Maybe you're in a better space. Maybe you were never a save everything person. Or maybe you just did your thing and didn't need to save everything about everything like I have done. I'm still trying to figure why I did it, and fight to not continue doing so today. I'm taking big steps in purging, everything. So today I tipped over some plastic bins in our office to see what I was holding onto there. It was the old fire department bin full of newspaper clippings, reports, awards, and journals. Now these have been with me
since 1989. That's 35 years. What in the hell I am doing with it all? I think a big part of it is me holding onto the past during my "glory" years. Maybe I need to hold on to prove to myself that I once existed, or maybe it's for my kids, since they don't remember me when I was a fireman. Either way, today was the day. It has to be the day as this stuff isn't making the next move down to South Carolina. So I did a hard edit. I looked at it, did some remembering, took a photo, and then deposited it into one of those big contractor bags. "It's over Johnny", it's time to move on. But there were a few things that stood out and helped me put my life's timeline in order. One of the earliest things in the bin was my graduation
certificate from the Middletown Fire Academy in July 1987. It all came back to me. It all started in high school when I absolutely fell in love with photography and I got a job at The Red Bank Register.
In the fall of 1986 I went to Seton Hall to major in journalism. That lasted a semester but I did pledge a fraternity, Sigma Pi, and met a Newark fireman who was an alumni in the fraternity. And that was it. I left school and worked at the paper and joined Middletown Fire Company #1 in the spring of 1987. That lasted a while before I got cut when I didn't make all of my hours knocking on doors for donations. But by then I had my heart set on being a Newark fireman. So I moved to Newark and in December 1989 I was sworn in and after a six-week academy I was sent out into the field. My first assignment was Engine 13 in North Newark.
What's funny is during the academy I met the Captain from Truck 5 and was scheduled to go there but a last minute transfer request from a senior fireman bumped me from that spot. While I was just thrilled to be on the job I was dying listening to other parts of the city burn while I was at work. Frustrated, I took the NYPD exam and was called to get on the job over there but my Captain promised me he would get me to a busier spot. So I stayed put. Looking through my journals, which told the story of every run I went on, I found my first real fire. It was on February 16, 1990. First fire, first due, first
multiple alarm, and first fire death. Not only did it make my fire journal but it also made the family photo album. Boy, the things we get excited about. From time to time something comes across the news or Facebook or I go digging on You Tube when I need to see what's been burning in Newark. Well this
have been able to be on when I was. The city of Newark has changed as well as the fire service. Newark was a busy place to work as a fireman. Lots of vacant buildings, lots of projects, lots of poverty. All that with no cell phones, no smoke detectors, and pull boxes on every corner. And arson for profit or revenge used to be a thing. With Newark being the stolen car capital of the world in the early 1990's something was always burning. I looked t all the newspaper clippings. Some incidents I was at others I wasn't.
Above was a clip from a fire I made on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. That was a great neighborhood for fires. This one I couldn't throw out since it was a picture of me that hopefully the kids will get a kick out of. That fire was on July 20, 1992, some 32 years ago. Where has the time gone. And then there was a stack of reports to go through.
From vacation requests, to accident forms, to fire incident reports. The one above stood out. It was from January 2002, a few months after I was promoted from fireman to Captain. I was assigned to Engine 12 which was housed next to Truck 5 on Irvine Turner Boulevard. I remember that night. I was working a mutual swap and it was just about midnight. We were hanging out in the kitchen with Battalion Chief Kevin Killeen. The Chief was, and had been, a hard charger his entire career. He always got out the door quick and was always in the thick of it when it was going down. The hotline rang and the bells started to chime. It was a reported building fire and we were first due. Normally, I would expect the Chief to fly out of the firehouse and beat us there. It was just him and his driver and his gig (fire chief's car) was already parked on the apron. So I was surprised as the overhead door opened and he was sitting there with lights on waiting for us to pull out. The box was for Clinton and Ridgewood Avenues and as we cleared the apron there was a large glow in the sky in that direction.
In the fire service they say there's nothing like being first due. And as the company officer it's up to you to give the first in report on the radio. Sometimes that goes well, other time not so well. The key is to pick up the mic, take a deep breath, and speak clearly. Sometimes it's hard to do when you have multiple buildings going or there's hangers or jumpers. So when we turned right onto Clinton Avenue the fire was out into the street and through the roof. I did my best, "Engine 12 to headquarters, we have a working fire". And soon the Chief called for a second alarm. But what was cool, he let me have that. And I'll always appreciate it. It may sound stupid, but it's a big deal when you're a new officer.
My time at Engine 12 was short and I was transferred to Truck 1 which was downtown on Mulberry Street. After I retired they knocked that firehouse down to make way for the Prudential Center. I really
