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DECEMBER, 2012
PAGE 2
December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
COURTESY OF FDNY INCIDENTS
STEVE SOLOMONSON
The Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Dept sustained heavy damage when Hurricane Sandy Rolled in.
Flatlands helps ease the pain Breezy Point Queens of Gerritsen Beach COURTESY OF FDNY INCIDENTS
hit with disastrous six alarm inferno During the height of Hurricane Sandy, the area of Queens known as Breezy Point was hit with a disastrous inferno that flattened what some are stating over 100 homes. The estimate on the number of homes and the dollar value of the losses are unknown at this time, but the fire created utter devastation to the area. Homes were flooded quickly by the surges created by the hurricane. It wasn't long after that that flames erupted in many of the homes. Most of the residents luckily evacuated, as they were located in Flood Zone A. In the coming weeks, officials will have the official death toll, but numbers have been rising for days. The blaze broke out in the late evening hours of October 29 and ravaged homes for hours. Firefighters initially had trouble ac-
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The Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department located on Seba Avenue in Gerritsen Beach took a hard hit when Hurricane Sandy arrived late Sunday night. Almost the entire Gerritsen Beach area was under four or more feet of water, flooding many homes and basements in the area. One of the buildings badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy was
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the Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department's firehouse. A lot of the equipment they used to assist residents and fight fires was ruined by the flood waters. Members of the Flatlands Vol-
unteer Ambulance, a neighboring bolunteer ambulance stepped up and made a significant donation of items that were needed and essential to them. Volunteers helping volunteers. That’s what it is all about said Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance EMT Marlene Sagiv-Bojmal. - STEVE SOLOMONSON
cessing the fire due to the flooded streets and the difficult storm conditions. Many of the hydrants in the area were also submerged in the flooded streets. Firefighters used boats to rescue many residents, who did not evacuate earlier in the day. Approximately 200 firefighters valiantly fought the blaze, with water in some cases up to their necks. Most homes were left with only charred foundations and a small amount of rubble. Officials state the fire may have been caused by a gas line rupture, but it is far too early to give an official cause. - HEATHER PILLSWORTH
Read more stories on our website! www.1rbn.com
STEVE WHITE
Tanker inspected by FDNY On November 2, 2012, FDNY crews inspected a larger tanker ship that ran aground in Staten Island. The ship struck ground at Front and Bay Streets from the strong storm surge.
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
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STEVE SOLOMONSON
Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Dept Lieutenant Michael Castro was just so gratefull with all the donations received by the surrounding communities.
STEVE SOLOMONSON
Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Dept Firefighter EMT Krystal Brenner shows just how high the water line was inside the firehouse.
December, 2012
PAGE 3
Plaque dedication for six of Maspeth’s bravest The Sefu Soap and Fat Company on 56th Road in Maspeth burned 50 years ago on October 26, 1962, killing six of FDNY’s bravest, Captain William Russell, Firefighter Richard Andrews and Firefighter James Marino from Engine 325, Firefighter Richard Gifford, Firefighter JUMP TO FILE # George Zahn En- 102612111 gine 238 and Firefighter Frances Egan from Ladder 115. On October 26, 2012, a plaque was dedicated to the six firefighters at the site of the tragic fire, which is now an auto body shop. Fire Commissioner Cassano in his speech recognized and thanked the owners of the V.I.P. Auto Shop for bringing this together. Peter Keane is the owner of VIP Auto Body, which now occupies the site of the blaze. Keane started looking into the building’s history while doing renovations a year ago. Charred lumber and an elevator shaft provided some clues that something had happened on this site. Keane turned to his general manager, Marc Eberle, and firefighter friend Michael Sarro from Haz Mat 1, for research and help. Firefighter Sarro worked with fire department officials and members of the various firehouses to track down family members. Families, friends, and both active and retired members gathered for the ceremony. - FRED BACCHI FRED BACCHI
Plaque on Wall of Building
DAMIEN DANIS
Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Members Marlene Sagiv-Bojmal EMT, Irv Kaminsky EMT and Theresa Blumenthal Paramedic donate many items needed by the Gerritsen Beach Vol Fire Dept. Accepting the donations from the Flatlands Volunteer Ambulance Members is the Gerritsen Beach Volunteer Fire Dept Lieutenant Michael Castro.
If you know of a fire, rescue or EMS department in need of assistance after Hurricane Sandy, please send the information to heather@1strespondernews.com. We want to help get the word out!
