who had a lot

887
01:05:47.039 --> 01:05:51.920
of time. His locker was thrown
off the roof into the street. Because

888
01:05:53.320 --> 01:06:00.920
you're a rubber and you know little
lessons like like straight no chaser. It

889
01:06:00.119 --> 01:06:05.119
was very It was therapeutic for me
because he's looking out for me, right,

890
01:06:05.599 --> 01:06:09.639
And when when you're getting advice from
the chief, you need to take

891
01:06:09.719 --> 01:06:13.199
it. Some guys, I've seen
guy not when I argue with chiefs,

892
01:06:13.280 --> 01:06:16.840
I'm like, you're a firefighter's guys
trying to hook you up, trying to

893
01:06:16.880 --> 01:06:24.119
save face. And so I go
to one thirteen and I felt right.

894
01:06:24.239 --> 01:06:27.440
I felt right at home, felt
right at home because now I feel like

895
01:06:28.400 --> 01:06:31.360
I just have to get used to
the neighborhood. And that's when I learned.

896
01:06:32.920 --> 01:06:34.960
I'm looking at the rig, it's
like the first run. I'm like,

897
01:06:35.039 --> 01:06:38.360
why is that boat cutter on the
rig that should be in the back.

898
01:06:38.679 --> 01:06:42.519
We didn't have boat cutters like that
in Harlem. In harm you go

899
01:06:42.639 --> 01:06:45.119
to an old law, even a
new law, you look at it.

900
01:06:45.320 --> 01:06:47.400
If you have the ov nothing shown, you go inside and go under the

901
01:06:47.480 --> 01:06:53.880
stairs to the rear every single time. Now I'm in Brooklyn on Westbury Court,

902
01:06:54.000 --> 01:06:58.360
I look up, don't see anything. I go in doors locked,

903
01:06:58.559 --> 01:07:01.599
there's no door artist. I come
out, I see one thirty two with

904
01:07:01.679 --> 01:07:05.800
bowl cutters, And I said,
okay, and that that's the beauty of

905
01:07:06.360 --> 01:07:11.800
going to different places, Like you're
gonna learn stuff how they do it,

906
01:07:12.280 --> 01:07:16.840
You're gonna adapt. And that was
a fun part um about going there and

907
01:07:17.280 --> 01:07:20.039
just seeing how they did it.
And they had phenomenal firefights, they had

908
01:07:20.039 --> 01:07:27.599
a phenomenal attitude about work. The
turnout was was quick. Um, we

909
01:07:27.760 --> 01:07:30.519
had uh that's the captain there isn't
it. No, that's Danny's Rocker.

910
01:07:30.599 --> 01:07:34.119
That's my buddy. I drove him. He's uh, he's he's a jolly

911
01:07:34.239 --> 01:07:38.360
Rogers before he Uh oh is that
right into the rats. Yeah, he's

912
01:07:38.400 --> 01:07:44.960
another Rodgers Avenue guy and he's uh. Um. And And for anyone watching

913
01:07:45.039 --> 01:07:47.519
this, if I don't remember names, charge it to my head and not

914
01:07:47.679 --> 01:07:51.920
my heart. Because I did have
to go through a detox of this job.

915
01:07:53.000 --> 01:07:56.639
I had to like pull back,
you know, I had gone through

916
01:07:56.800 --> 01:08:00.599
Uh. You realize when you start
going through the real of the stuff you've

917
01:08:00.639 --> 01:08:04.920
seen, it can and I wanted
to center myself on this chapter. And

918
01:08:05.920 --> 01:08:09.679
that was a great group. That
firehouse is great. We had a lot

919
01:08:09.719 --> 01:08:15.920
of last now he had Yeah,
Um, what about Dennis Murphy because he

920
01:08:15.960 --> 01:08:18.079
was there for a while, A
little while, wasn't he He was a

921
01:08:18.159 --> 01:08:23.000
lieutenant there, but he was probably
I was. The bosses there were Um,

922
01:08:24.199 --> 01:08:29.079
Tom Cruiser, Eric Skink and Danny
Larrocco. And that's Danny right there.

923
01:08:29.359 --> 01:08:35.279
Um, they were phenomenal bosses.
Uh Cruiser was there. He Cruiser

924
01:08:35.399 --> 01:08:40.279
was from one twenty three and went
to uh right to one thirteen. He

925
01:08:40.359 --> 01:08:45.159
did over twenty years there. Wow, Danny was in UH two fifty five

926
01:08:45.760 --> 01:08:47.319
seven came over. I think he
was in both companies. So it was

927
01:08:47.399 --> 01:08:51.600
Captain front Terra he came right now. I mean it was I'll never forget

928
01:08:53.000 --> 01:08:58.079
Captain front Terra. Out of fire
it's like a torch job and people were

929
01:08:58.119 --> 01:09:02.640
bailing out of windows. Um,
and he was just stood up in the

930
01:09:02.720 --> 01:09:08.119
middle of the crowd when just pointing
telling everyone what to do. Calm as

931
01:09:08.199 --> 01:09:12.880
heck. And whenever you see for
me, whenever I see that, I'm

932
01:09:12.920 --> 01:09:15.159
like, that's how I gotta be. I have to stay calm um,

933
01:09:16.399 --> 01:09:19.199
because it's like being in the woods. You don't just run you run into

934
01:09:19.239 --> 01:09:23.319
a tree. You have to be
calm and make your way through. And

935
01:09:23.720 --> 01:09:28.520
I was very impressed by the leadership
in that firehouse. The engine was top

936
01:09:28.680 --> 01:09:30.880
mount. The engine, I think
was one of the biggest engines. When

937
01:09:30.880 --> 01:09:33.239
I first got there, all the
guys were like two hundred and fifty pounds

938
01:09:33.279 --> 01:09:39.319
in the engine. Huge. And
then I got to see how rescued two

939
01:09:39.520 --> 01:09:44.840
was rescued. Two is very on
top of you as opposed to three.

940
01:09:45.920 --> 01:09:53.479
Three was always in the gaps,
and I remember two was on I mean,

941
01:09:53.520 --> 01:09:56.279
they're different. I so I see
why everyone gets out and turns out

942
01:09:56.359 --> 01:10:00.479
like that. You gotta got a
piece of the pie. Yeah, And

943
01:10:00.600 --> 01:10:03.079
it was very, very very exciting. I loved it. But my first

944
01:10:03.159 --> 01:10:09.079
three months there, all I heard
was boop boop, second along Manhattan box

945
01:10:09.199 --> 01:10:17.000
one five. I was going to
ask if you had any second thoughts at

946
01:10:17.039 --> 01:10:20.399
all? I did. I was
like, what's going on? The camp

947
01:10:20.640 --> 01:10:24.319
said, they called this place to
camp. They have rodgers. I'm like,

948
01:10:25.119 --> 01:10:28.720
this neighborhood's beautiful. First of all, it's a beautiful neighborhood. It

949
01:10:28.840 --> 01:10:30.880
really has got a great buildings there
right across the street. I mean even

950
01:10:30.920 --> 01:10:33.880
the firehouse itself has like the little
couple on it, right, I mean

951
01:10:33.960 --> 01:10:39.920
that's where the Dodgers lived. They
lived on Maple and a couple of streets

952
01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:43.680
right near the firehouse. That's where
the Dodgers lived. Because I have the

953
01:10:43.720 --> 01:10:51.920
picture which I was I'm sorry,
Jackie Pete. Oh, this picture was

954
01:10:53.000 --> 01:10:55.760
given to me by a fireman,
Dempsey, who was in one thirteen.

955
01:10:55.840 --> 01:10:59.880
He ended up where do you go? Three thirteen? But this picture is

956
01:11:00.119 --> 01:11:03.079
phenomenal. And that's another thing I
dug when I got there. If you

957
01:11:03.159 --> 01:11:08.560
go to one thirteen, it says
Brooklyn Fire Department on the front of the

958
01:11:08.600 --> 01:11:13.720
fire day, doesn't it know?
It says Brooklyn? Is that right?

959
01:11:15.359 --> 01:11:17.319
That's freaking I worked at a few
times. I remember saying to myself,

960
01:11:18.239 --> 01:11:21.520
one h three is a shift hall, but this place is a ship hall.

961
01:11:23.760 --> 01:11:26.960
Well, those firehouses like one O
three, one twelve, they're like

962
01:11:27.039 --> 01:11:31.039
pirate ships. Yeah. No,
one's really concerned about it being pretty.

963
01:11:31.640 --> 01:11:34.119
Everybody just wants to go to work, and then when they come back,

964
01:11:34.199 --> 01:11:39.159
everybody wants to just you know,
get ready for the next one. That

965
01:11:39.439 --> 01:11:42.439
it was. It was great.
That was a good fire and there was

966
01:11:42.479 --> 01:11:44.520
a lot of synergy. I made
a lot of good friends there. The

967
01:11:44.600 --> 01:11:51.000
guys were great and they have one
guy in particular, very quiet man,

968
01:11:51.239 --> 01:11:58.079
but he was a beast. Was
um Mark Conaway. He's a marine unit

969
01:11:58.239 --> 01:12:01.479
now. But this dude, I
mean, he showed me a technique with

970
01:12:01.560 --> 01:12:04.439
the twelve foot straight ladder. He's
like, you know, can you use

971
01:12:04.479 --> 01:12:08.359
this ladder? And I was like
not really. He was like watch he

972
01:12:08.439 --> 01:12:13.560
took the hooks out boom, made
it a scaling ladder. And that became

973
01:12:13.640 --> 01:12:15.600
the drill that I did all the
time, Like, if you're in a

974
01:12:15.680 --> 01:12:17.560
truck, you should be able to
pull yourself up this ladder, and not

975
01:12:17.680 --> 01:12:21.039
everyone can do it. I said, maybe you should be in Queens or

976
01:12:21.079 --> 01:12:30.840
something. She's always off for you, or Florida. You should be in

977
01:12:30.920 --> 01:12:33.439
Miami Day or something. Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

978
01:12:34.279 --> 01:12:39.279
oh there it is. Yeah.
I never realized seeming himself now. See

979
01:12:39.319 --> 01:12:42.520
I called Pete and you see that
little uh they see a couple of that

980
01:12:42.600 --> 01:12:45.479
coop's on the right down. It's
really awesome. I passed the fires whole

981
01:12:45.520 --> 01:12:49.600
time. I used to stop and
do you know there's the mirror images engine

982
01:12:49.640 --> 01:12:54.840
two forty. It's the same firehouse, but the couple is on the other

983
01:12:54.840 --> 01:12:59.720
it's reversed, is that right?
Yeah? Cool? Cool? So I

984
01:12:59.800 --> 01:13:02.720
was great. Uh. I remember
eating on the pink punk table over there

985
01:13:02.720 --> 01:13:06.800
a few times. I remember.
It's um one of those things too.

986
01:13:06.960 --> 01:13:10.640
I never wanted to say what if, like what if I went to brook

987
01:13:10.680 --> 01:13:14.359
Moore to be like I just I
had to see for myself. And the

988
01:13:14.439 --> 01:13:17.079
beautiful thing was Captain Hayman thirty truck. He said, if you don't like

989
01:13:17.159 --> 01:13:19.880
it, you can come back.
Can you imagine that it was open?

990
01:13:19.960 --> 01:13:24.960
That's great? I mean it usually
does it. That usually doesn't happen just

991
01:13:25.000 --> 01:13:27.920
because guys take it personal, right, you're leaving them kind of thing,

992
01:13:28.039 --> 01:13:31.720
you know. Well they rode me, but most guys, yeah, they

993
01:13:31.800 --> 01:13:34.479
were like, you're making a good
move, you know, because it was

994
01:13:34.560 --> 01:13:39.199
just different for your family, right, I mean the bottom line, that's

995
01:13:39.199 --> 01:13:42.560
a beautiful, fireous Yeah, that's
the bottom line. Like we share all

996
01:13:42.560 --> 01:13:44.640
the time. Man, if you
live in Brooklyn, you're traveling to hall

997
01:13:44.720 --> 01:13:46.720
them. I mean you're passing a
lot of places. You know, you

998
01:13:46.800 --> 01:13:49.079
take a time away from your family, right, I mean you want to

999
01:13:49.079 --> 01:13:54.920
do it wasn't even a travel because
it was more, Um, I want

1000
01:13:54.960 --> 01:14:00.119
to experience Brooklyn. What's the hype, what's the And what I found is,

1001
01:14:00.279 --> 01:14:04.720
um, it's the same but different. That's it. It's the same.

