 New
York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Medal
Engine Company 52
August 15, 2003, 0049 hours, Box 22-3781, 6125 Broadway, Bronx
Lieutenant Stephen J. Chase
FF Eddy E. Nietzschmann
FF Lawrence W. Brigati (Engine 79, retired)
FF Russell J. Dinkler
FF Brian J. McGowan
FF Kevin F. McNichol
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Engine 52 apparatus. photo by Joe
Pinto |
Shortly before 0100 hours, August 15, 2003, Bronx Engine
Company 52, with companion Ladder Co. 52, responded to an
alarm on its Riverdale home ground under two unusual conditions:
The entire City was in darkness due to a major power failure
and the Department radio on Engine 52 was OOS--out of service.
Driving cautiously through the dark streets as prudence and
fire emergency would dictate, Engine 52 members arrived at
6125 Broadway, a six-story, multi-family dwelling with 30
apartments, to see heavy fire blowing out several front windows
on the fourth floor.
Engine 52’s Lieutenant Stephen J. Chase asked Ladder
52 to transmit a 10-75 signal for a working fire on its operable
radio, as his team began a nine-length stretch of its 13/4-inch
hose-line. Entering the building, the Lieutenant was told
there were trapped occupants on the fire floor and above.
When Lieutenant Chase and his nozzle team reached the fourth-floor
landing, they were met by fire in the public hall, advancing
from the fully involved apartment 4-C. The Officer communicated
this information to all members via his handie-talkie and
by shouting into the stairway. The Lieutenant’s call
to start water was delayed slightly because his chauffeur/motor
pump operator was working alone due to the delayed dispatch
of the second-due units.
Meanwhile, the Lieutenant and his nozzle team attempted to
force the apartment door shut to confine the fire, but were
hampered by debris and the intense heat. Crouching low and
to the side of the door until water filled the hose-line,
Lieutenant Chase then directed the nozzle man, FF Eddy E.
Nietzschmann, to quickly cool the hall and turn into the apartment.
After pushing in several feet, FF Nietzschmann told Lieutenant
Chase that he probably was burned by the stubborn fire.
Lieutenant Chase was informed that Engine 52 was on its own
and there still were trapped occupants as well as Ladder 52’s
members operating on the two floors above the fire. Lieutenant
Chase felt any disruption of their hard-won position could
prove disastrous and he encouraged the nozzle man to stay
as low as possible and sweep the floor with the hose-line.
This he valiantly did, the unit citation report notes, until
at the end of the apartment’s interior hall, his vibralert
was sounding and he was suffering from second-degree burns
and exhaustion. Lieutenant Chase relieved FF Nietzschmann
with the back-up nozzle man, FF Brian J. McGowan, and temporarily
took FF McGowan’s place on the line.
Facing fire to the right, left and in front of them, they
continued their hazardous suppression efforts until FF McGowan
also was burned and his vibralert sounded. The rest of Engine
52’s inside team relieved both the Firefighter and Lieutenant
until Engine 79 arrived on the fire floor.
Describing Engine 52’s actions, Deputy Chief Lawrence
A. Benson of Division 7, wrote: I believe that the decisive
and efficient action taken by members of Engine 52 under the
punishing conditions of this operation made all the difference
for occupants above.
In his formal recommendation for a unit citation, Chief Benson
noted that the heavy volume of fire on Engine 52’s arrival
was directly exposing civilians in the apartments above and
on the fire escape and that the control of this advanced fire
necessitated the use of three different nozzle men. The severe
conditions encountered, coupled with the absence of any back-up
unit, required an uncommon level of teamwork, dedication and
tenacity in order to successfully contain this fire with a
minimum of injuries and no loss of life. For these reasons,
the members of Engine Company 52 are awarded the New York
Firefighters Burn Center Foundation Medal.--JM
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