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Firefighter James J. Larkin
Ladder Company 22 |
March 11, 1999, 1258 hours,
Box 88-1323,
2823 Broadway, Manhattan |
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Appointed to the FDNY on February 24,
1979. Member of the Emerald and Holy Name Societies and
the Fire Department Basketball Team, 1981-1982. Cited three
times previously for bravery. Attended St. Bernard College.
Resides in Campbell Hall with his wife, Carol, and their
son, Tim, 19, and daughters, Deidre, 17, Jennifer, 14, Christine,
10, and Colleen, 6.
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When the
alarm for Manhattan Box 1323 came in on March 11, 1999, reporting
a fire in a restaurant kitchen, FF Jim Larkin thought he might
be going to a routine duct fire. Although the fire began in
the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant, it was anything but routine.
A faulty flue, combined with construction scaffolding in a
windy shaft, made for a spectacular eight-alarm fire.
The fully occupied, 11-story
building was under renovation and shrouded with scaffolding
that was loaded with construction materials. It burned quickly
and furiously. The rapidly expanding fire on the 11-story
scaffold communicated back into the building on several floors.
As the first-due outside vent man with Ladder 22, FF Larkin
suddenly was thrust from a quiet, sunny, pre-spring day into
total bedlam. The firefighter rose to the dramatic occasion.
FF Larkin made his way to the
most severely exposed apartment above the restaurant on the
first floor. There, he completed a primary search of that
apartment and called for a line. He then found an elderly
woman in the stairwell who, unexpectedly, wanted to go back
to her second-floor apartment. While dealing with this woman,
FF Larkin realized there were other civilians on the upper
floors who also needed assistance and direction.
Many tenants now were leaving
their apartments and streaming for the stairs. FF Larkin started
climbing up, telling people to keep moving toward the street
and assuring them that other companies were putting hose-lines
in place to protect them.
As the firefighter ascended,
he discovered worsening conditions. FF Larkin found fire in
an apartment on the third floor, made a search, called for
a line and proceeded upward. As he approached the seventh
floor, the public hallways were heavily charged and dangerously
hot. On the eighth floor, FF Larkin heard Tamara Cashour moaning
in the hallway.
Ms. Cashour had left her apartment
with her dog and become disoriented in the hallway where she
lost her keys. After making a brief attempt to find her keys,
FF Larkin forced an apartment door to provide the woman with
a temporary area of refuge because she was having difficulty
breathing. FF Larkin gave the woman his mask and went back
to the charged hallway.
When Ladder 22 arrived at the
fire, the roof man, FF Albert Loyola, used an adjoining building
to get to the roof where he vented and began descending the
stairs. FF Loyola got caught in the rapidly deteriorating
conditions in the stairway. Hit by a blast of heat, FF Loyola
dove down the stairs to the eighth floor, injuring his knee.
This commotion motivated FF
Larkin to continue his search of the hall and stairs. FF Larkin
took FF Loyola back to the apartment in which Ms. Cashour
waited. FF Larkin then tried to get to the ninth floor where
he could hear more noise and doors being forced. The punishing
conditions, however, had taken their toll. With burns to his
hands and ears and with his breathing impaired by burns to
his throat, FF Larkin was forced to retreat to the relative
calm of the apartment that was safeguarding Ms. Cashour.
Firefighter James Larkin is
a 21-year veteran of the FDNY.  He
comes from a family of dedicated civil servants. Had he followed
his family’s tradition, he would have been a fourth-generation
Police Officer. It is the good fortune of the FDNY that James
Larkin chose the title and profession of Firefighter.
By his actions at this difficult
and dangerous operation, FF Larkin exhibited persistence,
dedication and bravery. He disregarded his own safety in order
to protect Tamara Cashour. Ms. Cashour later was admitted
to the Cornell Burn Center where she remained for three days.
FF Larkin’s willingness
to expose himself repeatedly to dangerous conditions enabled
him to assist his Brother firefighter, Al Loyola, in finding
safety. FF Larkin persisted in his lifesaving mission until
he was physically unable to continue.
FF Larkin also was admitted
to the Cornell Burn Unit with burns to his hands, ears and
throat. Additionally, he had a dangerously high level of carbon
monoxide in his blood.
For his heroic actions, the
New York City Fire Department proudly honors Firefighter James
Larkin today.--CH |
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