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December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
STEVE WHITE
JOSEPH EPSTEIN
Two alarm fire in Brooklyn On October 26, 2012, crews were called to a four brick apartment house at Jewel Street and Norman Avenue in Brooklyn. FDNY firefighters arrived to fire on the first floor with extension to the second. Four hose lines were used to extinguish the fire and three patients were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.
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Storm damage being assessed On October 31, 2012, storm damage was still being assessed in Staten Island. Firefighters continued to climb over boats that were washed ashore near the Great Kill Marina in Staten Island. In some cases boats and sailboats were found in yards, between houses and into homes. Firefighters also continued to cut up trees that blocked roads in Richmond Town. Clean up will continue for quite some time.
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1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
December, 2012
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PAGE 6
December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
The greatest fire department in the world tested during hurricane FDNY HOUSES FDNY HOUSES by Larry Woodcock
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, this monthly editorial will not discuss one ďŹ rehouse. I feel it would be inappropriate to do so. I deem it necessary to bring to light these facts. It is well chronicled what the FDNY has done since its inception of a paid department and for the last 147 years, you could say it has seen everything. Prior to that, the ďŹ re department’s origins can be traced back to 1648, when ďŹ res were fought with bucket brigades and by volunteers. Despite being volunteer and not receiving salaries, these companies had so much pride in what they did that it created the foundation and the history that this department has today. In preparation for what was forecasted as a major hurricane that the area has never seen previously, I wondered what and if any modiďŹ ed response or operations the department would impose, to protect its members-after all that could possibly be done during a hurricane and surely I thought that anyone along the low-lying areas would have left their homes. That was not the case. What would keep people from staying in their homes, who are right on the water during a hurricane. I can’t understand. I talked to two of my friends working on October 29th and it was going to be business as usual. They were responding on runs like any other day. Extra units were put in service to handle what would be a much higher call volume. As the calls came through during the day and early in the evening,
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it became apparent to me that this was going to be a mess to say the least. I hoped that the causalities and the fatalities would be kept to a minimum. As I listened to the scanner, units were being sent on run after run. A crane collapse atop a 90 story building in Manhattan required a third alarm response, along with numerous special units. I still don’t know how it did not fully collapse onto other buildings and into the street. A short time later, a third alarm ďŹ re was being fought in the Bronx on City Island. If you know City Island, there is one way in and one way out on land. If the bridge oods, how are they going to get out? Lower Manhattan was beginning to ood at the Battery and on the Lower East Side. These areas are not much above sea level. Some ooding was to be expected but by how much? On the South Shore of Staten Island, homes were ooding rapidly and people were trapped on the second oor or the roof of their homes with only so many boats and units to handle the volume. I knew that people were going to die. I said to myself out loud, they are going to lose ďŹ remen tonight. With no boats available, the 8th Division was commandeering rowboats from civilian homes and using any means necessary. I still don’t know how the dispatchers kept up with the volume and the multiple transmissions from units and calls from people in dire straits. They did an incredible job of handling the stress. In Brooklyn, Coney Island and every neighborhood on the peninsula was ooding. The quarters of 245 and 161, adjacent to the 60th Precinct were evacuated due to ood waters. Some police ofďŹ cers were rescued by boat as well. Simultaneous second alarms were going on in various neighborhoods in the Brooklyn. As I switched over to Queens at 11:00 p.m., the dispatchers were getting numerous reports of ďŹ res in
Breezy Point on 207th Street as well as Beach 130th Street and Newport Avenue and Rockaway Beach Boulevard and 116th Street. Units were unable to access the area due to the ood waters. In anticipation of the storm, units in the Rockaways were relocated to the Big House in Far Rockaway on Mott Street. This is the highest point on the peninsula. The only way into the Rockaways at that point was from the Marine Parkway Bridge from Brooklyn or coming in from Long Island and that was suspect at best. Broad Channel was the other option, but it was ooded so coming in from Cross Bay Boulevard was out or from Brookville Boulevard. The 13th Division managed somehow to get to Breezy Point and relayed to Queens that he had at least one block of buildings going. To my disbelief, it was happening and I was hoping that my power would not go out, because it was so compelling to hear it unfolding. There times that wished I was there-as history was being made. As a matter of fact, one of my closest friends, who has since retired from the FDNY and now lives in South America, called me as he was listening to the live feed of the radio transmission over his computer 5,000 miles away. At the same time, I knew some of my friends were working and I was concerned about them. I know many city ďŹ remen who live on Long Island in communities that were getting hammered and I hoped they were ok. I really thought that some guys might be killed tonight. The chiefs, once over the Marine Parkway Bridge, had to leave their cars and get in the rigs to go down to the ďŹ re, as their cars were ooding out and becoming stuck. By this time, a task force of engine companies were responding from Manhattan and Brooklyn with directions under the aid of Queens dispatchers. The chiefs were given orders to all in coming units to start drafting right away.
