Report From Engine Co. 82 - Dennis Smith [22]
I come to “Under Ben Bulben,” and start to read, but three short rings of the telephone interrupt me. A voice from downstairs yells, “82 and 31, get out.” Benny Carroll closes a fire protection manual, and runs to the pole hole. Nick says, “So long, guys,” as I wrap my arms and legs around the top of the long brass pole.
As I slide the pole the bells come in—Box 4746—Prospect Avenue and Crotona Park East. It’s a job. The telephone alarm and the location give me a feeling that well have a worker. It’s like a sixth sense.
It is 8:20 P.M. As we turn up Prospect Avenue we can smell the smoke. There is only one smell like this: burning paint, plaster, and wood. We can see the smoke banking down on the avenue before us, but we can’t see the fire yet. Ladder 31 is right behind us, so we know we will get the ventilation we need.
As we turn the corner at Crotona Park we can see the fire. Flames are licking out of eight windows on the third and fourth floors of a six-story tenement. There must have been a delayed alarm, and I imagine people alerting other people—alerting everyone but the Fire Department. There is a crowd of people on the sidewalk. Some are in nightclothes. Some are barefoot. Many are simply interested passersby. People are still rushing out of the building, crying, sobbing, or just sullen.
We have to take the heavy two-and-a-half-inch hose for a body of fire like this. Jim Stack takes the nozzle again, and the first length, I take the second, and Carroll the third. Vinny and Carmine head for the mask compartment. “Take off!”
People are screaming that there are people trapped on the fifth floor. They are angry and confused because we are not paying any attention to them. They haven’t seen Ladder 31 go into the building. But we know if there is a rescue to be made, Ladder 31 will make it.
As we start to hump the hose into the building I notice that Jerry Herbert has already raised the aerial ladder to a fifth-floor window. Richie Rittman and Billy-o are climbing up it.
The lights in the building have blown, and Captain Alber-gray guides us up the stairs with his portable lamp. He tells us that Chief Niebrock has ordered a second alarm. We’ll need the extra help.
We reach the second floor and flake out the hose. We go to the top of the stairs at the third-floor landing. The whole front half of the building is on fire. The flames are in the hallway and shooting up the stairs to the fourth floor.
We have to wait now for the water to come through the hose. It’s getting hotter, and Captain Albergray tells us to back halfway down the stairs.
Jim turns to me and Benny, and says, “When we get water we’ll hit the hallway and then make a left into the first apartment. It’s going to be a hard bend, so keep the hose low. I don’t know how far we’ll be able to go, but well try.”
Captain Albergray says, “All right Jim, but don’t push too fast. The goddam fire must be through the roof by now, so well be here for hours anyway.”
We can hear the water gushing through the line. As it reaches the nozzle, Jim says, “Let’s go,” and he moves up the stairs with us humping the hose behind. I can see Engine 45 moving up the stairs below us with another line. I tell them to move in on the second apartment as soon as they get water, but my words are unnecessary. They’ll be there.
It is starting to get smoky now that the water is on the fire. The fire in the hallway goes out quickly. We are putting 250 gallons of water per minute on it. Jim makes the landing, and fights with the hose as he makes the bend. Captain Albergray is next to him. “Beautiful. Easy now. Keep low. Beautiful,” he is saying. Carroll and I are behind pulling on the hose to take the strain off Jim’s arms. The heat in the walls is radiating out, and my body is dripping and my clothes are saturated with perspiration.
I put my mouth to the floor in an attempt to breathe cool air, and suddenly my throat hurts, like it does after a two-day drunk and a thousand cigarettes.