1002
01:14:04.760 --> 01:14:09.640
But because the three Battalion reminded me
of the sixteenth because all three of

1003
01:14:09.640 --> 01:14:15.960
the firehouses got a long yeah,
when you got out of someone more like

1004
01:14:15.119 --> 01:14:18.319
in the East State, were more
combative, like what you guys were,

1005
01:14:19.000 --> 01:14:23.199
you know what I mean? They
were acreage. There was a lot more,

1006
01:14:24.279 --> 01:14:28.279
a lot of hate. But it's
a competitive nature that made Brooklyn.

1007
01:14:28.520 --> 01:14:35.159
What you also saw when Brooklyn lieutenants
came, how they were weirded out by

1008
01:14:35.279 --> 01:14:38.399
how we were like, hold up, bro, you know that come there

1009
01:14:38.479 --> 01:14:41.239
right there? They got it.
They would look at us crazy. And

1010
01:14:41.319 --> 01:14:45.239
I remember one particular guy. He
had a jolly Rogers patched on. He

1011
01:14:45.359 --> 01:14:51.399
was ridded, didn't smile or nothing
passed forward. I'm looking at this guy,

1012
01:14:53.760 --> 01:14:56.680
this is twenty ten. I'm like, you were that lieutenant. It

1013
01:14:56.800 --> 01:15:00.399
was Tommy Gardner. He was oh
is that right? Yeah? Yeah,

1014
01:15:00.479 --> 01:15:06.760
yeah yeah yeah, crazy man.
Love to man. So what do your

1015
01:15:06.960 --> 01:15:13.560
job? What do you think the
biggest differences between the two places? Um?

1016
01:15:15.720 --> 01:15:19.199
Location, that's it. Just the
buildings. Location, that is,

1017
01:15:19.399 --> 01:15:29.479
it's the same further um especially now
you know Brooklyn was the first time I

1018
01:15:29.560 --> 01:15:30.800
had an e MS run and I
remember, and I won't even name the

1019
01:15:30.840 --> 01:15:34.600
company, but they looked at the
patient. They didn't touch the patient.

1020
01:15:34.640 --> 01:15:39.600
That's when the Brooklyn was protesting I
had. I was in thirty got detailed

1021
01:15:40.479 --> 01:15:44.840
and I was like wow because we
were actually doing it. And but I

1022
01:15:45.079 --> 01:15:48.079
understood, but it didn't make sense
to me not to help somebody, right,

1023
01:15:48.239 --> 01:15:50.239
That's like I was told never.
My father told me, never go

1024
01:15:50.319 --> 01:15:55.640
and strike. We if we're going
to strike and we're gonna lose the confidence

1025
01:15:55.680 --> 01:16:00.279
of the people. Man, Yeah, it's it's it's ap. My son

1026
01:16:00.319 --> 01:16:01.319
asked me about striking. I was
like, no, we don't strike.

1027
01:16:01.560 --> 01:16:04.000
I say, I'm not gonna strike. Nobody ever wins in the strike,

1028
01:16:04.079 --> 01:16:12.880
man, you know, not with
the no. I couldn't even imagine seeing

1029
01:16:12.920 --> 01:16:16.479
that baby in that fire I could
never not. You know, that's a

1030
01:16:16.720 --> 01:16:21.199
fireman's that happened to that kid in
Brooklyn last year. He made a grab

1031
01:16:21.359 --> 01:16:26.560
walking down the street. I forgot
where he was from. Oh yeah,

1032
01:16:26.600 --> 01:16:30.079
I remember. That just got him
duty. Yeah, and he happened to

1033
01:16:30.159 --> 01:16:34.720
have his cell. He was doing
like probably for his kid a demonstration,

1034
01:16:34.800 --> 01:16:40.159
so he had a Scott Pack.
Shit, dude, that's when you know

1035
01:16:40.279 --> 01:16:43.000
things are lining up for you.
Man, I dreamt about that. I've

1036
01:16:43.279 --> 01:16:47.000
actually had more nightmares where the person
is behind bars in a basement, I

1037
01:16:47.039 --> 01:16:49.800
can't get to I can't get on
the rig on my gear don't fit,

1038
01:16:49.960 --> 01:16:54.880
or I have you have that dream
you can't find you all the time.

1039
01:16:55.159 --> 01:16:58.880
I have the dream where I'm around
the block and can't make it. I

1040
01:16:59.079 --> 01:17:06.119
have the same po bro crazy,
that's anxiety. Do you did quite a

1041
01:17:06.159 --> 01:17:10.600
bit of time then? Though you
did the eighty right? Yes? So

1042
01:17:11.199 --> 01:17:14.439
came a colon or what happened?
No? I always wanted to go to

1043
01:17:14.640 --> 01:17:18.600
rescue three. I was detailed the
twenty eight truck and like ninety three at

1044
01:17:18.640 --> 01:17:24.680
the Polo grounds, we had an
elevator emergency, so we had I had

1045
01:17:24.720 --> 01:17:28.119
the elevator kit which had bobstacle sticks. I don't know if anyone used though,

1046
01:17:28.279 --> 01:17:30.279
yes you to move the elevator.
Yeah, you can move the elevator

1047
01:17:30.359 --> 01:17:35.119
up on the top. We tried
everything, nothing worked, and housing came

1048
01:17:35.760 --> 01:17:41.800
Housing, EESU came housing used to
have e sue. They tried everything,

1049
01:17:41.920 --> 01:17:45.479
nothing happened, and then these two
guys from Rescue three come up with stone

1050
01:17:45.520 --> 01:17:53.399
coasts that are shredded, tiny little
Jamaica helmets, and they put the Halligans

1051
01:17:53.600 --> 01:17:57.079
on the brake on the big wheel. They loosened it just a little and

1052
01:17:57.119 --> 01:18:01.640
the wheel slowly turned and then you
heard rail say stop, we got him,

1053
01:18:01.680 --> 01:18:03.840
We're up. And they just walked
out and I said, okay.

1054
01:18:04.920 --> 01:18:11.640
So one day when my helmets shriveled
and I'm old, I wanted to and

1055
01:18:11.880 --> 01:18:14.640
I, you know, I felt
I had to be ready to go.

1056
01:18:15.079 --> 01:18:21.119
And I went there with eighteen years
and I was humbled. I was humbled.

1057
01:18:21.119 --> 01:18:25.640
I thought it was the best firefighter
in Brooklyn coming. I felt I

1058
01:18:25.720 --> 01:18:30.279
felt great. It was like uh
forty something. I was really I was

1059
01:18:30.399 --> 01:18:34.600
lifting heavy, deadlifting. I was
just ready. I was humbled by the

1060
01:18:35.199 --> 01:18:39.560
knowledge base that these men had.
Who'd you go to see Captain Shaw?

1061
01:18:40.239 --> 01:18:43.479
No? I saw Captain Nelson.
That was my first day. Yeah,

1062
01:18:43.600 --> 01:18:45.760
is that right? Yeah? Yeah. When we sat down for like about

1063
01:18:45.800 --> 01:18:47.920
an hour and he said, well, the Chief's on his way over.

1064
01:18:48.520 --> 01:18:54.640
The chief came talked to me and
then he told me, um, he

1065
01:18:54.680 --> 01:18:59.000
would consider me, put me on
the list. And I waited how many

1066
01:18:59.079 --> 01:19:04.880
years? Two years? I waited. And you know a lot of guys.

1067
01:19:04.880 --> 01:19:12.439
I've seen guys now who won it
right away, and you know anyone

1068
01:19:12.520 --> 01:19:16.600
doesn't who's never been applied to sock. What happens is you applied, they

1069
01:19:16.640 --> 01:19:19.239
say you're on the list. If
someone comes before you, they send you

1070
01:19:19.319 --> 01:19:23.319
a letter saying someone else went before
you. If you want to, um

1071
01:19:23.960 --> 01:19:29.079
protest, you can, And I
chose not to. The guy came before

1072
01:19:29.119 --> 01:19:31.840
me had twenty three years on Timmy
for debt. Oh my god, what

1073
01:19:31.960 --> 01:19:38.479
a great guy. Then Brian Brown, Oh my god, I just Brown.

1074
01:19:39.279 --> 01:19:43.640
Brian Brown trips over medals. He
gets so many medals. I'm gonna

1075
01:19:43.640 --> 01:19:47.520
get him. I just my daughter
plays flick footballward his daughter. I gotta

1076
01:19:47.520 --> 01:19:54.319
I gotta get him on and um. And then my classmate Jimmy Lowe started

1077
01:19:54.359 --> 01:19:59.239
out in UH three thirty two hundred
seventy five. Then he went to thirty

1078
01:19:59.239 --> 01:20:02.279
three truck and it's the same.
I left thirty and then went to Brooklyn.

1079
01:20:02.439 --> 01:20:04.479
Was like that, and then we
end up working together. It was

1080
01:20:04.520 --> 01:20:08.239
a blessing. Steve Carney was in
the class. Steve has been there a

1081
01:20:08.319 --> 01:20:12.640
while a long time. And these
are all guys with steady, steady hands.

1082
01:20:13.560 --> 01:20:15.640
And I learned from everybody. It's
it was, like I said,

1083
01:20:15.640 --> 01:20:18.960
it was very humbling because I felt
I was a very good firefight. But

1084
01:20:19.079 --> 01:20:23.520
the technical stuff, yeah, it
takes time for that. And even the

1085
01:20:23.840 --> 01:20:28.039
firefighting techniques that we all have collectively
just makes you a better firefighter. You

1086
01:20:28.119 --> 01:20:31.680
have to be ready to absorb that
information humbly and then apply and listen to

1087
01:20:31.760 --> 01:20:35.720
the stories. Listen to you know, when the roof is laying down on

1088
01:20:35.800 --> 01:20:40.640
the beams, not to bug out. If you never had that happen,

1089
01:20:40.760 --> 01:20:43.720
list if you hear it, talk
about it, you can understand what's happening.

1090
01:20:43.760 --> 01:20:46.399
So you can articulate to the chief
that we are okay up here.

1091
01:20:47.239 --> 01:20:50.199
And you have to be able to
articulate to that lieutenant who has him putting

1092
01:20:50.199 --> 01:20:57.119
a line into the venthole that hey, boss, you're spreading the firehows they

1093
01:20:57.239 --> 01:20:59.680
want to tell them to shut it
down so it doesn't blow down on them.

1094
01:21:00.079 --> 01:21:03.520
Know, you have to because it's
it's a different ballgame. It's like

1095
01:21:03.600 --> 01:21:08.199
becoming a chauffeur is different than being
on the irons. You have to see

1096
01:21:08.239 --> 01:21:11.079
the whole vanished point and when you're
in rescue, you have to see everything,

1097
01:21:11.720 --> 01:21:15.159
and at first it's overwhelming. Even
a tool assignment was hard. It

1098
01:21:15.239 --> 01:21:17.319
was hard for me not to have
a halligan in my hand. I didn't

1099
01:21:17.359 --> 01:21:19.760
have a halligan. I felt naked, and I think, I forget what

1100
01:21:20.039 --> 01:21:26.439
position doesn't have the halligan? And
you're supposed to team up with the They

1101
01:21:26.520 --> 01:21:30.079
had outside team and inside team,
and I remember it was Dave Donna Telly.

1102
01:21:30.199 --> 01:21:35.279
Oh. We had we had a
small job or whatever. And he

1103
01:21:35.439 --> 01:21:39.279
put his halligan and I had my
halligan. He looked at me, He's

1104
01:21:39.279 --> 01:21:43.720
like, where's your acts? I
said, come on, you know,

1105
01:21:45.960 --> 01:21:48.680
I got to carry the acts.
And it's just you should never stop learning,

1106
01:21:48.800 --> 01:21:53.199
and you should be humble in your
learning because this job will smack you

1107
01:21:53.439 --> 01:21:58.640
in your PP at any given moment. How are the bobbies? Oh,

1108
01:21:58.800 --> 01:22:01.760
incredible, especially both of him.
If fanis was very He's like, listen,

1109
01:22:01.840 --> 01:22:05.439
if you think about leaving or going
back, you talk to me first.

1110
01:22:05.479 --> 01:22:10.800
And just knowing that, you know, was a blessing. Like and

1111
01:22:11.079 --> 01:22:15.039
when I when I first got there, I actually cut my original helmet almost

1112
01:22:15.079 --> 01:22:19.319
in half with the partner. So
I was cutting and it foo fell off

1113
01:22:19.439 --> 01:22:24.600
right at the blade and it went
across the roof, shot across the roof

1114
01:22:24.920 --> 01:22:30.960
and I kept cutting as I cried, and you can see the cuts.

