FDNY Memorial Day '08

Thursday, October 9th 2008, 1:36 AM
As the world's economy teetered Wednesday morning, the steady souls of the FDNY commemorated the noble opposite of Wall Street's craven greed.
The occasion was the 101st annual memorial service at the Firemen's Monument in uptown Manhattan.
As they have every year for more than a century, be it a record boom time or the Great Depression or perhaps the advent of a Greater Depression, the city's firefighters gathered by the thousands to honor their dead.
The lone line-of-duty death this year was Lt. John Martinson. He was nicknamed "Johnny Nice Guy." Nobody was more unlike those avaricious CEOs.
That was never more true than when he led his company into a fire at a Brooklyn apartment building last January, crawling into blinding smoke and feeling in the blackness for anyone who might be trapped inside.
The combination of an open front door and a high wind gusting through a shattered window turned the apartment into a deathtrap.
Martinson had a 22-month-old son and a pregnant wife at home, and he could have just saved himself. He instead spent his final moments making certain all his firefighters were out.
"I'm out of air," he radioed at the end.
His widow, Jessica, sat front row, center at yesterday's ceremony, in her lap the baby girl her husband never saw. The son, Patrick, now 32 months, grew restless, and his grandfather took him over to a patch of grass as Mayor Bloomberg spoke.
"He made a sacrifice to help others that makes this city what it is," Bloomberg said of the boy's fallen father.
Bloomberg is one billionaire who seems to understand that whether or not New York remains the financial capital of the world, spirit and not money is what sets our city apart.
Chief of Department Sal Cassano stepped up to the podium and invoked what guides the FDNY and all New Yorkers worthy of the title.
"Honor, courage and sacrifice," Cassano said.
The fallen lieutenant's baby daughter, Katherine Grace, was now with a relative in the second row. The relative gently rocked the child as the Emerald Society Pipe and Drums played "Amazing Grace."
The widow was presented with the posthumously awarded Medal of Valor and the Medal of Supreme Sacrifice.
"Thank you," Jessica Martinson quietly said.
She took her son up in her arms as row after row after row of firefighters in dress uniform passed by in review; thousands of seemingly ordinary people who need only hear an alarm to become selfless souls ready to race into harm's way for complete strangers.
Down on Wall Street, where honor, courage and sacrifice are little known, people were talking about the financial crisis with words like debt and loss and risk and fear.
The stock market briefly rallied only to tumble again. Another day ended with the feeling that nobody knows just how bad things might get.
But up at the FDNY memorial, among those who risk all dashing in while others flee in fear, there was no doubt New York will still be New York no matter how Wall Street goes.
I also understood that even if we return to boom times, we will remain profoundly in debt. I had only to watch little Patrick Martinson after he scrambled down from his mother's arms.
The boy went over to the pipe band for a few moments and then toddled across the grass with his grandfather. He passed from under a tree into brilliant sunlight, but remained in the shadow of his loss, a loss beyond measure.
mdaly@nydailynews.com

Burned firefighter uses skiing to help heal

BY BRANDON BAIN brandon.bain@newsday.com
February 10, 2008
The outline of the oxygen mask that saved his life still lightly traces his face.But with a hat and gloves on, it's hard to tell that Steve Halliday, a formerNew York City firefighter, had more than 50 percent of his body burned after barely escaping a basement flash fire in 2002.For some, it might be even harder to believe that Halliday, of Babylon, has since obtained a pilot's license, learned to ride a motorcycle and is an avid fisherman.
And he recently competed at the rigorousHartford Ski Spectacular, a weeklong snowboarding and ski competition for the disabled in Breckenridge, Colo."When I was up at the ski spectacular, I beat myself up for the first few days," he said, laughing. "Everything takes a little longer. I have to figure out a different way to do things like snowboarding."Exercise as a remedyHalliday, 47, who joined 800 participants in the December ski competition, is part of a growing number of physically active people who faced sudden disability yet continue to be active to aid in their physical and mental healing process."When people become disabled, the No. 1 thing on their mind is when will they be able to go back to work," said Ron Gendreau, executive vice president and director of group benefits at The Hartford, the insurance company that sponsors the ski competition."Sports really helps people heal, and skiing helps create an environment where they can actually experience the speed and excitement," Gendreau said.Halliday retired in 2005 after 18 years as a firefighter. In the late- night hours following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, he went to the site to assist fellow firefighters and clear debris. But it was something seemingly smaller than9/11 that would change his life forever.On Nov. 7, 2002, Halliday and two other firefighters from Ladder 165 responded to a basement fire inQueens. After they'd gotten halfway into the building, the smoke banked down to the floor, and within minutes everything in the room ignited."It went from pitch black to bright orange, and that's all I saw," Halliday said. "You were as lost as you would be in the dark."Halliday said that the fire, in certain areas, might have reached up to as much as 3,000 degrees. He quickly told his men to back out of the room. One firefighter was able to escape through a window and the other through a door.But Halliday tripped while trying to get out and lost his helmet. Then, he tripped a second time and then a third. With little hope, he held onto his oxygen mask with everything he had."I couldn't get up. I just laid there and tried to keep the face mask on," he said, adding that the mask was burning off. "Then, it started getting dark. I thought that was it. I couldn't believe it. I survived 9/11, I really didn't think this would happen out in Queens."Halliday said the darkness he was seeing was not death, but rather it was the work of his colleagues, who had managed to put out the fire.Halliday was rushed toNassau University Medical Center and eventually ended up at the Cornell Burn Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. About 55 percent of his body was burned in the fire. He had third degree burns to his head, his arms, torso, legs and hands."He probably had a 1-in-4 chance of living. He was 42, had a 50 percent burn and ended up having respiratory failure," said Dr. Palmer Bessey, associate director of the New York Presbyterian Burn Centre.Halliday was in a coma for six weeks and underwent 10 surgical procedures, including amputation of fingers and extensive skin grafts.Becoming a lefty
Halliday became left-handed, since some of the fingers on his right hand no longer function. "You know how they say, 'If you're a righty, you can't be a lefty? Well, if they cut off your right hand, you become a lefty."One day, Halliday got a phone call from Tom Westman, the 2005 winner of the hit television series "Survivor: Palau."Westman invited Halliday to the weeklong Hartford Ski Spectacular, where he competed with recently disabled Iraq veterans and firefighters.
"They had speed again, the wind blew in their hair again, and they were going faster than the other skiers," Halliday said.Halliday said he performed well in the competition, noting, "I didn't wipe out." He also delivered an address to the group about his ordeal."Luckily I was 42 when it happened. I knew who I was. Seeing all of those soldiers, my heart goes out to them. To see all of these guys missing legs and arms, and they're only 20 years old, they don't know who they are. And now, their whole life has been changed."Positive attitudeHalliday stays at home to take care of his two daughters, while his wife works as a nurse. But he's far from a homebody."He has a can-do attitude, and he chose not to just sit around and do nothing," Bessey said. "Why some people do that and others give up, it's hard to know. ... It probably goes back to personality."Despite nearly losing it all in a sudden blaze, Halliday considers himself one of the lucky ones.Besides, he's still able to do some of the bigger things life has to offer, even though he's had to relearn the smaller things."I just started tying shoes, with Speed Laces," he said, looking at his boots. "I type as well as I always did."

