front of the building. Captain Alber-gray yells out, “Five lengths, inch-and-a-half,” and then runs into
the building. Benny and Vinny follow right behind. Jim takes the nozzle in his left hand, and puts his right hand through
three folds of inch-and-a-half hose, one fifty-foot length. I take a length as Jim steps down, and Carmine takes another length.
Carmine lays his folds on the ground, and pulls off two more lengths of hose. Jim yells to Bill, “Take off,” and the pumper
moves to the hydrant, the coupled hose dropping off behind it.
The stairs are crowded with excited people. We tell them to watch the hose as they go down. We reach the third floor with
two lengths to spare. Carmine flakes it out down a long hall. We pull our boots up to our thighs. Captain Albergray comes
out of the apartment, and the smoke billows out with him. “We met the lady who lives here on the way up,” he says. “She had
two kids with her and said the place was empty. Benny and Vinny are in there searchin' anyhow.”
Vinny comes out with mucus running from his nose. He wipes it off with his glove, and says, “Listen Jim, the fire is at the
end of a long hall. Make a left at the end, and it’s the first two rooms.”
We are all bending low now because the smoke is starting to bank down. Benny comes out of the apartment on all fours. He asks,
“Did a truck company get here yet?”
“No,” Captain Albergray says. “You better go up and get the roof.” As Benny leaves to ventilate the smoke and heat at the
top of the building we can hear the water running through the hose.
The fire has already broken the glass in the front two rooms. The heat will be able to escape, but Captain Albergray tells
Carmine to get a mask, just in case. We have to put the fire out fast, before it extends to the floor above. We are on our
hands and knees as we hump the hose forward. We keep our heads as close to the floor as possible. It is sooty as hell, and
the smoke has filled the hall. It’s tough pushing in, but we get to the end of the hall and see the vague red glow to the
left. The heat hits us full for the first time.
Captain Albergray’s walkie-talkie is blaring. The Chief has ordered Engine 94 to stretch a second line to the floor above,
but they won’t need it. We’re in now. The smoke is lifting and we are sitting on our heels. Jim keeps the nozzle moving in
a circular motion. The water is bouncing off the ceilings and walls, and hits us in the face as steam. Every ten seconds Jim
yells, “Gimme three more feet,” and we hump the hose in.
Ladder 31 is here now, and Allen Siebeck is in the room pulling at the ceiling with a six-foot hook. “Where the hell ya been,
Allen?” I yell to him.
“We stopped for dinner at Delmonico’s, you dumb ass. Where else would we go?” Allen would normally have a lot more to say,
but it’s his job to check for fire extension, and he ignores me.
“Just a few more feet and we got it,” Jim yells.
“Beautiful, beautiful,” Captain Albergray keeps saying.
Benny is back now, and he helps me with the hose. Jim makes the far room.
The fire is out now and Chief Niebrock is checking for extension, but the fire never got beyond these two rooms. Jim and I
go over to a window. The air tastes good. I look at Jim and at the mucus running over his mouth. He takes his glove off and
blows his nose into his hand. He coughs up a large glob of stuff from his diaphragm and spits it on the wall. It hits solidly—black
with occasional veins of gray.
Ladder 31 and Ladder 19 start tearing the walls and ceilings down. Everything in both rooms is burnt—a bedroom set, a couch,
a couple of stuffed chairs, a television console. A cop leads a woman into the room. She looks around and screams hysterically.
She didn’t have much, and now she has nothing. She collapses, and Benny helps the cop carry her into a neighbor’s apartment.
Before leaving, we give the rooms
the building. Benny and Vinny follow right behind. Jim takes the nozzle in his left hand, and puts his right hand through
three folds of inch-and-a-half hose, one fifty-foot length. I take a length as Jim steps down, and Carmine takes another length.
Carmine lays his folds on the ground, and pulls off two more lengths of hose. Jim yells to Bill, “Take off,” and the pumper
moves to the hydrant, the coupled hose dropping off behind it.
The stairs are crowded with excited people. We tell them to watch the hose as they go down. We reach the third floor with
two lengths to spare. Carmine flakes it out down a long hall. We pull our boots up to our thighs. Captain Albergray comes
out of the apartment, and the smoke billows out with him. “We met the lady who lives here on the way up,” he says. “She had
two kids with her and said the place was empty. Benny and Vinny are in there searchin' anyhow.”
Vinny comes out with mucus running from his nose. He wipes it off with his glove, and says, “Listen Jim, the fire is at the
end of a long hall. Make a left at the end, and it’s the first two rooms.”
We are all bending low now because the smoke is starting to bank down. Benny comes out of the apartment on all fours. He asks,
“Did a truck company get here yet?”
“No,” Captain Albergray says. “You better go up and get the roof.” As Benny leaves to ventilate the smoke and heat at the
top of the building we can hear the water running through the hose.
The fire has already broken the glass in the front two rooms. The heat will be able to escape, but Captain Albergray tells
Carmine to get a mask, just in case. We have to put the fire out fast, before it extends to the floor above. We are on our
hands and knees as we hump the hose forward. We keep our heads as close to the floor as possible. It is sooty as hell, and
the smoke has filled the hall. It’s tough pushing in, but we get to the end of the hall and see the vague red glow to the
left. The heat hits us full for the first time.
Captain Albergray’s walkie-talkie is blaring. The Chief has ordered Engine 94 to stretch a second line to the floor above,
but they won’t need it. We’re in now. The smoke is lifting and we are sitting on our heels. Jim keeps the nozzle moving in
a circular motion. The water is bouncing off the ceilings and walls, and hits us in the face as steam. Every ten seconds Jim
yells, “Gimme three more feet,” and we hump the hose in.
Ladder 31 is here now, and Allen Siebeck is in the room pulling at the ceiling with a six-foot hook. “Where the hell ya been,
Allen?” I yell to him.
“We stopped for dinner at Delmonico’s, you dumb ass. Where else would we go?” Allen would normally have a lot more to say,
but it’s his job to check for fire extension, and he ignores me.
“Just a few more feet and we got it,” Jim yells.
“Beautiful, beautiful,” Captain Albergray keeps saying.
Benny is back now, and he helps me with the hose. Jim makes the far room.
The fire is out now and Chief Niebrock is checking for extension, but the fire never got beyond these two rooms. Jim and I
go over to a window. The air tastes good. I look at Jim and at the mucus running over his mouth. He takes his glove off and
blows his nose into his hand. He coughs up a large glob of stuff from his diaphragm and spits it on the wall. It hits solidly—black
with occasional veins of gray.
Ladder 31 and Ladder 19 start tearing the walls and ceilings down. Everything in both rooms is burnt—a bedroom set, a couch,
a couple of stuffed chairs, a television console. A cop leads a woman into the room. She looks around and screams hysterically.
She didn’t have much, and now she has nothing. She collapses, and Benny helps the cop carry her into a neighbor’s apartment.
Before leaving, we give the rooms
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