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often called the best department in the world. To me, that was never more evident then the night of October 29th, 2012 and for the next week they responded to multiple ďŹ res as well as thousands of calls for downed wires and odors of gas that would tax any department, even the largest. I don’t know the total, but some guys working that night had their homes destroyed. That was put aside because they took an oath when they took this job to protect the lives and the property of the public. There was a chance that anyone one of them at any given time might not come home. The stakes were incredibly high that night. Now, I know the department will review this event and its response for months to come. Most likely, will have to develop new procedures and policies for operating in ood prone areas, whether it be adding companies or getting rigs with high clearance or snorkels on them for operating in ooding conditions. Whatever it will be, it will be necessary because there is no doubt in my mind that the climate has changed here and across the world. We will see more hurricanes and extreme weather related events in the near future. This hurricane did not have sustained winds of 75 or 100 mph and we did not get eight or ten inches of rain, which is the norm with hurricanes. I can’t imagine what would have happened here if that were the case. The old way of thinking oh, it won’t happen again or it can’t happen here, breeds complacency. Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it. There are a lot of wealthy people and corporations here and I hope they step up and do what is right. It will take a large commitment of resources and time to rebuild these areas, but the ďŹ re department of the City of New York will add another chapter to a never ending story and thankfully they have our backs!
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As they tried desperately to get ahead of the ďŹ re and out ank it, so to speak, these were extremely wind driven conditions, just like a forest ďŹ re would be. What was 12 houses would become 50, then two blocks. It is hard to comprehend this happening in New York City. I listened until 5 a.m., until I lost power at my home. I have several friends, who live in the Rockaways, and the area is home to numerous city ďŹ reďŹ ghters and cops, active as well as retired. It took days to ďŹ nally get ahold of all of them. One is a good friend, who works at 266 Engine on Beach 94th. I was not sure if he was working during the hurricane and when I got ahold of him, he conďŹ rmed that he was. In his 29 years on the job, this was a memorable night and not in a good way. After going on runs all night, they made their way down from the Big House on Mott Street. All streets from Beach 35th West were ooded to the end of Breezy Point, which is beach 222nd Street. They responded to the ďŹ re on Newport and 130th. It took an hour as they crept through the ood waters with the water up to the doors and dodging oating obstacles, in total darkness and 100 blocks away, which included passing their own ooded ďŹ re house. He still can’t understand how the rig did not stall, with the exhaust underwater. Once there and in thigh deep water, they hooked up to a hydrant (under water) and prayed that it worked. It did. They and other incoming engines worked to contain a ďŹ re that destroyed eight buildings in conditions that included ying debris and ames that were horizontal from wind gusts, along with blinding smoke in thigh deep water with bunker gear on. He was sure he would get burnt, but fortunately did not. They operated for 12 hours, as waters slowly receded, to control the ďŹ re and conduct searches of the neighboring homes. There is a reason the FDNY is
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1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
ALLEN EPSTEIN
December, 2012
PAgE 7
STEVE WHITE
Car into store in Queens On October 27, 2012, crews were called to 69th Street and Myrtle Avenue in Queens for a vehicle into a store. Two patients were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. FDNY checked the building as EMS worked on the patients.
STEVE WHITE
ALLEN EPSTEIN
MVA in Queens On October 27, 2012, crews were called to a two car MVA. One person was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. Another was arrested for possible DWI.
STEVE WHITE
Water rescues in Staten Island The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy flooded the low lying areas of Staten Island. The community of Midland Beach suffered severe flooding. FDNY units deployed swift water rescue units with boats to rescue residents. Firefighters from Rescue 2 and 5 donned wetsuits to bring many civilians to dry land.
