The Forgotten Fire

I read an article the other day on one of the trade websites that brought back an old memory for me, the article was about what is being called, “The Forgotten Fire.” This fire resulted in the loss of three firefighters from FDNY. On June 22, 2001, I wrote this letter to the editor to express my thoughts on the loss; they are the same today as they were then. For those of you wondering why this is called The Forgotten Fire it is quite simply because of a matter of timing for you see, just 3 months later was September 11, 2001.

On Sunday June 17, 2001, Father’s Day, the Fire Service lost three more of its family, Harry Ford, Brian Fahey and John Downing all of the New York City Fire Department. All three men were married. Ford, a highly decorated firefighter, leaves behind three children - a daughter, 24-year-old Janna O'Brien, and two sons ages 10 (Gerard) and 12 (Harry). Fahey has 3-year-old twin boys, Patrick and James, and an 8-year-old son, Brendan. Downing leaves a 7-year-old daughter, Joanne, and 3-year-old son, Michael.

It seems like every day that I hear of another member of our family passing while serving others, and constantly I am asked, why do you do it? It’s such a risky job how could you ever want to do that? I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve seen my wife cringe, or heard her whisper, “shit” as I ran out the door in response to my pager, or the number of nights where I’ve only slept an hour, and still got up to go to work the next day. And still I’m asked the same question.

Why do we do it? It certainly isn't for the money. We don't make much and many of us do it for free. It isn't for the glory, for there is no glory when you are cleaning the apparatus, in the middle of the night after a call, just lots of hard work and aching muscles.

When you ask a firefighter why they do what they do, you will get a variety of answers ranging from “I like the adrenaline“ to "I want to help people," but the truth goes much deeper. Being a firefighter becomes an integral part of who you are it’s not just a job we do; it’s what we are. Every call changes you and leaves its mark on you. You become something more than you were before. And every call has the potential to be the last. The smallest fire has the potential to be deadly. When we leave to go to work in the morning or respond from our home to answer our pager's shriek, we all know that it may be our last.

But still why do we do it? Is it because we care? Is it because we care enough to give our lives to make sure that the people we serve are safe and well cared for? Or is it because if we don’t who will? Will the mayor of your town do what I do for my pay? Will the teacher down the street do it?

A few days ago we lost three more of our own and made 8 children fatherless. So you may ask once again, why do we do what we do? We do it ‘cause it’s the right thing to do, and because … we are firefighters.

So while I take a short walk to visit the National Fallen Firefighter Memorial to pay my respects, join me now in ensuring that every lost firefighter is never forgotten.