I know this is an old post, but I just stumbled across it, researching FDNY Ladder company 31 and felt compelled to share. My dad recently passed away and was with Ladder 31 from about 1970 to 1987 or so, when he was forced to retire early, due to an injury on the job. Engine 82 & Ladder 31, The Big House/La Casa Grande was supposedly the busiest firehouse on the planet at some point when "The Bronx was Burning." Over the years, I've been fortunate to have met and talked to some of the guys he worked with and he was highly regarded as being a great firefighter, but my dad never boasted about himself. I was his designated driver a couple times, years ago, for holiday reunion gatherings so he could get liquored up and catch up with his buddies that were still with us, while they told their war stories. It was an amazing thing to witness. I would just sit there listening, grinning ear to ear, seeing him relive those days that meant so much to him. He told me many times that it was like someone cut his arms off when he had to retire. He loved that job so much. Those guys were like a second family to him. Like brothers. Their lives depended on each other. When they bragged to me about him, he would be like, "Get outta here, we were all great. We did it together." I remember someone told me that someone who worked with him said he must've had a death wish, the way he pushed himself fighting fires.
Thank you Dad, for what you put yourself through to provide for me. You'll always be my biggest hero.
