As though in answer to Bloomberg's proposed cuts to the force, firemen saved three more New Yorkers from fiery deaths. Early this morning a mattress ignited, filling a Bed-Stuy home with smoke and flames and trapping its residents inside. Amid high winds and snow, the FDNY made quick work of the fire, plucking a young girl from the second floor, just before she jumped. "This young girl was hanging out the window screaming, 'Help me! Help me!,'" recalled Joe Fischer, one of the firemen. "She looked like she was going to jump so we had to get to her quickly." more ›

A firefighter is in critical condition after a violent altercation erupted inside the Whitehall Terminal on his way to Staten Island early Monday morning. Matthew Dugan, 34, who is assigned to Ladder 15 near the South Street Seaport, had to undergo emergency surgery to relieve swelling on the brain caused by the fight, which started around 1:30 a.m. as he entered the terminal with his girlfriend after drinking at a lower Manhattan bar. Witnesses tell police the fight started when three people laughed at Dugan's girlfriend after she tripped. One bystander tells the Post, "When they laughed, he told them to grow up. They said, ‘Shut the f—k up before we beat you up.’" The situation quickly escalated, and the assailants, described only as two men and one woman, began hitting him in the head and punching him in the face. Dugan, who was off-duty, didn't lose consciousness, but was bleeding heavily from his face and mouth when the ambulance arrived. One of his fellow firefighters tells the Daily News, "We're hoping he's going to be okay." And investigators are reviewing surveillance video showing suspects running from the terminal after the brawl. more ›

A firefighter on Staten Island was arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling $40 worth of weed to undercover cops who spotted his advertisement on Craigslist. During the transaction, 32-year-old Michael Seise, a three-year veteran of Ladder 82, also inexplicably hinted that he was a member of the FDNY, a police source tells the Daily News, adding, "This guy is an idiot. There's really not much else to it." After the arrest, police found traces of white powder believed to be cocaine in his Chrysler 300 luxury sedan. Seise has been suspended immediately, which is probably a good thing, because it must have been irritating to pull the firetruck over every time he got the munchies. more ›