1115
01:22:31.000 --> 01:22:35.079
It's like sitting super low. That
was eighteen years a soft in that joint

1116
01:22:35.119 --> 01:22:39.960
and it did it crushed it,
you destroyed it. No, I couldn't

1117
01:22:40.000 --> 01:22:42.880
be fixed. I still have it. I ended up giving it to my

1118
01:22:43.000 --> 01:22:45.039
daughter. Um, that was my
oldest helmet. I remember giving it to

1119
01:22:45.119 --> 01:22:48.000
her. She's like, uh,
why are you giving me this ugly helmet?

1120
01:22:48.399 --> 01:22:51.640
And I told I said, hey, this is this is my oldest

1121
01:22:51.720 --> 01:22:56.439
helmet. It's my first helmet.
And it's the helmet I wore nine to

1122
01:22:56.479 --> 01:23:00.560
eleven. That's the helmet on the
right. Yeah, you can see the

1123
01:23:00.600 --> 01:23:13.359
cuts. Dude, was it the
frow? What happened? Save me too?

1124
01:23:13.479 --> 01:23:16.239
Man? That second helmet? Um, they gave that to me.

1125
01:23:17.760 --> 01:23:20.479
Um, yeah, if you had
over thirty years, right, you got

1126
01:23:20.520 --> 01:23:24.760
to keep your second helmet. Yes, I kept every I kept. Yeah,

1127
01:23:24.800 --> 01:23:27.239
I kept all my helmets. Actually, I have a plastic helmet that

1128
01:23:27.359 --> 01:23:30.439
my son has. When I got
to the tack, I couldn't wear leather.

1129
01:23:30.760 --> 01:23:32.880
They told me it couldn't. So
Cameron Peak said you on the tour.

1130
01:23:34.920 --> 01:23:42.199
Yeah, that's how sick they are. What it was for our Meddle

1131
01:23:42.279 --> 01:23:46.079
day or something, and I said, hey, Um, I said,

1132
01:23:46.119 --> 01:23:48.119
yeah, I got you, when
when he's like, nah, man,

1133
01:23:49.039 --> 01:23:53.880
I got you. Yeah yeah,
Now listen, Cam, I had to

1134
01:23:53.920 --> 01:23:57.600
work that tour anyway because I wasn't
trying to pay the city back, so

1135
01:23:58.560 --> 01:24:00.960
I worked it out. I had
to work though those tours. They when

1136
01:24:01.000 --> 01:24:03.399
you're going, they're gonna look at
all your tours, So make sure your

1137
01:24:03.439 --> 01:24:08.239
I was straight. You don't want
to you don't really screw it us up.

1138
01:24:08.319 --> 01:24:13.359
Huh back, Yeah, there's no
getting no. You woll that have

1139
01:24:13.439 --> 01:24:19.960
taken cash from me? When that
happens up there At that time, I

1140
01:24:20.119 --> 01:24:30.039
read yeah, um it was um
Captain Nelson, Kevin Williams, Kevin Williams,

1141
01:24:30.119 --> 01:24:36.560
Man Body, Maxwell, John Ciderella, Nicky Conboy came the Legend,

1142
01:24:38.600 --> 01:24:44.640
Glenn ba Ruby, Tommy Claire,
Um just very all super CON's like,

1143
01:24:44.680 --> 01:24:48.520
when you see competence, it's really
all that matters. I don't care how

1144
01:24:48.600 --> 01:24:56.119
your personality is, And that's how
I kind of molded my career. Even

1145
01:24:56.199 --> 01:24:59.479
if I didn't really particularly like you. If I saw what you did worked,

1146
01:25:00.199 --> 01:25:04.000
I'm gonna do the same thing because
it's it's seconds. You can't go

1147
01:25:04.159 --> 01:25:08.760
like this with a cigarette lighter and
hold it there. That's this job is

1148
01:25:09.039 --> 01:25:13.439
seconds and you have to realize that. And whether it's putting on your gear

1149
01:25:13.600 --> 01:25:16.119
quickly, because they've had guys try
to come through. They can't even put

1150
01:25:16.119 --> 01:25:25.119
gloves on the get nervous putting gloves
on it wrong. Um, and I

1151
01:25:25.199 --> 01:25:30.680
remember, oh it was I forgot
his name is an instructor at the academy.

1152
01:25:30.439 --> 01:25:32.600
But he was talking about when you're
on the rig, take your time

1153
01:25:32.640 --> 01:25:40.600
putting your gear and be like,
calm yourself down and be um. Should

1154
01:25:40.600 --> 01:25:44.000
be doing the same things every time. I always faced my gloves a certain

1155
01:25:44.039 --> 01:25:47.640
way. How I did that every
My stuff was exactly the same way every

1156
01:25:47.760 --> 01:25:53.279
run. When I um, my
wife's probably laughing to because she's she sees

1157
01:25:53.359 --> 01:25:55.560
us. My stuff is all over
the place. But I have an order

1158
01:25:56.239 --> 01:26:03.960
and sup at home. But even
when I was when thirteen is a seed

1159
01:26:04.159 --> 01:26:09.880
chauffeur, I had my bed right
near the pole hole and I wore blue

1160
01:26:09.920 --> 01:26:13.359
track pants, so I had to
put them on. They were light,

1161
01:26:14.880 --> 01:26:17.840
and I had slip ons. I
didn't have my boots because your boot you

1162
01:26:17.880 --> 01:26:21.359
could push the tongue down, can't
get your foot in the boot. Meanwhile,

1163
01:26:21.399 --> 01:26:26.119
you see everyone running past you in
the dark, right going down,

1164
01:26:26.239 --> 01:26:30.439
and you're the show for So I
had I had my boots and I had

1165
01:26:30.560 --> 01:26:34.279
everything in the rig, and as
soon as I heard the tone, I

1166
01:26:34.439 --> 01:26:40.560
slid the pole, started the rig, put my pants on. I was

1167
01:26:40.600 --> 01:26:42.920
ready, I took I was ready
to go. And because I had one

1168
01:26:43.039 --> 01:26:47.479
fifty seven down the street. They're
not giving up anything, nothing. That

1169
01:26:47.640 --> 01:26:50.840
was my main contention, because they
weren't giving up and they they're very prideful

1170
01:26:50.920 --> 01:26:58.239
company. Get phenomenal work, and
that's who you're you're ilish. She didn't

1171
01:26:58.239 --> 01:27:00.800
even say competing with, but that's
what it was. In Brooklyn. We

1172
01:27:00.920 --> 01:27:02.279
all try to get it in.
It's so funny. I forgot to ask

1173
01:27:02.319 --> 01:27:04.720
you if you would drive, if
you were a chauffeur. Yeah, I

1174
01:27:04.800 --> 01:27:10.239
was. I was a Cedy show
for two years. I had sixteen years

1175
01:27:10.279 --> 01:27:15.760
old and I was protesting. I
was like my first mutual partner was Richie

1176
01:27:15.840 --> 01:27:19.479
Degman at um On one thirteen,
because we didn't do that in Harlem.

1177
01:27:19.880 --> 01:27:26.760
We didn't get married because the theory
was the guy who doesn't hook anyone up

1178
01:27:26.840 --> 01:27:30.800
is not going to get anyone working
for him. So it was kind of

1179
01:27:30.840 --> 01:27:32.720
like, hey, can you do
this? It was very cool. But

1180
01:27:32.840 --> 01:27:38.840
when I went to one thirteen you
got married to somebody and at sixteen years

1181
01:27:38.840 --> 01:27:40.520
I was like, I don't want
to drive. He was like, how

1182
01:27:40.600 --> 01:27:43.479
many years do you have? Like
sixteen? He was like, it's time

1183
01:27:43.520 --> 01:27:47.239
to grow up. And I love
it. I loved it. Was nice

1184
01:27:47.319 --> 01:27:51.560
knowing your position and the rear amount
was quick anyway, so I didn't have

1185
01:27:51.560 --> 01:27:55.199
to worry about putting ladders if I
could just boomp right to the window and

1186
01:27:55.319 --> 01:27:58.399
go right in, it was great. Who was your favorite guy in three

1187
01:27:58.479 --> 01:28:00.680
that you really enjoyed working with?
Who were you became close with? And

1188
01:28:02.079 --> 01:28:06.640
it was just one guy in particular
a few One of the guys who was

1189
01:28:06.720 --> 01:28:14.119
just instrumental in making me feel comfortable
with Patrick Hickey. As soon as I

1190
01:28:14.239 --> 01:28:16.960
walked through the door, He's like, oh, look what I did.

1191
01:28:17.000 --> 01:28:21.920
He did Steve Urkele. He made
the Steve Urkele. So I didn't know.

1192
01:28:23.239 --> 01:28:30.880
I thought it was like super buffy
that I did I do that,

1193
01:28:33.399 --> 01:28:36.479
laughing, Oh my shit. Then
he said, oh, you look like

1194
01:28:36.600 --> 01:28:43.680
the sheriff from Blazing Saddles. I
was like, you looked like the guy

1195
01:28:43.880 --> 01:28:49.520
bro like nothing like a little and
I said that all brothers look alike.

1196
01:28:51.359 --> 01:28:58.439
You know, Patrick, Patrick is
two days older than me, so we're

1197
01:28:58.479 --> 01:29:03.319
like, oh the spirit. You
know, I love that guy. He's

1198
01:29:03.319 --> 01:29:08.520
a great guy. Manum, he
had like, um again, a fantas

1199
01:29:08.680 --> 01:29:14.000
was just the father figure of the
house. Um. The bosses are always

1200
01:29:14.039 --> 01:29:18.239
willing to give you information. It
was nice Steve Farney. Um. Brian

1201
01:29:18.279 --> 01:29:23.319
Brown's five One of the Funniest Guys
that Ever worked with Brian Brown and Paul

1202
01:29:23.399 --> 01:29:26.199
Felling from one thirteen, two of
the Funniest guys that ever worked. Brian

1203
01:29:26.279 --> 01:29:29.479
Brown is so funny that you don't
even know how funny he is because it's

1204
01:29:29.560 --> 01:29:34.000
so under the radar that they who, Yeah, when I hang out with

1205
01:29:34.079 --> 01:29:36.680
him in the stand I'm gonna get
him. When I get him in the

1206
01:29:36.760 --> 01:29:43.319
stands, it's hilarious because he's just
quietly funny. Man, He's just so

1207
01:29:43.800 --> 01:29:46.680
so it's classic. And the senior
guys then, you know, I was

1208
01:29:46.720 --> 01:29:54.920
working with guys who had like thirty
years and uh, you know these guys

1209
01:29:55.039 --> 01:30:00.680
were could look, um, oh
my god, situation and figure it out.

1210
01:30:02.199 --> 01:30:04.159
Because I'm not a tools guy.
I was the one thing I could

1211
01:30:04.159 --> 01:30:11.840
put on my application was I'm a
DJ. You know, you know that.

1212
01:30:12.199 --> 01:30:15.279
Really I have to tell you a
story about DJ too. Um,

1213
01:30:15.960 --> 01:30:19.279
I want to talk about that.
So but anyway, the guys there showed

1214
01:30:19.319 --> 01:30:24.279
me so much love and support.
UM and it really truly is a gentleman's

1215
01:30:24.279 --> 01:30:30.640
firehouse. Uh, it really was, and it was right that time in

1216
01:30:30.720 --> 01:30:34.159
my career. It was good to
be around older guys because I would be

1217
01:30:34.239 --> 01:30:39.720
in the rat house fireworks, burning
the kitchen down, and don't get me

1218
01:30:39.800 --> 01:30:42.560
wrong, I would I would be
there all night partying. You know,

1219
01:30:42.640 --> 01:30:46.319
I was getting I was, I
was getting older, and and I had

1220
01:30:46.359 --> 01:30:53.000
aspirations to go to Rescue three because
I remember another image that I saw was

1221
01:30:53.199 --> 01:30:58.800
UM Connie Tenney, who was UM
from twenty eight truck. He was a

1222
01:30:58.880 --> 01:31:02.239
Rescue three and I forget the other
brother's name, but you had two huge

1223
01:31:02.319 --> 01:31:06.479
black men getting off the backstep of
Rescue three and ninety one. And it

1224
01:31:06.800 --> 01:31:14.119
left such an impression on me and
I often tell especially working in Harlem and

1225
01:31:14.239 --> 01:31:20.079
Brooklyn and Flatbush having a black firefight. It sends a message to the kids

1226
01:31:20.159 --> 01:31:25.000
that this job is Jorge because they
don't know what's going on behind those walls,

1227
01:31:25.720 --> 01:31:29.159
and it's so important for them to
see themselves. Now. I had

1228
01:31:29.199 --> 01:31:31.760
it easy. I saw my father, so it was easy. But if

1229
01:31:31.840 --> 01:31:36.880
you don't see somebody like yourself,
you're just gonna think it's not for you.

