Results tagged “firefighters”

Governor Paterson hasn't winning any popularity contests in quite some time—maybe that's why he's played hardball yesterday, "stunning" people with his veto of the routine pension measure for police officers and firefighters that has been in place for almost thirty years. The plan allows newly hired employees to retire after 20 years at half salary.

In what may be the least shocking news item of the day, a group of drunk off-duty firefighters got a little rowdy and hit on women yesterday afternoon. But at least one NYC resident refused to accept the status quo and complained to the department after witnessing the debauchery. Rebeca Izquierdo, a former inspector with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, says a party bus "blasting hip-hop and reggaeton" pulled up at Allen and Stanton streets around 2 p.m. and released 30 firefighters, who had come from the department's annual Medal Day ceremony. She tells the Post, "They were all in uniform with open containers and they were soliciting young girls to get on the bus." When she called the FDNY to complain about their behavior, she says one firefighter told her, "It's Medal Day, there's nothing I can do." And the owner of a nearby deli reports, "They bought 20 six packs of Coors Light and Bud Light. They were drunk already." But come on, it's Medal Day, and that's only four beers each! Nevertheless, an FDNY spokesman promised to look into the matter.

A false alarm in the West Village turned into a real emergency when two fire trucks crashed into each other while both were responding to the call, an automatic alarm that went off at Grove Street and Waverly Place. The two units were caught off-guard because neither was coming from their respective houses when they collided as one was coming down 7th Avenue and while the other was heading eastbound on 10th Street. Twelve firefighters were hospitalized-- five seriously injured--in the crash that created a scene filled with black smoke (the collision caused a fire, prompting one witness to note, "They had to call a third truck to put out the fire"). A Gourmet Garage manager told the News, "The building shook. I've never seen anything like this. Glass broke and toilet paper fell."

Hook & Ladder Brewing Company is finally coming to NYC, making its grand debut at the Brewtopia Festival (running October 31 and November 1st). The beer was created by a firefighter and donates a portion of its sales to the burn foundation; the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation will receive $4 from each barrel and 25 cents from each case of Hook & Ladder beers sold. Founder Rich Fleischer, a long time volunteer firefighter, says "I'm eager to bring that passion to New York City where there is such a dedicated firefighter community, and get involved with the local heroes." More on the Brewtopia Fest here, lager lovers.

Approximately 100 people marched from the under-deconstruction Deutsche Bank building yesterday to City Hall Park, demanding stricter safety standards at construction sites. Some of the leaders of the march were Joseph Graffagnino Sr. and his wife, the parents of one of two firefighters (Graffagnino Jr. and Robert Beddia) who died when the Deutsche Bank building caught fire, and because of a lack of adherence to fire and building safety codes they ran out of oxygen and were killed at the scene. The march was organized following a spate of highly publicized construction accidents, including crane collapses, that have killed a number of city residents.

Now that the NYPD got an almost 10% retroactive pay hike, the firefighters are looking for a similar boost. The Uniformed Firefighters Association want to revisit the raises for the years 2004-2006 where their annual raises were 3.15% or less.

Three young people--ranging between 16 and 20 years of age--were pulled to safety by FDNY rescuers off a jetty at Coney Island. Four firemen waded and swam out to the end of the jetty, where two women and one man were trapped by a rising tide.

Following two incidents in recent years that highlighted the occasionally raucous atmospheres of City firehouses, the FDNY is cracking down on what it considers improper names for certain houses, like the Happy Hookers in Red Hook, Southern Comfort on Staten Island, Animal House in the Bronx, and The Nut House in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Police and firefighters are investigating the cause of death of a man who died late yesterday evening in the Bronx. The two standout theories are that he died because he was on fire or because he may have been shot. The still-unidentified man stumbled in the first floor hallway of the Eastchester Houses on Adee Ave. in the Bronx around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night; he was on fire and collapsed. Responding firefighters declared him dead at the scene. The fire in the man's apartment took about an hour to extinguish.

A West Harlem co-op fire eventually required the efforts of 170 firefighters to extinguish as it spread through the West 113th St. building 's second, third, and fourth floors. Despite the fast-moving flames, three sisters and their 34-year-old father were rescued from the fifth floor of the building before they were overcome by smoke.

Responding firemen managed to get the five occupants out using ladders leading to bedroom windows and by pulling others out through the smoke-filled living room.

"We could hear people yelling for help and screaming," said Lt. Gregory Prial.

Continue reading "Firefighters Rescue Five From Christmas Fire"