All Senior Men are not Created Equal
Here I was a 22-year-old young man who just dropped out of his last semester of college to become a New York City Fireman, what was I thinking. I had completed my training in the fire academy in January 1996 and I got my assignment. It was to Ladder Company 16 on Manhattans Upper East Side. Perfect for a single guy who didn’t own a car and just rented an apartment in midtown. Rattled with nerves, you knock with your elbows (your hands are holding on to the stack of cakes and Italian pastries) on the firehouse door unknowing what is on the other side.
As you walk thru that firehouse door you truly are naïve to the world you are entering, you are entering into a new family that is lead by officers and the senior man. As a son to a firefighter I had a general understanding of the firehouse and life but it’s hard to explain a firefight without being in it. My father gave me advice when I was young that he reinforced as I entered into my new career. He told me Respect is earned and not just given. (A metaphor as a guide for my firefighting career — that I will get respect from my fellow firefighter through my actions. This would become my mantra through my career.) Officers you can understand but what is a senior man? Well the senior man is what you probably guessed by the name- he is the senior most firefighter in the firehouse. But why is he so valuable to the firehouse? He is valuable to the firehouse because he is the go to firefighter. The senior man is the answer to everything not written in the department training manuals. He is the one who sets the tone, the pace, and the expectations of the company. He is the bridge from the past to the future of the company. He is the keeper of company tradition and company pride.
So let me tell the story of my senior man. Earlier I stated I arrived at the firehouse in the dead middle of very a snowy winter. Looking forward to meeting the senior man I was met with disappointment when I heard he was on vacation. My first impression was bewilderment because I could not understand taking vacation during the winter, the time of year traditionally busy for firefighters, the fire season. The nonstop stories continued of tales of a slightly crazy vegetarian who was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, who drove a broke down Volkswagen Bus and that by all means could be classified as different. Not to be misled I had many a senior firefighter to me take me under their wing from my first day in the department and throughout my career that guided my development but this is a story of MY senior man.
As I am arriving one morning two hours early for my tour in late February and I am met on the street by a beanpole of a middle age man with his hair graying pulled up in a pony tail asking am I the new proby? Stating that I was and I asked who might he be? He simply replied that his name was Kenny. Still not fully understanding who he was, I entered the firehouse to get ready for the tour. I put my uniform on and back to the apparatus floor to check the rig only to be met by Kenny in some semblance of a uniform with grease on his hands. He quietly asks if I am ready to check the rig. It quickly dawns on me that Kenny is the elusive senior man.
As we went over the rig he didn’t speak brashly he just methodically went over the rig with me for the next two hours. Then off he went and I was left to complete other proby firefighter tasks. Still not fully understanding why this old timer who had more time On the Job than I had on earth would spend this much time with me going over such menial details of the rig and its tools. Time for assignments Kenny had the irons and I the can. Both of these positions are assigned to operate on the inside of the fire building with the officer. Kenny stated I would have the can anytime he was working, a fact that I felt insulting because I wanted to learn the other ladder company positions in the truck as well. On the first run of the tour, as Kenny sat across from me. He started asking me in his soft-spoken voice where were we going. I of course would promptly provide the address and any other information we had received about the response. Kenny would continue to ask me where we were going on every run. He would do this all tour to a nauseating degree, again I was confused how could this guy be the senior man when he doesn’t even listen to the runs? As the months progressed, Kenny on every run would identify something new to everyone on the rig including the officer. The next months, brought a new question from Kenny he would now ask me what side of the street the building was on, Is he kidding me? I am happy I didn’t miss the run, had my gear all on and knew the address. Now he wants me to know what side of the street an address is? During one particular run in the middle of the night, in the middle of early March it was probably 4 am when Kenny screams to me get a portable ladder. Thinking we had something my adrenaline got going but it was nothing. It was just Kenny wanting to teach me something, Is this guy crazy? It is about 15 degrees outside and this was probably our tenth run of the tour and he wants to show me a rear tenement behind a brownstone off of First Avenue. These escapades of menial tasks, insane attention to detail, his constant barrage of asking questions, and taking more time to teach on every run would continue through out my first five years in the company, but only on tours when we worked together because I had noticed Kenny requested a group transfer.
As I progressed through my career when it was my time to drill with the new guys Kenny was the first one ready for the drill. While I am not sure why since Kenny had taught me what I was now going to teach the newer firefighters in the company. But he was there, he was always there.
Fast-forward ten years Kenny was transferred out of the company for an administrative punishment. This not only angered every firefighter in my company but the battalion, division and pretty much every guy in the department except Kenny. How could the job transfer a 30 plus year firefighter for such a minor infraction. He literally stated to me it would be an adventure and that there were many junior firefighters in his new company he could work with. Still I did not fully understand Kenny but life moves on. I get promoted to Lieutenant and approximately three years later the FDNY experiences the loss of two firefighters (Firefighters Joseph Graffagnino and Firefighter Robert Beddia) in a fire downtown in a Building building very close to the firehouse Kenny had been transferred to. Later that day I find out Kenny was not only working but he gave the first mayday (radio code for a fire fighter is in trouble) at this fire. The investigation into this fire tells a story of very dangerous conditions with multiple maydays that could have been worse for the FDNY on that horrific day.
In July of 2013, Kenny was still a vegetarian bean pole, still driving a beat up Volkswagen bus was forced into retirement because he reached the maximum age to be a firefighter in the FDNY. With 43 years of service, Kenny had always said he would never leave this job if he didn’t have to. For a quick read on Kenny check out Daily news article http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hamill-firefighters-bravest-article-1.1394368
So what does all this mean?
Never judge a person on hear say or by their looks as the old saying goes, “never judge a book by its cover”. Had I made that mistake as a young firefighter, I would not have gotten to know who Kenny was and what he was all about. He was a man of steadfast character and strength who led by example. Lead by Example: Kenny was there two hours early for work to meet the new proby and show him the right way to check the rig and that attention to details matter. But perhaps the most important lessons I learned from Kenny was to Take responsibility and the importance of the senior man. The responsibility to show the new guy the right way the job is done, and to do it by teaching and working with them. To Be always prepared and in tune with your surroundings by developing situational awareness of your response area on every call. Any time and every run is a good time to drill and learn, as is the middle of the night rear tenement drill 4 am example illustrates.
His change of group was nothing against me it but rather it was he changed his group to be with the next new guy. Never stop learning the job, he would go to every drill to listen because he told me later in my career that you can learn from everyone. Do not fear change; he embraced it and was eager to learn from it. Life is an adventure there will be ups and downs, but go with the flow, as is the case of being transferred. Teach the new guys because they are your legacy. Be a leader. Do not fear the peer pressure for giving a mayday, he gave the mayday because he had the experience to realize the situation was bad. Just for knowledge Kenny had worked in some of the FDNY’s busiest companies in the war years prior to coming to Ladder 16 and this was his first and only mayday in his 43-year career.
I return to my mantra Respect is earned and not just given, Kenny you have earned not only mine but every firefighter that has ever worked with you respect. A medal you would prefer over any medal from the department. All SENIOR MEN are NOT CREATED EQUAL, so go out and become that Senior Man.
Tim Carroll is a 20-year veteran of the FDNY and is a contributor to Homeland Security360, a platform where insiders from the policy, law enforcement, fire service and emergency management fields converge to discuss issues related to Homeland Security.