1230
01:31:36.960 --> 01:31:40.960
I never had that. I always
thought I was gonna be speed racer

1231
01:31:41.079 --> 01:31:45.119
or I always thought I would be
a thunderbird flying Thunderbird two. I always

1232
01:31:45.159 --> 01:31:47.920
had this. I always felt like
I was a pilot, not anything else.

1233
01:31:48.000 --> 01:31:50.760
But a lot of kids, I'm
sure don't feel that because they don't

1234
01:31:50.760 --> 01:31:54.760
have that imagery in their head.
Craig I had. Well, I think

1235
01:31:54.840 --> 01:31:57.439
we said this on the show many. I don't even think I've talked about

1236
01:31:57.479 --> 01:32:00.319
this. We had a bullshit box. It was like a man and under

1237
01:32:00.399 --> 01:32:02.159
or something under the l right,
So we had gone up, come down,

1238
01:32:02.520 --> 01:32:06.239
and Rescue four showed up. This
was early in my career, and

1239
01:32:06.479 --> 01:32:11.960
Terry Hatton was in Rescue four and
the guys got off, and I remember

1240
01:32:12.000 --> 01:32:14.239
he looked like a kid to me, and I was a kid. I

1241
01:32:14.319 --> 01:32:16.960
was twenty three, twenty four,
right, and he looked very young to

1242
01:32:17.039 --> 01:32:23.680
be a lieutenant in Rescue four.
And he was buttoned up, put on

1243
01:32:24.479 --> 01:32:30.760
helmet, kyla stuff hanging off from
right, the flashlights everything and I remember

1244
01:32:30.960 --> 01:32:33.800
what you just said. That's just
made me think about it is how I

1245
01:32:33.960 --> 01:32:40.199
looked at him and said, wow, in my mind, wow, look

1246
01:32:40.239 --> 01:32:45.199
at that guy like you know that
that guy looked like he was squared away,

1247
01:32:45.479 --> 01:32:47.880
ready to go competing, right,
I mean now now obviously years and

1248
01:32:48.000 --> 01:32:51.760
years later, even being in sock
know when he was in rescue one when

1249
01:32:51.840 --> 01:32:57.560
when we were in socks as fireman
in squad who he was, right,

1250
01:32:57.640 --> 01:33:00.760
But that was the first impression I
had of him as a young guy looking

1251
01:33:00.800 --> 01:33:04.479
at a guy coming off of rescue
rig as a boss looking as young as

1252
01:33:04.520 --> 01:33:08.439
he did. Yeah, and how
squared away he was, you know what

1253
01:33:08.520 --> 01:33:11.159
I mean? And that goes to
your point. You know what I mean,

1254
01:33:11.239 --> 01:33:15.000
Like, guys, will you know, hey, maybe go to sock

1255
01:33:15.119 --> 01:33:18.359
you should look like your insock because
and again like once I got to Brooklyn,

1256
01:33:18.399 --> 01:33:27.319
I started really buttoning down um because
again now I'm from Harlem, and

1257
01:33:29.000 --> 01:33:31.640
I didn't feel like I had anything
to prove, but I had to show

1258
01:33:32.760 --> 01:33:36.760
that I could what I can do, because you do get side eyed when

1259
01:33:36.800 --> 01:33:41.319
you're new. It's just natural,
you know. One of the things I

1260
01:33:41.720 --> 01:33:44.840
tried to do is disarmed people.
My father showed me that when I would

1261
01:33:44.840 --> 01:33:47.359
go to the firehouse at twelve years
old, I had to shake everyone's hand

1262
01:33:47.680 --> 01:33:51.319
around the table. So as soon
as I get to one third, take

1263
01:33:51.399 --> 01:34:00.520
everyone's hand. Someone dead, fish, someone strong. You know. I

1264
01:34:00.600 --> 01:34:04.039
had a guy he's because I can't
say this. I can't talk about that.

1265
01:34:04.520 --> 01:34:09.520
He thought I was a spy,
And I said, what spy brings

1266
01:34:09.560 --> 01:34:16.359
a case of Coca cola allegedly,
Yeah, you know you have a soda

1267
01:34:16.399 --> 01:34:20.399
machine. I'm showing love by bringing
my case in coca cola. I thought

1268
01:34:20.399 --> 01:34:23.239
you was a spy. I was
like, no, I'm not a spy.

1269
01:34:23.439 --> 01:34:26.319
I said where I came from.
It's got the wrong guy. Yeah,

1270
01:34:28.199 --> 01:34:31.520
you got it all wrong, man, Come on, man. And

1271
01:34:32.359 --> 01:34:40.039
another thing about going to rescue in
general, uh, the people coming have

1272
01:34:40.119 --> 01:34:45.439
to recognize you're gonna be first and
upfront with the trauma and some of the

1273
01:34:45.600 --> 01:34:47.840
some of the incidents that occurred up
town. I'm glad I didn't. I

1274
01:34:48.000 --> 01:34:50.199
wasn't there, Like I've had people
say, oh, I wish I was

1275
01:34:50.319 --> 01:34:54.000
there, Like, you don't want
to be there. When a bus turns

1276
01:34:54.079 --> 01:34:58.840
sideways and goes through a stanchion and
cuts through the bus like a blender,

1277
01:34:59.640 --> 01:35:03.199
you don't I was that you just
want to be able to think. And

1278
01:35:03.520 --> 01:35:05.880
I remember Captain Elson tell me about
that. He said, you had to

1279
01:35:06.000 --> 01:35:11.279
be focused, and you had to
take the dead body off the body that's

1280
01:35:11.359 --> 01:35:14.000
alive and get the dead body out. You had to just go through like

1281
01:35:14.079 --> 01:35:18.279
you're going through you your laundry instead
of dragging the bottom. And you have

1282
01:35:18.399 --> 01:35:24.720
to stay focused. And we compartmentalize
all that trauma that when I hear about

1283
01:35:24.800 --> 01:35:30.439
new work, it really hits hard, like I'm glad that I'm have all

1284
01:35:30.479 --> 01:35:35.279
my function and I feel bad for
all those who went before us, all

1285
01:35:35.319 --> 01:35:42.399
our friends at eleven, these tragic
fires. It's just you know, and

1286
01:35:42.600 --> 01:35:46.199
we have to be thankful for,
you know. And if you're working now,

1287
01:35:46.319 --> 01:35:50.319
you need to be just try to
love one and enjoy the moment,

1288
01:35:50.479 --> 01:35:55.520
enjoy being in the firehouse because once
it's done, it's done. And some

1289
01:35:55.680 --> 01:35:59.079
people still think it's just a job, But for me, it was never

1290
01:35:59.199 --> 01:36:02.039
that because I had legacy things in
my head the whole time. Oh yeah,

1291
01:36:02.279 --> 01:36:08.960
well I was aspiring to just trying
to bigger shoes. Yeah yeah,

1292
01:36:09.039 --> 01:36:12.560
yeah, yeah, dude. That's
when when we first talked, when you

1293
01:36:12.600 --> 01:36:15.840
went when you were in the tack, you would come up in the office.

1294
01:36:15.920 --> 01:36:18.079
Right I was in the tool room
ready to shoot myself in the head,

1295
01:36:18.119 --> 01:36:20.560
and you know, he would come
up in the office. He would

1296
01:36:20.600 --> 01:36:23.399
work out. The gym was right
there, and then he would come in

1297
01:36:23.479 --> 01:36:26.439
the office and we would sit and
I didn't know Craig really, I mean

1298
01:36:26.439 --> 01:36:29.359
I knew him just from being in
shock. But he would come sit in

1299
01:36:29.399 --> 01:36:31.119
the office and we would bullshit for
a half hour forty minutes. He would

1300
01:36:31.119 --> 01:36:33.319
go down, you know, because
you work at twenty four hours at a

1301
01:36:33.359 --> 01:36:36.920
clip. But he was doing attack
so he would get to have fun and

1302
01:36:38.039 --> 01:36:42.560
go to the tax second alog.
I mean after that ain't a freaking That

1303
01:36:42.680 --> 01:36:44.920
was a very miss under for me. It was kind of miss under.

1304
01:36:44.960 --> 01:36:47.640
A great spot man. It is
if you're on the way, you know,

1305
01:36:48.039 --> 01:36:51.359
you know, that's a great spot
man. I had to have.

1306
01:36:51.560 --> 01:36:57.000
I had half of the city.
I had Atlantic Avenue North. It was

1307
01:36:57.159 --> 01:37:00.920
incredible. And he said, I
would hear top floor of fire. I

1308
01:37:00.039 --> 01:37:03.199
was saw it heading that way,
and they banged up the second I was

1309
01:37:03.279 --> 01:37:06.000
on it. I would go to
command post thing and walk right in and

1310
01:37:06.079 --> 01:37:12.479
hook up with the rescue battalion or
rescue. It would says it was very

1311
01:37:12.560 --> 01:37:15.479
very cool. That's the rig right
there with the boat, and that's Malcolm,

1312
01:37:15.600 --> 01:37:19.560
Chief Malcolm. Yeah, good dude. Staff is a good guy.

1313
01:37:19.840 --> 01:37:27.319
Chief of Special Operations. Right when
he was covering as a captain, he

1314
01:37:27.399 --> 01:37:30.479
was in one thirteen for a spot. We caught some work together. It

1315
01:37:30.600 --> 01:37:33.119
was just fantastic. He's on one
eleven guy, right, isn't he one

1316
01:37:33.159 --> 01:37:36.319
eleven guy two fourteen? Yeah?
Yeah, I don't think he was never

1317
01:37:36.399 --> 01:37:40.760
in one two fourteen. Then he
was a lieutenant in one thirty six,

1318
01:37:41.960 --> 01:37:45.640
captain of one oh seven, So
he's never seen any fires. What you're

1319
01:37:45.640 --> 01:37:49.000
saying, Nope, we're gonna have
to get him on too, and you

1320
01:37:49.039 --> 01:37:58.199
would see Chief more in the fires
like he he still wants to be on

1321
01:37:58.319 --> 01:38:04.359
the knob. He's only committed and
his his uh i q is off the

1322
01:38:04.520 --> 01:38:09.600
charts. When hit him and Chief
Garrity. Chief Garrity when he was there,

1323
01:38:09.680 --> 01:38:12.840
got rest of the soul he was. Those guys would talk they were

1324
01:38:12.880 --> 01:38:15.960
they were both because they worked together. I guess one eleven or one tis

1325
01:38:15.000 --> 01:38:18.199
fourteen. They had definitely old school
guys. You could tell their old school

1326
01:38:18.199 --> 01:38:20.439
guys just the way they talk at
the table and everything. You know,

1327
01:38:21.079 --> 01:38:26.079
That was one thing too, that
working there that I said. I just

1328
01:38:26.199 --> 01:38:30.800
talked to Timmy Garrity the other day
when we had the squad party, like

1329
01:38:30.960 --> 01:38:33.640
him and his we butted heads chief
Guarrity, you know, because I was

1330
01:38:33.720 --> 01:38:36.439
in the squad. And but I'll
tell you this, when I worked at

1331
01:38:36.840 --> 01:38:41.760
at Sock Island, I became closer
to him because he was just an old

1332
01:38:41.800 --> 01:38:45.680
school guy. You know. He
just to be out smoking a cigar right

1333
01:38:45.760 --> 01:38:47.479
on the apron, you know,
change of tours or whatever, six o'clock

1334
01:38:47.520 --> 01:38:50.000
and I would go out and sit
outside. He'd beat there and we bullshit.