PAGE 8
December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
ALLEN EPSTEIN
MVA send one to hospital ALLEN EPSTEIN
Two alarm fire in Whitestone, Queens
On October 12, 2012, crews were called to Cornelia Street and Cypress Avenue in Queens for a three vehicle accident. One patient was removed and transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
On November 3, 2012, crews arrived at 144th Street and Willets Point Boulevard in Whitestone Queens to a two brick private home with heavy fire. Firefighters found fire in the rear in the basement with it quickly extending to the first and second floors. Four hose lines were used to extinguish the fire. One female victim was found at the basement door by first due units. She was treated at the scene and packaged for transport to a local hospital in serious condition.
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FDNY pistol team Thirteen members of the FDNY pistol team, which boasts a membership of 19, posed in front of beams from the World Trade Center collapse at the Freeport Police Department pistol range on October 20 at a match. The FDNY pistol team competes at pistol matches throughout the New York metropolitan area. They are fielded by the FDNY Rifle and Revolver Club, which numbers 125 members, active and retired.
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
December, 2012
PAgE 9
GARY HEARN
JOSEPH EPSTEIN
One alarm fire in Queens Crews were called to 94th Road and 215th Street in Queens for a one alarm fire on November 5, 2012. Firefighters found fire in a two story frame and used two hose lines to extinguish the fire.
GARY HEARN
ALLEN EPSTEIN GARY HEARN
Queens home burns again On November 5, 2012, crews were once again called to a private home at 79th Street and Myrtle Avenue. They arrived for the fourth time in a week to this two story brick house. Firefighters found fire on the second floor and used two hose lines to extinguish the fire.
High angle rescue for FDNY On October 17, 2012 FDNY rescue crews were called to 1st Avenue and East 33rd Street in Manhattan, next to Amtrak's South Vent Building at the First Avenue shaft. This is the excavation location of New York University Hospital Emergency Room's expansion project. A 55 year old construction worker complained of chest pains while working twenty five feet below street level. FDNY and FDNY EMS performed the complicated high angle rescue, bringing the worker to street level. The worker was transported safely to the hospital.
PAGE 10
December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
ALLEN EPSTEIN
Collapse in Queens On October 12, FDNY crews were called to 78th Avenue and 64th Street in Queens for a collapse. They arrived to find a vehicle tried making a u-turn and lost control. The driver crashed the vehicle through a garage. The driver was checked by EMS and not hurt. The garage sustained major damage.
ALLEN EPSTEIN
Arrest at scene of MVA in Queens On October 17, 2012, the driver of a vehicle was arrested after crashing into a truck. FDNY crews arrived at 78th Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Queens to find a head on collision between a car and a truck with the car into a bank building. Although no one seemed to be injured, two people were trapped in the bank for a bit of time. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for being under the influence.
ALLEN EPSTEIN
Quick knock down in Queens On October 27, 2012, crews were called to 79th Street and 78th Avenue in Queens for a fire in a home. Firefighters arrived to a small fire on the first floor of a private dwelling. One hose line was used to extinguish the fire.
ALLEN EPSTEIN
Second floor fire On October 13, 2012, crews were called to Crescent and Fulton Streets for a structure fire. They arrived to find the fire on the second floor rear of a three brick. One line was used to extinguish the fire.
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
December, 2012
PAge 11
ALLEN EPSTEIN
JOSEPH EPSTEIN
Four car MVA in Brooklyn On October 20, 2012, a four car motor vehicle accident in Brooklyn brought FDNY crews to Jamaica and Pennsylvania Avenues. The cars collided when the SUV attempted a turn. Four injuries were reported, but all appeared to be minor. ALLEN EPSTEIN
Trees upturned Thousands of trees were upturned in the New York City area from the winds from Hurricane Sandy.
ALLEN EPSTEIN
One hose line used in Brooklyn On October 17, 2012, FDNY crews were called to Logan Street and Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn. Crews arrived to a first floor fire in a three brick. One hose line was used to extinguish the fire.
ALLEN EPSTEIN
Head on fatal in Queens On October 20, 2012, crews were called to 48th Street and Laurel Hill Blvd in Queens for a head on MVA. Patients were pinned in both cars, requiring tools to be placed in service. On patient was removed with minor injuries. Another was removed in very serious condition. Both were transported, but the serious patient succumb to injuries on the way to the hospital. A total of four patients were transported.
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December, 2012
1st Responder Newspaper - FDNY
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