Firefighter-Designed Hook Saved FDNY Bravest

NEW YORK -- When a FDNY firefighter suddenly found himself trapped by a fast-moving blaze last week he threw a hook into a windowsill and climbed out using a special rope. But it wasn't just an ordinary hook that saved Raymond Pollard, 51, from harm's way. It was designed by fellow FDNY firefighters Chris Delisio, George Grammas and Jimmy Kelly along with Brad Beall, product engineer with The Crosby Group. "We knew it would work. We were excited to hear it was used as it was designed -- to save a firefighter," Delisio said. "Incredible...unbelievable. We're all tickled." What started out as an assignment from their supervisors has wound up much more. The team was awarded a patent for the hook. "We had no idea this project would end up with our names on a patent," said Delisio, who recently retired from the FDNY. On a bitter January morning three years ago, intense flames and heat forced six firefighters to jump from the fourth floor of the tenement. Firefighters John Bellew and Curt Meyran were killed. Following that tragic event that has become known as "Black Sunday," firefighters vowed to work to make sure it didn't happen again. When firefighters started looking around for an anchor or something similar, they soon realized there was nothing out there that met their needs. "We needed something that would be small enough to anchor around a windowsill, a radiator or banister. But, it had to be strong," Delisio said. That's when the firefighters called on The Crosby Group for their expertise. "They originally thought we were crazy. But, they were on board 100 percent." Beall, the product engineer, said things came together faster than he imagined. He came up with a prototype, and it was forged within six weeks. Then, there were the tests. The hook passed with flying colors. "I was impressed with the enthusiasm," Beall said. "They were a good group of guys, very dedicated." That dogged determination is what sold the firm on lending a hand, he said. Beall said when he realized the firefighters really had created something unique, he decided to submit the application for the design patent. "I was very excited when it passed the first review. I just knew they would be granted the patent." The patent was special for Delisio, whose grandfather was a blacksmith. "It's been kind of a hobby for me. I've forged things at home." Beall said it's essential that the proper rope, one that can withstand high temperatures, is sewn onto the hook. "Our company has always been committed to safety. It's important that firefighters receive the proper training. We've always included information with each hook." He also pointed out that the hook is just part of the spring-loaded personal safety system now being carried by all FDNY firefighters. Beall said he was pleased to hear that the hook was credited with getting the firefighter out of the building. "I was really happy to hear about it," he said. "That's exciting." Firefighter George Grammas said of the invention: "It was a lot of hard work. But it was well worth it. We knew it was important to get it out there." Grammas was assigned to Ladder 102 in Brooklyn, the same station as Pollard whose life was saved by the hook last week. Another recently retired FDNY lieutenant who worked on the project, Jimmy Kelly, said it's a unique piece of equipment that will save lives. "There's nothing else out there like it. It's a new tool. The Crosby Hook will make a difference." Kelly said there was a lot of trial and error, and credited Delisio and Grammas for perfecting the design. Proceeds from the sale of the hooks in New York City will go to the Alvassar fund to assist injured firefighters with expenses. Delisio said it's the team's intention to also donate a portion of money from other sales to the National Fallen Firefighters' Foundation.

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