1335
01:38:50.479 --> 01:38:54.800
And I have to say I did
become closer to him, you know,

1336
01:38:54.920 --> 01:38:59.600
talker to him, because it just
didn't. I wasn't put heads with

1337
01:38:59.680 --> 01:39:01.880
him at point, you know what
I mean. So this job has a

1338
01:39:01.920 --> 01:39:08.039
lot of um, but just to
be a firefighter and then going to soft

1339
01:39:08.720 --> 01:39:13.960
you have to be eight a personality. We all have different types of a

1340
01:39:14.079 --> 01:39:17.880
personalities. He was just direct.
He was very direct, and he thought

1341
01:39:17.960 --> 01:39:20.600
you were slacking. He was gonna, Oh he would call you out on

1342
01:39:20.680 --> 01:39:26.840
it, no doubt, you know
I was. It's like so when I

1343
01:39:26.880 --> 01:39:30.279
would here, guys come on like, well maybe that's cause I don't know,

1344
01:39:30.239 --> 01:39:35.720
you know, you're a rubber.
Let me ask you a question,

1345
01:39:35.800 --> 01:39:40.000
Craig, Like, I know,
at some point your whole career, you

1346
01:39:40.039 --> 01:39:43.159
know, you thought you had these
big shoes to fill what you had dad.

1347
01:39:43.680 --> 01:39:45.279
Was ever a point where you said, yeah, I definitely made my

1348
01:39:45.359 --> 01:39:50.720
father the prad you know, like
Fay to that realization, I think getting

1349
01:39:50.840 --> 01:39:56.399
on. I think because by then
I thought I was really I was a

1350
01:39:56.439 --> 01:40:00.880
lot more serious about the direction I
wanted to take my life because I was

1351
01:40:00.920 --> 01:40:04.479
a little like I think my life
was so nice growing up. That was

1352
01:40:04.560 --> 01:40:10.840
like I could float, And I
remember just being in the bank in the

1353
01:40:11.000 --> 01:40:15.640
suit, hating it, not knowing
if I'd like the fire department. But

1354
01:40:15.720 --> 01:40:17.279
the one thing I was more scared
of than anything was being a loser.

1355
01:40:18.199 --> 01:40:20.720
I don't want to be a loser. And I thought this job was stable

1356
01:40:21.479 --> 01:40:26.560
and I would enjoy being outdoors,
And next thing you know, I'm crawling

1357
01:40:26.600 --> 01:40:32.920
out hallways and it's unbelievable the thrill
that it gave me. So that all

1358
01:40:33.000 --> 01:40:35.680
the things I wanted to be when
I was little, I grew up and

1359
01:40:35.720 --> 01:40:40.439
I actually could be an adventurer.
Do you feel like an adventurer right?

1360
01:40:40.560 --> 01:40:48.399
I mean, there ain't the first
grab I made. I remember it's a

1361
01:40:48.479 --> 01:40:53.920
Brownstone. I go in real quick, make a right. I feel like,

1362
01:40:54.119 --> 01:40:56.520
is this a foot? I saw
feeling the foot. All of a

1363
01:40:56.560 --> 01:41:06.960
sudden, the man grabbed my arm. I think I screamed, and so

1364
01:41:08.079 --> 01:41:11.800
I went to grab him. I
didn't have my thumblets in and so my

1365
01:41:11.880 --> 01:41:17.640
sleeves and I started burning my wrists. And uh, Chris was I think

1366
01:41:17.640 --> 01:41:21.800
of Chris's last name. He's a
in two fifty, might be a captain

1367
01:41:21.840 --> 01:41:28.159
out played football. What's Chris's name? Chris Bagnola was a camn Chris is

1368
01:41:28.279 --> 01:41:32.439
huge, and we got to person
out. And I mean, but that

1369
01:41:33.199 --> 01:41:40.840
intensity of I went from because when
you hear when when you hear that build

1370
01:41:40.880 --> 01:41:47.680
up multiple calls people, you have
no idea like that, that feeling,

1371
01:41:47.720 --> 01:41:50.560
and it's like, okay, it's
on me, and again it's on me.

1372
01:41:51.319 --> 01:41:56.960
We all have a fight or flight
reflex, so we pretty much are

1373
01:41:57.039 --> 01:42:00.640
working with fighters. Most people most
fire fight as a fighter and not fleeing.

1374
01:42:01.600 --> 01:42:04.399
So you have all this built up
energy and you get to express it

1375
01:42:04.640 --> 01:42:09.960
by helping people. It's pretty dope. It it's amazing. And so I

1376
01:42:10.159 --> 01:42:15.399
got this adrenaline and then I'm scared
shitless, and then you get the gratification

1377
01:42:15.399 --> 01:42:18.079
of saving someone's life. And my
son had just asked me, has anyone

1378
01:42:18.159 --> 01:42:21.239
ever come by and congratulation. I
was like no, I said, but

1379
01:42:21.399 --> 01:42:27.159
you know that's not what we do
with And like I said, when I

1380
01:42:27.239 --> 01:42:30.680
saw my dad had a Class three, a's all, I was like,

1381
01:42:30.960 --> 01:42:35.199
I have nothing listening, had nothing
to complain about. Um what I see

1382
01:42:35.279 --> 01:42:40.680
that he has. Like I was
at a Rescue three ceremony and this old

1383
01:42:40.760 --> 01:42:44.439
timer comes up in the walker.
He was like, sweet, that's your

1384
01:42:45.600 --> 01:42:46.960
No, shit, that's your his
nephew. I was like, no,

1385
01:42:47.439 --> 01:42:53.119
that's my father. It's like he
was a gentleman. He's like I worked

1386
01:42:53.119 --> 01:42:58.640
with him the night that MLK was
assassinated and they surrounded the rig and your

1387
01:42:58.680 --> 01:43:03.239
father got off and talked of people
and they just left and saw him operated

1388
01:43:04.039 --> 01:43:10.960
that fire. That's crazy. I've
heard so many stories of him, like

1389
01:43:11.279 --> 01:43:15.640
great stories. For instance, like
it was a stag party. They're playing

1390
01:43:15.680 --> 01:43:17.439
cards, they had the girls there
and the guy gets a little drunk.

1391
01:43:17.560 --> 01:43:24.520
Now he just robes himself in front
of the girl, Yeppie, and wants

1392
01:43:24.560 --> 01:43:27.600
her to do something. My father
grabbed the girls and took them out.

1393
01:43:28.720 --> 01:43:31.079
This is like in the sixties.
In sixties when eight, you know,

1394
01:43:31.159 --> 01:43:35.720
they didn't treat that. We weren't
always treated as equals in the job,

1395
01:43:35.840 --> 01:43:39.680
just like the country. It's a
Michael Cosm. The job is a Michael

1396
01:43:39.720 --> 01:43:44.960
Cosmo society. So we have to
manage the way some of my father managed

1397
01:43:45.000 --> 01:43:49.119
in society. He managed in the
fire department. So that I can hear

1398
01:43:49.239 --> 01:43:56.920
his name ring out with respect.
Sounds like a man with incredible integrity and

1399
01:43:57.000 --> 01:44:00.279
morals, very integress. Yeah,
he's very integress man. Yeah, I

1400
01:44:00.319 --> 01:44:02.720
think he'd be. I think he'd
be extremely proud of your career. Man,

1401
01:44:02.800 --> 01:44:05.840
it's had a great career, Craig, Really it was. It was

1402
01:44:05.920 --> 01:44:11.399
a blast. It was guys are
asking why you packed it in some of

1403
01:44:11.399 --> 01:44:16.760
you guys, I mean, sorry, what happened? Uh? Well,

1404
01:44:16.800 --> 01:44:21.640
I said I was gonna do thirty
years because my friend Aaron Martin told me

1405
01:44:21.640 --> 01:44:27.680
about the service he had read on
Aaron Martin was in rescue four and he

1406
01:44:27.800 --> 01:44:30.600
read a thing it was in fire
engineering and said, if you retire by

1407
01:44:30.680 --> 01:44:35.119
fifty five and you're in the fire
service, you'll live to be like eighty.

1408
01:44:35.199 --> 01:44:41.279
Maybe nowadays if you retire after that, you'll live to back seventy something.

1409
01:44:42.760 --> 01:44:45.560
And when I initially got into jobs, so I'm gonna do thirty years

1410
01:44:45.600 --> 01:44:50.079
and thirty truck. But I wanted
to see the world. So once thirty

1411
01:44:50.199 --> 01:44:55.520
hit, I was beat up anyway, I um, I had a couple

1412
01:44:55.560 --> 01:45:00.840
of injuries. You know, we
play hurt for a long time and then

1413
01:45:00.880 --> 01:45:02.680
it comes a time where you have
to tap out. We have to I

1414
01:45:03.079 --> 01:45:10.920
didn't. I didn't do uh like
duty until twenty five years and I had

1415
01:45:11.239 --> 01:45:15.119
back in thirty truck. I remember
John Tobin, he was in twenty trucks.

1416
01:45:15.119 --> 01:45:20.039
Saved my life. It was a
vacant, isolated, vacant on edgecomb.

1417
01:45:20.920 --> 01:45:24.479
I had the roof and it was
a fire like an abasement. I

1418
01:45:24.560 --> 01:45:29.039
took the stick up, did a
perimeter. We used to have to take

1419
01:45:29.079 --> 01:45:33.199
the fire escape and check the line
via the fire escape, but I said,

1420
01:45:33.199 --> 01:45:35.840
since it's an abasement, I'm gonna
take the bulkhead and take the doors.

1421
01:45:36.000 --> 01:45:40.720
I'm not gonna take this rickety fire
escape. As soon as I stepped

1422
01:45:40.800 --> 01:45:46.319
into the bulkhead, the marbled,
the plates had rusted, and I started

1423
01:45:46.560 --> 01:45:53.840
falling and I got I caught them
banister. Now I'm hanging on the banister

1424
01:45:54.479 --> 01:45:59.720
and I hear a pancaking down ka
boom boom. I'm just dangling there and

1425
01:45:59.800 --> 01:46:03.600
all of a sudden, I feel
this boom lifts me up like a mother.

1426
01:46:04.640 --> 01:46:12.000
Dude, just like that John Tobin
And whenever I see him and said,

1427
01:46:12.000 --> 01:46:15.199
you saved my life. And he's
very humble too. He's like his

1428
01:46:15.399 --> 01:46:19.800
daughter plays on my on my daughter's
flat football team. That's and that's again

1429
01:46:19.880 --> 01:46:21.960
that's why I work out. I
couldn't do that. I would have to

1430
01:46:23.079 --> 01:46:34.199
lash him, and he just plucked
me off man and you work with him.

1431
01:46:34.600 --> 01:46:38.399
That's amazing stuff when you work with
cats who can do stuff like that.

1432
01:46:38.840 --> 01:46:44.399
Yeah. Um, even reading Metal
Days, I remember reading Pritchards.

1433
01:46:45.119 --> 01:46:48.199
Oh my god, but the one
that got me so oh, here's my

1434
01:46:48.319 --> 01:46:55.720
DJ story. I was why one
truck was supposed to do I guess Metal

1435
01:46:55.840 --> 01:47:00.640
Day, but something happened. They
had fire in their kitchen again. Um,

1436
01:47:01.520 --> 01:47:04.279
so they asked us and one of
the guys like, hey, you

1437
01:47:04.359 --> 01:47:08.880
said you're DJ, right, I'm
like yes, uh, and my father's

1438
01:47:08.960 --> 01:47:12.239
there. My father introduced me to
this guy. He's like, I don't

1439
01:47:12.279 --> 01:47:14.239
know. Anybody's like, yeah,
this is a chief. Um, this

1440
01:47:14.439 --> 01:47:16.279
is uh, this is Chief Tom
Neary. This is my good friend.

1441
01:47:17.119 --> 01:47:19.199
You know. I'm like, okay, okay, Chief, you know,

1442
01:47:19.239 --> 01:47:24.279
I don't know anything. And then
I read these stories about how he took

1443
01:47:24.319 --> 01:47:28.640
that Halligan on the door. I
made a shield, walk down the hallway

1444
01:47:28.640 --> 01:47:30.159
and made a graph. I'm like, come on, I want to do

1445
01:47:30.279 --> 01:47:34.920
that. And I'm playing l so
I have these these all these people my

1446
01:47:35.039 --> 01:47:41.399
dad did and they I turned the
speakers on. All I have with house

1447
01:47:41.560 --> 01:47:45.279
music. I'm a house DJ.
These guys were looking at me and you

1448
01:47:45.399 --> 01:48:02.680
were going to strangle me. Yeah, Bennett, you have sorry, but

1449
01:48:02.840 --> 01:48:08.039
I did. I did Metal Date
twenty seventeen and it was a great day

1450
01:48:09.199 --> 01:48:11.880
and I ended up with South South
Bronx and they loved it. It was

1451
01:48:11.960 --> 01:48:15.199
great. But it was just amazing
to think of the way they were looking

1452
01:48:15.199 --> 01:48:19.600
at me. I'm talking about I
had that that that Greenwich village house.

1453
01:48:20.079 --> 01:48:24.880
They were not feeling it at all. They were bumping. It's what you're

1454
01:48:24.880 --> 01:48:36.239
saying, no, no, what
everybody's got a dj CT. That's simple

1455
01:48:36.239 --> 01:48:41.760
because no one says tweet right,
So well, I say on your Facebook

1456
01:48:41.800 --> 01:48:44.479
page. Every once in a while, I used to go live I don't

1457
01:48:44.520 --> 01:48:45.920
know I did that. That was
my pandemic. That's how I was when

1458
01:48:45.960 --> 01:48:48.760
I was healing with my Yeah,
dude, when he was doing the live

1459
01:48:49.199 --> 01:48:51.239
I would just like, you know, every once in a while, I'd

1460
01:48:51.239 --> 01:48:54.399
be strolling through there and it would
be live next thing. I know.

1461
01:48:54.520 --> 01:48:59.399
I'm like, you know, I'm
like like being next thing. I know,

1462
01:48:59.560 --> 01:49:00.760
like you know, like you know, back in the day in the

1463
01:49:00.840 --> 01:49:09.199
eighties, right cool. So I
had to finally, uh said something about

1464
01:49:09.239 --> 01:49:15.079
the hospital fire or something that fire. The fire that I tapped out that

1465
01:49:15.239 --> 01:49:19.159
happens a shot was um when uh
what's his name from Rescue one made the

1466
01:49:19.239 --> 01:49:30.800
rope rescue Jimmy from from where Rescue
one he rescued the old man from the

1467
01:49:30.880 --> 01:49:35.560
rear. The whole building top floor
was on fire. Um, Jimmy last

1468
01:49:35.600 --> 01:49:39.439
game. Sorry forgot somebody in the
chattel put it up there. I can't

1469
01:49:39.479 --> 01:49:44.840
remember any Yeah. Um, that's
the night, Lord Lloyd, Yes,

1470
01:49:46.640 --> 01:49:53.520
that particular picture that night. When
the that alarm came in, I sighed

1471
01:49:53.560 --> 01:49:56.399
and like, I don't want to
do this anymore. And I realized that

1472
01:49:56.520 --> 01:50:00.079
I was done. Um, And
which is a blessing because someone told oh,

1473
01:50:00.079 --> 01:50:02.359
I mean has several people tell me, get out when you're ready.

1474
01:50:02.439 --> 01:50:05.560
Don't get out before, because if
I got out before, I'd be I

1475
01:50:05.720 --> 01:50:11.359
would miss you would regret it.
And not that I wasn't effective at the

1476
01:50:11.439 --> 01:50:14.479
fire, but I just was tied. I was like, okay, because

1477
01:50:14.840 --> 01:50:18.039
yo, three o'clock in the morning, turn out and I was driving a

1478
01:50:18.119 --> 01:50:24.760
rig by myself with waves. Oh
yeah, that's a big rick. D

1479
01:50:26.079 --> 01:50:31.319
wait from rescue one late yes,
jim Lee, m um. Yeah.

1480
01:50:31.760 --> 01:50:36.079
So that particular fire I had,
I was in Squad forty one. I

1481
01:50:36.159 --> 01:50:39.760
had the roof, so I see
the buildings. I'm fire. I gotta

1482
01:50:39.800 --> 01:50:44.439
take the adjoining. I go into
the four side to go up. I

1483
01:50:44.600 --> 01:50:50.359
look, I'm like, oh the
smoke. Force the door. I make

1484
01:50:50.399 --> 01:50:55.039
a report. You know, Squad
forty one roof to command, you have

1485
01:50:55.119 --> 01:51:00.520
a fire in the first floor of
exposure four. I search out. Everything's

1486
01:51:00.520 --> 01:51:03.920
big again because now I'm searching by
myself in the building by myself. That's

1487
01:51:03.920 --> 01:51:09.119
the only thing bad about to act. Yeah, why wasn't intacting? I

1488
01:51:09.159 --> 01:51:15.520
wasn't Square forty one. This is
why the medical got hurt right and checked

1489
01:51:15.600 --> 01:51:19.039
it. Close the door, go
to the rid that one was on fire.

1490
01:51:19.720 --> 01:51:26.159
Boom search it again. I searched
four apartments before. I never made

1491
01:51:26.159 --> 01:51:30.399
it to the roof because it was
in the shaft. All the apartments were

1492
01:51:30.439 --> 01:51:35.159
on fire and I was taught never
to pass fire and there could have been

1493
01:51:35.199 --> 01:51:38.359
people in there, so I just
made it. It didn't need me too.

1494
01:51:38.399 --> 01:51:44.600
They were already executing that rope rescue. It was really pandemonium. And

1495
01:51:44.640 --> 01:51:50.600
I remember the guy from he was
from fifty Engine. I'm in the hallway

1496
01:51:50.680 --> 01:51:54.720
just hanging on my hook and he's
like, come on three, help us

1497
01:51:54.760 --> 01:51:58.960
with the line. Looking at it. I literally look at him. It

1498
01:51:59.039 --> 01:52:05.399
was like last fire and that was
in the Bronx and that's when I fell

1499
01:52:05.439 --> 01:52:11.079
over the fence. The fence let
go and I had the video of that

1500
01:52:11.199 --> 01:52:15.279
fire as well, and you see
me on the roof on the firewall and

1501
01:52:15.399 --> 01:52:17.960
I was shot. I took my
helmet off, put it and I just

1502
01:52:18.439 --> 01:52:23.960
And the thing about it is,
I think it was more mental than physical

1503
01:52:25.560 --> 01:52:28.840
because I had just dealt with my
mom. She had dementia and we took

1504
01:52:28.880 --> 01:52:32.039
care of her for three years,
and I wanted to enjoy another chapter in

1505
01:52:32.199 --> 01:52:35.079
my life. I remember when you
were going through that act. This job

1506
01:52:36.039 --> 01:52:42.079
number one held my hand through the
whole thing. They gave me a lot

1507
01:52:42.119 --> 01:52:47.000
of courtesies through the whole thing,
and just psychologically, I was ready to

1508
01:52:47.119 --> 01:52:53.000
move on and just enjoy because life
is short. And I did thirty years.

1509
01:52:53.079 --> 01:52:57.520
I was like, you know,
and I'm fifty what was I fifty

1510
01:52:57.680 --> 01:53:02.279
six of fifty seven? Something like? It was time and you know,

1511
01:53:02.399 --> 01:53:05.439
my ego, that's one of the
hardest things to do is when you're sitting

1512
01:53:05.439 --> 01:53:10.760
in front of the board. Yeah, I can't do it anymore. Right,

1513
01:53:12.680 --> 01:53:15.319
Oh you could say, oh no, I could do another ten for

1514
01:53:15.399 --> 01:53:18.800
me, it wouldn't have been another
ten anyway, because I was you only

1515
01:53:18.840 --> 01:53:21.439
had a couple more to go anyway. Yeah, it was twenty seven when

1516
01:53:21.479 --> 01:53:27.560
I got on, So it was
time. I felt. I just felt

1517
01:53:27.560 --> 01:53:30.000
it was time, and I was
very I felt very blessed. God,

1518
01:53:30.399 --> 01:53:31.840
He's blessed. Look at the family
he's got over here. You got a

1519
01:53:31.880 --> 01:53:36.399
picture of his family that ladies,
Yeah, just get right here. That's

1520
01:53:36.439 --> 01:53:42.720
my beautiful wife, Victoria and Morgan, beautiful family, Christon and Jasmine.

1521
01:53:43.000 --> 01:53:47.119
Jasmine's violder. She got the softy
helmet, nice. Morgan got the sweet

1522
01:53:47.239 --> 01:53:49.600
leather one, and Christen got the
plant. I look at that one.

1523
01:53:49.680 --> 01:53:54.760
Now it looks like Denzel in that
one. Bro. Oh yeah right,

1524
01:53:55.000 --> 01:54:00.720
tell him, Craig, tell him, we all look alike. How I

1525
01:54:00.800 --> 01:54:04.279
say, I have to say,
but you do look like you look like

1526
01:54:04.359 --> 01:54:10.680
the shaddle guy. Bro. No, he doesn't know a little bit.

1527
01:54:10.800 --> 01:54:12.960
If you put a cowboy hat on, maybe, I don't know. Do

1528
01:54:13.039 --> 01:54:15.520
you know the Waco kid? Excuse
me? Do you know the Waco kid?

1529
01:54:16.279 --> 01:54:18.800
No? No, I'm just kidding. It's the guy who's remember emblazing

1530
01:54:18.840 --> 01:54:27.039
Saddles the right hand man Wilson to
see that movie too. Oh my god,

1531
01:54:27.239 --> 01:54:29.640
Oh this is another shout. I
wanted to make those do it?

1532
01:54:30.159 --> 01:54:35.960
Jimmy in um In the Quartermaster at
the Rock. You know he makes miniature

1533
01:54:36.000 --> 01:54:42.119
helmets. I highly recommend people go
to him. He made my helmets look

1534
01:54:42.640 --> 01:54:46.520
like hold on, let me grab
grab it. My face hurts. Man.

1535
01:54:46.560 --> 01:54:49.279
I'm so glad we got him on
the computer and not the phone.

1536
01:54:49.600 --> 01:54:53.079
Yeah, it would have been a
little challenging. I think with a computer

1537
01:54:53.279 --> 01:54:59.840
this is way better. So this
is a miniature. Where's a camera.

1538
01:55:00.279 --> 01:55:02.239
This is a miniature of the one
that got cut. I look, get

1539
01:55:02.239 --> 01:55:09.119
that and he made it exact.
He makes it. It's got the cut

1540
01:55:09.840 --> 01:55:13.439
he got the he made the cut, he made the leather color of the

1541
01:55:13.560 --> 01:55:17.880
cut. Um, then this is
the other leather one I have. He

1542
01:55:17.960 --> 01:55:24.119
even has see the wire. Yeah
yeah, yeah, wow, that's a

1543
01:55:24.199 --> 01:55:29.279
good word. Who is this,
Jimmy? He does the Um, he's

1544
01:55:29.319 --> 01:55:31.800
still there, He's still there.
I gotta find out if the rock if

1545
01:55:31.840 --> 01:55:35.039
you go to Quartermaster Rock next to
the library, and then we'll sell them.

1546
01:55:35.640 --> 01:55:39.760
Getting salty paddle, Dude, that's
pretty cool, man. Look at

1547
01:55:39.800 --> 01:55:43.760
the little he's got the light on
it too. Dude, he's pretty What

1548
01:55:43.920 --> 01:55:45.439
do you use that for? Like
a little Christmas on him in or something?

1549
01:55:45.439 --> 01:55:47.640
What do you got? Yeah?
I have. I just have him

1550
01:55:47.680 --> 01:55:53.439
near my kids pictures, each helmet
for each child. I call him kids.

1551
01:55:53.520 --> 01:55:59.920
My daughters are beautiful young ladies.
But I have my dad's helmet from

1552
01:56:00.319 --> 01:56:02.520
one of his helmets from twenty eight's
one of the old molded ones. I

1553
01:56:02.640 --> 01:56:06.279
got my father's too. Yeah,
so I realized how precious those are,

1554
01:56:06.399 --> 01:56:12.239
especially um once they passed. My
cousin has one of his helmets as well.

1555
01:56:13.039 --> 01:56:15.319
My cousin Pete. I think I
had a picture of my cousin Pete

1556
01:56:15.840 --> 01:56:21.319
because twenty eight truck a little over
a year in quarters with us. This

1557
01:56:21.520 --> 01:56:26.560
is the night that I met the
guy from one thirteen. He was like,

1558
01:56:26.640 --> 01:56:30.720
this is just like our firehouse.
I was like, wow, you

1559
01:56:30.840 --> 01:56:33.279
know. And then I'm telling you
they were running like number three, number

1560
01:56:33.359 --> 01:56:38.119
two, number one in the city
for a good stretch and they're always up

1561
01:56:38.159 --> 01:56:41.960
there and they do great. I
was gonna say, what you're smoking?

1562
01:56:43.359 --> 01:56:54.640
That's what that was a rum twist
o nights we have any more? We

1563
01:56:54.760 --> 01:57:00.039
have a we have a few we
have are we got this one from Rescue

1564
01:57:00.079 --> 01:57:05.760
three. That's the day I caught
my helmet. Who's the young guy in

1565
01:57:05.800 --> 01:57:11.399
the back? Young that is Cinderella's
sun? All right, oh, very

1566
01:57:11.479 --> 01:57:14.319
nice, good officer. He was
really good. He was super calm.

1567
01:57:14.840 --> 01:57:19.079
Yeah, super calm. You got
your middle day day. It was a

1568
01:57:19.159 --> 01:57:21.880
cowboy in the front making it.
Yeah, come on, who's gonna have

1569
01:57:21.960 --> 01:57:25.680
look at it? Look at the
stuff. He's got a rack he's got

1570
01:57:25.760 --> 01:57:29.000
on. He's leaning a little to
that side too, isn't he. Yeah,

1571
01:57:29.359 --> 01:57:35.079
backs going to go on. Cow
weights on the other side. There

1572
01:57:35.159 --> 01:57:40.239
he is. That was at the
Halem explosion gas explosion. Yes, the

1573
01:57:40.359 --> 01:57:43.279
train that was on video coops.
Why do they got on that tire?

1574
01:57:43.359 --> 01:57:48.840
Over there. Oh the dollars.
Um, they are all the toe truck

1575
01:57:48.920 --> 01:57:53.479
dollys. But I forget what the
what the actual term is something jack?

1576
01:57:53.880 --> 01:57:56.600
Yeah, you can move that.
You can move the car with Yeah.

1577
01:57:57.920 --> 01:58:00.279
Got these guys. Hey, there
you go a little. He's my class.

1578
01:58:02.319 --> 01:58:09.079
All three of them are still working
too. I gotta go fishing or

1579
01:58:09.119 --> 01:58:12.399
something. Man, Come on,
come on, Ryan, get out already.

1580
01:58:13.359 --> 01:58:15.079
Those are the brothers of Sock.
That was for a Black History month

1581
01:58:15.199 --> 01:58:21.680
for I think the FireWire or something. That's my boy the al Yeah,

1582
01:58:24.079 --> 01:58:28.000
that's a great shot. Man.
Where is this taken? Rescue four?

1583
01:58:28.840 --> 01:58:32.399
I never heard of it. You
get these guys, this is your last

1584
01:58:32.439 --> 01:58:35.439
tour. Yeah, that was my
last night. My son spent the night.

1585
01:58:36.840 --> 01:58:40.840
He thought. He was so excited. He did the housewatch with me

1586
01:58:42.560 --> 01:58:45.760
and um, I think there was
a multiple long but I was by then.

1587
01:58:45.800 --> 01:58:49.039
I was a tool messenger, which
was pretty nice because oh, I

1588
01:58:49.159 --> 01:58:57.720
know about everybody. Oh I know
about the tool messenger. Yeah, I

1589
01:58:57.840 --> 01:59:02.560
believe this is the last one.
Thirty truck kind of what your zoo get?

1590
01:59:02.600 --> 01:59:04.439
Take a quick scan and me get
a thirty truck. If you guys

1591
01:59:04.479 --> 01:59:09.359
want to see the old truck.
Look at that we had. I was

1592
01:59:09.439 --> 01:59:12.479
on that rig briefly. Then we
had a spare with the phone booth,

1593
01:59:13.079 --> 01:59:16.520
and then we ended up getting a
thirty eight trucks old rig and thirty eight

1594
01:59:16.600 --> 01:59:24.680
truck got the one hundred and ten
footer the LPI um So. But this

1595
01:59:24.880 --> 01:59:27.880
rig, that lt I was garbage, right, Yeah, it was.

1596
01:59:28.159 --> 01:59:31.640
It was so uncomfortable. Yeah,
I think UM four truck had one too.

1597
01:59:32.920 --> 01:59:38.880
Things are called the god Jacks Jack
Jacks, right, that's the African

1598
01:59:38.920 --> 01:59:43.359
American Day Parade. I was with
the ceremonial Unit. Yeah, I would.

1599
01:59:44.239 --> 01:59:48.159
I gotta give Joe the point,
nah, because he really you know

1600
01:59:48.279 --> 01:59:54.720
again, the beginning of my career
was the biggest impact was that that funeral

1601
01:59:54.760 --> 01:59:59.520
of my father with everyone down there. Because back then old time was a

1602
01:59:59.600 --> 02:00:02.920
pass way, no one recognize them, and now the ceremonial Unit will send

1603
02:00:03.000 --> 02:00:08.159
someone there. I've seen a lot
of sad funerals, especially up in Harlem,

1604
02:00:08.279 --> 02:00:11.840
where the guys dying is just a
couple of old dudes. And now

1605
02:00:12.159 --> 02:00:15.600
the ceremonial unit will take care.
That's great. Tires everyone who's sick.

1606
02:00:15.760 --> 02:00:20.640
It's just that was another great thing
that, I mean, one of the

1607
02:00:21.239 --> 02:00:25.039
great things that came out of nine
eleven. Unfortunately, right, is that

1608
02:00:25.760 --> 02:00:29.159
those guys that's the ceremonial unit.
You work with the ceremonial unit for a

1609
02:00:29.199 --> 02:00:31.279
little while, the right then't you? I did? Yeah? I did

1610
02:00:31.359 --> 02:00:33.199
too. I mean I thought that
was a great thing, you know,

1611
02:00:33.359 --> 02:00:38.000
like setting stuff up, and like
you said, they don't forget. They

1612
02:00:38.079 --> 02:00:41.119
make sure that you know, there's
some guys going to every funeral if they

1613
02:00:41.239 --> 02:00:46.520
know whatever. It's funny. Some
people are are ticked off when they're like,

1614
02:00:46.600 --> 02:00:48.680
hey, you got sunglasses on your
in the front, you gotta take

1615
02:00:48.680 --> 02:00:51.600
them off. Or you got on
white socks, you can't stand in the

1616
02:00:51.720 --> 02:00:57.119
front. It's all about representation.
It's all about presentation. And we're doing

1617
02:00:57.159 --> 02:01:00.760
this for the family who lost their
Like I said, if you've never been

1618
02:01:00.800 --> 02:01:03.560
on that bus, you don't know
what it's like. And we need to

1619
02:01:03.640 --> 02:01:09.359
represent as best we can when especially
we're honoring our families when we're away on

1620
02:01:09.520 --> 02:01:17.000
Christmas, Thanksgiving we're in the firehouse
eating turkey hotdogs. You know, we

1621
02:01:17.159 --> 02:01:20.279
have to let off the families know
that it wasn't for nothing. So Craig,

1622
02:01:20.359 --> 02:01:26.640
there was nothing better from going to
those things, which was such an

1623
02:01:26.680 --> 02:01:30.800
awful situation than being at the end
of the line and watching the family.

1624
02:01:31.199 --> 02:01:35.399
Still you could see it in their
face. They could not believe how long

1625
02:01:35.960 --> 02:01:40.319
it was going. Right, Like
they're looking at the limo, or they're

1626
02:01:40.319 --> 02:01:42.680
looking at the bus, or the
families looking at the bus. Right,

1627
02:01:42.720 --> 02:01:45.279
you're everybody's looking straight. Yeah,
but as they go by, you could

1628
02:01:45.319 --> 02:01:48.039
see their face. Yes, and
that's the truth, right, you can't.

1629
02:01:48.119 --> 02:01:54.000
You could tell that they're like,
they cannot believe that what we're doing.

1630
02:01:54.119 --> 02:01:58.720
And then everybody in the looking It's
amazing. Everyone in the bus is

1631
02:01:58.760 --> 02:02:03.600
looking out at the alliance because it
is something you know, and hopefully no

1632
02:02:03.680 --> 02:02:06.399
one has to go through that.
But I really have to look back.

1633
02:02:06.960 --> 02:02:10.319
If I went to five truck,
how many times I would have gone,

1634
02:02:10.319 --> 02:02:13.600
oh my gosh. Yeah, Bobby
Potchell was one seventeen guy. He was

1635
02:02:13.640 --> 02:02:15.039
a big guy to twenty five guy. He was in the ceremony in a

1636
02:02:15.159 --> 02:02:18.880
unit too. Patty Lee was saying, and that's another reason why I really

1637
02:02:19.600 --> 02:02:24.000
I felt blessed to being busy companies. But I never would look down on

1638
02:02:24.039 --> 02:02:26.760
a company that's slower. The only
thing I ever looked down on is if

1639
02:02:26.800 --> 02:02:30.920
your attitude is like you're not into
it, then that's a problem, you

1640
02:02:30.960 --> 02:02:32.720
know, because I remember we had
a one thirteen. We had a cover

1641
02:02:32.840 --> 02:02:38.640
in. Captain didn't do roll call, shut the door. He was in

1642
02:02:38.720 --> 02:02:44.680
there building a ship in a bottle, did you not? Right? So

1643
02:02:45.239 --> 02:02:47.039
now they turn off the long lights. This guy can't get out of the

1644
02:02:47.119 --> 02:02:55.039
office. He finds a phone and
calls a dispatcher because you imagine the incompetence.

1645
02:02:56.479 --> 02:03:00.479
This guy was on one thirteen right
to leave men and he was one

1646
02:03:00.520 --> 02:03:06.039
of those ten point mass inspectors.
You know, Yeah, that's what happens.

1647
02:03:06.159 --> 02:03:10.159
That's what happened. Well, you
can shake that. I don't care.

1648
02:03:10.640 --> 02:03:15.079
I don't care away from because I've
seen guys in busy companies who fall

1649
02:03:15.199 --> 02:03:18.199
short because they're they're they're front and
it's not you can't front. This job

1650
02:03:18.279 --> 02:03:24.279
will sift you out, it will
humble you. And I think that's the

1651
02:03:24.359 --> 02:03:26.680
best thing about it is. I
was just gonna say that, Craig,

1652
02:03:26.840 --> 02:03:30.279
that is the best thing about the
job is you know, like you said,

1653
02:03:30.199 --> 02:03:32.920
you know, if it's something else, you're gonna find that out anyway.

1654
02:03:33.000 --> 02:03:36.239
But the bottom line is we all
depend on each other and you cannot

1655
02:03:36.279 --> 02:03:40.600
have You're only as good as the
weakest link, and you have to shake

1656
02:03:40.640 --> 02:03:43.640
out the weak link if it's If
it's really a weak link, right,

1657
02:03:43.720 --> 02:03:47.079
I'm not talking about other bullshit.
I'm talking about it. If it's right,

1658
02:03:47.319 --> 02:03:51.359
you have to shake it out.
There's no doubt about it. I

1659
02:03:51.520 --> 02:03:56.239
hope that still is the case.
I don't know if that's always the case,

1660
02:03:56.479 --> 02:03:59.159
but I think it will always be
the case. The job is just

1661
02:03:59.319 --> 02:04:04.560
inherently again, it sifts you out. And when I taught at the Academy,

1662
02:04:04.720 --> 02:04:11.119
it was awesome because and I taught
the first it was a priority higher

1663
02:04:11.159 --> 02:04:15.840
class. It was the first list
of the priory higher class. And I

1664
02:04:15.880 --> 02:04:20.039
remember some people trying to discourage me
from being in the class, like,

1665
02:04:20.039 --> 02:04:23.199
Oh, you're gonna get jammed up. They're gonna jam you up. I'm

1666
02:04:23.239 --> 02:04:26.439
like, I'm not gonna jam me
up. I said, my goal is

1667
02:04:26.479 --> 02:04:30.119
to teach with integrity, and that's
what I tried to do. I tried

1668
02:04:30.199 --> 02:04:35.000
to teach all the students with integrity. And if there was an African American

1669
02:04:35.760 --> 02:04:39.760
kid will come up and want to
talk to me, I can definitely talk

1670
02:04:39.800 --> 02:04:43.680
to you about your assignment. Do
you know what you're doing? If you're

1671
02:04:43.680 --> 02:04:45.039
having issues, I can talk to
you about how to deal with the issues,

1672
02:04:46.279 --> 02:04:49.680
advice, where to go, who
to talk to, and in doing

1673
02:04:49.760 --> 02:04:53.319
that, I thought I was doing
the right thing. There were people who

1674
02:04:53.399 --> 02:04:59.079
complaining about that, saying it was
coddling the ProBiS and that's like, that's

1675
02:04:59.119 --> 02:05:02.079
someone who doesn't know me. Unfortunate
people who knew me stood up for me

1676
02:05:02.119 --> 02:05:05.640
and said, no, he's not
that way. Um, that's not the

1677
02:05:05.760 --> 02:05:11.840
lineage, you know. So you
know that my job is to make sure

1678
02:05:11.880 --> 02:05:15.079
everyone gets out alive. And when
I again, I was the only black

1679
02:05:15.159 --> 02:05:19.079
guy in probi school. And when
I was when someone came to me and

1680
02:05:19.079 --> 02:05:21.279
said, oh, you're gonna be
the physical Fitness Award win, I was

1681
02:05:21.319 --> 02:05:26.920
like, now I'm gonna be the
validictorian. I was neither. But I

1682
02:05:28.720 --> 02:05:33.399
mean, and but to assume that
is wrong, But I get it.

1683
02:05:33.600 --> 02:05:38.079
I get it. And my job
was suggest be proficient. Well, you

1684
02:05:38.159 --> 02:05:40.760
know what, that's the that's good. Coop says that all the time.

1685
02:05:40.840 --> 02:05:43.600
Man, he loves when somebody says
he's too short to do something or he's

1686
02:05:43.600 --> 02:05:45.760
too this to do something, that
that I'm gonna prove you wrong. I'm

1687
02:05:45.800 --> 02:05:47.760
gonna stick it right up your ass, you know what I mean. Like,

1688
02:05:47.880 --> 02:05:53.920
that's that's my bread and butter.
Something or tell me I'm gonna be

1689
02:05:54.039 --> 02:05:59.000
something or can't be something. That's
that's where you should get the possess to

1690
02:05:59.680 --> 02:06:02.560
do right. And I had to
think Pat Tracy, he was captain of

1691
02:06:02.640 --> 02:06:08.279
a thirty two truck at the time, but he was doing I guess personnel

1692
02:06:08.319 --> 02:06:13.439
at the rock. He got me
to come, and it says a lot

1693
02:06:13.479 --> 02:06:16.600
when someone's likes your work ethic.
That's what he said. I liked where

1694
02:06:16.600 --> 02:06:20.319
you work. I like how you
approach things, and I want to pass

1695
02:06:20.359 --> 02:06:27.199
that on because it you can enjoy
the job more. If you're feel comfortable

1696
02:06:27.359 --> 02:06:30.680
at a fire. That's the worst
feeling when you feel like I don't know

1697
02:06:30.760 --> 02:06:33.880
what I'm doing. And I even
had that in three. It was a

1698
02:06:33.960 --> 02:06:38.800
time. You have to drill all
the time. If you get no matter

1699
02:06:38.960 --> 02:06:41.760
when where you are in your career, you have to drill. And we

1700
02:06:41.840 --> 02:06:46.520
had a rope job and I wasn't
drilling enough, and I remember I had

1701
02:06:46.560 --> 02:06:50.279
the safety took it out, and
I took the safety apart and did something

1702
02:06:50.359 --> 02:06:55.279
and it was slowing it down,
slowing the operation down. And the look

1703
02:06:55.319 --> 02:06:58.960
that the guys had when they looked
at me. The disappointment. I was

1704
02:06:58.960 --> 02:07:01.159
like Jesus Christ, I can't I
have this happening again. You know,

1705
02:07:01.279 --> 02:07:05.760
so we make everything fire improved.
It's ready. I got those clipping in.

1706
02:07:06.560 --> 02:07:10.479
And then when you approach everything like
that, whether it's your gloves,

1707
02:07:10.520 --> 02:07:13.720
whether it's your hood, whether it's
pulling up your pants quickly, if you

1708
02:07:13.960 --> 02:07:16.600
constantly try to improve yourself, to
make yourself better, you can have a

1709
02:07:16.680 --> 02:07:21.439
good career. You can be safer. I think you know, uh,

1710
02:07:23.000 --> 02:07:26.560
awesome, I'll tell you it was
awesome. Dude. You did. You've

1711
02:07:26.600 --> 02:07:29.039
done good. As they say,
chef failed the avenue brother, But I

1712
02:07:29.119 --> 02:07:31.600
think we got one more thing.
Oh that is right. You know what

1713
02:07:31.680 --> 02:07:40.760
we got count You know, you
know you're ready to do it. It's

1714
02:07:40.840 --> 02:07:46.760
time for the old school. Oh
good day. We're not saying you're old.

1715
02:07:46.840 --> 02:07:50.279
It's just an old school tip that
referred to your rage. Tell that

1716
02:07:50.359 --> 02:07:57.720
to my knees. Anyway, I
had a fire. I was detailed the

1717
02:07:57.760 --> 02:08:01.199
sixty nine engine. Knew nothing about
the end the gym. We're standing fast.

1718
02:08:01.520 --> 02:08:05.479
It was just like maybe an edgecomb. It was always fire as an

1719
02:08:05.560 --> 02:08:11.279
edgecomb back then. Now it's super
expensive. But this particular tenement. People

1720
02:08:11.359 --> 02:08:15.359
coming down the fire escapes, and
you could see the fire rolling behind the

1721
02:08:15.479 --> 02:08:18.239
window, and a woman was hanging
on the fire escape and was scared to

1722
02:08:18.359 --> 02:08:22.760
move. So now it's a law
jam right in front of the fire.

1723
02:08:22.359 --> 02:08:26.840
And again I was like, on
probation, I'm looking, and I didn't

1724
02:08:26.880 --> 02:08:33.279
say anything, and nothing happened.
But what I should have done is suggested,

1725
02:08:33.399 --> 02:08:37.159
hey, we should have a hose
right here for a water curtain in

1726
02:08:37.199 --> 02:08:41.279
case that window breaks, because those
people would have been roasted. So even

1727
02:08:41.359 --> 02:08:45.439
when you you know, I'm a
pro but you have We're talking the sixteenth

1728
02:08:45.479 --> 02:08:50.640
Battalion thorough Firefighters. But sometimes things
get overlooked. And if you see something,

1729
02:08:50.680 --> 02:08:54.119
I don't care if you're a probi
or the oldest guy, just say

1730
02:08:54.239 --> 02:09:00.239
something. Just say something. And
I always look back at that and I

1731
02:09:00.319 --> 02:09:03.600
had and I'm glad nothing happened.
Uh. The other thing, probably the

1732
02:09:03.680 --> 02:09:09.880
biggest thing, my father told me
this model yourself after a firefighter from the

1733
02:09:11.000 --> 02:09:16.239
firefloor back to the kitchen, not
the other way. That's pretty much it,

1734
02:09:16.199 --> 02:09:18.720
dude. When you told me that's
the other day, I was like,

1735
02:09:18.880 --> 02:09:24.800
oh my god, that's freaking that's
perfect, because great, that's what

1736
02:09:24.880 --> 02:09:28.079
the job is about. I mean, I don't have to. I don't

1737
02:09:28.119 --> 02:09:30.880
have to like you, but I
like the way you forced that door.

1738
02:09:31.439 --> 02:09:35.000
H. When we get back to
the kitchen, that's a whole different story.

1739
02:09:35.039 --> 02:09:37.720
But if you're like this guy's a
loud mouth, I've seen that.

1740
02:09:39.000 --> 02:09:43.840
I've all seen that loud mouth until
it comes time to pay the piper,

1741
02:09:45.039 --> 02:09:48.840
right, I'm everybody have seen somebody
like that. You know who I'm thinking

1742
02:09:48.880 --> 02:09:52.159
about, right, I got a
couple of guys. I got a few

1743
02:09:52.199 --> 02:09:56.880
guys. But listen, oh,
mister Thweet, I thoroughly enjoyed going over

1744
02:09:56.000 --> 02:10:01.119
your whole career, and uh,
you are a and of integrity yourself.

1745
02:10:01.239 --> 02:10:03.119
And uh, I learned a lot. I learned a lot from this show.

1746
02:10:03.960 --> 02:10:07.560
Um, and I appreciate it exactly. Thank you. I really like

1747
02:10:07.720 --> 02:10:13.359
the show, and uh, continue
success. It's refreshing to watch an episode

1748
02:10:13.399 --> 02:10:18.239
with that an Italian as a guest. Yeah, that's my that's my lieutenant,

1749
02:10:18.279 --> 02:10:24.800
Patty Lee. How can I get
a Brownstone light and a cutter?

1750
02:10:26.359 --> 02:10:28.279
Yeah? Yeah, you definitely want
one of those bad boys. I got

1751
02:10:28.359 --> 02:10:33.119
you, brother, I got you
for sure. All right, So we

1752
02:10:33.199 --> 02:10:37.000
are off again this Monday because it's
the summertime, and we're back on Thursday

1753
02:10:37.079 --> 02:10:43.119
with Louis and I's old lieutenant,
right, Jimmy Leanim, Jimmy Kelly,

1754
02:10:43.159 --> 02:10:48.199
I'm sorry, Kelly Lee whatever,
Sam, Timmy Kelly, you'll rescue one

1755
02:10:48.560 --> 02:10:52.359
cadre. He's coming on next week. And uh again, thank you,

1756
02:10:52.439 --> 02:11:00.039
mister sweet great career. Thank you
for the hot Toddy and uh and I

1757
02:11:00.119 --> 02:11:01.800
want some of the things that you
your dads had really inspired me too.

1758
02:11:01.840 --> 02:11:07.600
I appreciate you sharing us. Thank
you, it was It's nice to recognize

1759
02:11:07.720 --> 02:11:13.800
him. Um, you know,
and keep this going because younger firefighters need

1760
02:11:13.880 --> 02:11:18.880
to hear this stuff and h they'll
they'll take it and they'll they're gonna save

1761
02:11:18.920 --> 02:11:22.319
someone's life like stuff that's shared on
getting salty And we just punched your ticket

1762
02:11:22.359 --> 02:11:26.840
for the boat cruise, fella.
How do you like them apples? So

1763
02:11:28.720 --> 02:11:31.039
yeah, thank you, m yes, thank you. I'll be home.

1764
02:11:31.119 --> 02:11:35.079
Yeah, I'm going to Scout camp
on Sunday for a week. So,

1765
02:11:35.479 --> 02:11:37.279
oh, my wife and Scout camp. Where are you going on, Tiara?

1766
02:11:37.560 --> 02:11:41.680
Oh, she's up there now.
My boys going u for from Sunday

1767
02:11:41.800 --> 02:11:50.199
to Saturday. So it's nice in
the state when you're off and retired.

1768
02:11:50.520 --> 02:12:01.479
Found upon the boy allegedly he got
his shout, No, I don't have

1769
02:12:01.560 --> 02:12:05.640
anything God's anything from you. No, No, I just have a great

1770
02:12:07.239 --> 02:12:09.880
guys enjoyed the summer. Who's ever
done around? Shout out to Al Benjamin

1771
02:12:09.960 --> 02:12:16.439
by the way the show over the
place. He was very influential, very

1772
02:12:16.479 --> 02:12:24.399
influential. A h my one of
my presidents, and I like to thank

1773
02:12:24.479 --> 02:12:28.920
Kylie Baylor because he um he appointed
me first VP of the Vulcan Society.

1774
02:12:28.960 --> 02:12:35.800
I did one term and learning how
the eighth floor works, and I took

1775
02:12:35.840 --> 02:12:39.840
my hats off to all the past
Vulcan presidents. Um. Even today,

1776
02:12:39.880 --> 02:12:48.279
I saw something about Vinny Julius back
in the sixties had the UFA write a

1777
02:12:48.399 --> 02:12:54.159
letter saying that we don't condone hosing
people who protests. And that was a

1778
02:12:54.279 --> 02:12:58.199
Vulcan Society initiative that took place years
ago. So they've always been doing great

1779
02:12:58.279 --> 02:13:03.119
work. I often feel like a
lot of people misunderstan understand the society and

1780
02:13:03.720 --> 02:13:09.479
how it moves. But I'm a
legacy Vulcan number two, and it's it's

1781
02:13:09.520 --> 02:13:13.640
just all the societies. Our goal
is to make the bring new people in,

1782
02:13:13.960 --> 02:13:16.520
make them better, and make the
job better. So we all got

1783
02:13:16.600 --> 02:13:22.199
to continue to do that. Do
it and I like it all right roughns

1784
02:13:22.319 --> 02:13:24.880
mister three again, thank you so
much, Thank you very much, brother.

1785
02:13:26.199 --> 02:13:28.000
Thanks. We got to get We'll
talk to you in the in the

1786
02:13:28.079 --> 02:13:31.600
after show. Don't go anywhere,
Okay, go anywhere, al right,

1787
02:13:31.640 --> 02:13:35.560
guys. We will see you next
Thursday. Until then, stay low and

1788
02:13:35.640 --> 02:13:41.159
go and let's go jets. Oh, people never learn. All right,

1789
02:13:41.159 --> 02:13:43.279
we'll see it the big one,
everybody, all right, guys, have

1790
02:13:43.359 --> 02:13:43.760
a good night.