150 Years Of Heroism And Heartbreak In The New York City Fire Department

150 Years Of Heroism And Heartbreak In The New York City Fire Department

New York City's Firemen's Memorial sits on a quiet corner of the Upper West Side in Manhattan. On one side, there's a carving of a firefighter atop a horse-drawn fire engine speeding toward billowing smoke. On the other side, an inscription:

To the men of the fire department
of the city of New York
who died at the call of duty
soldiers in a war that never ends
this memorial is dedicated
by the people of a grateful city

Over the last century and a half, almost 1,150 New York City firefighters have died in the line of duty, many of them on Sept. 11, 2001. It's a dangerous job, especially in a city like New York, where buildings reach high into the sky, and the ground underneath is a beehive of subways, gas lines and miles of steam pipes.

firemens monument riverside

But as this year marks the 150th anniversary of the FDNY, it's also important to remember the countless lives the department has saved. An exact number is tough to come by, but for perspective, the FDNY says last year it saved or rescued 300 people from building fires alone.

When the department formed in 1865, there were just 552 company officers and firemen. According to the city, those firefighters "worked a continuous tour of duty, with 3 hours a day for meals and one day off a month."

These days, there are over 10,700 uniformed firefighters in New York, as well as over 3,700 paramedics and EMTs, making the
FDNY one of the largest fire departments in the world.

It's the same sense of duty that drove the firefighters of yore to run into burning buildings that drives the firefighters of today to do the same. The desire to be a firefighter is perhaps best summed up in an oft-cited speech reportedly made by New York City Fire Chief Edward Croker around 1910.

"I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a firefighter.

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"The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the firefighter has to do believe that his is a noble calling.

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"There is an adage which says that, 'Nothing can be destroyed except by fire.'

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"We strive to preserve from destruction the wealth of the world which is the product of the industry of men, necessary for the comfort of both the rich and the poor.

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"We are defenders from fires of the art which has beautified the world, the product of the genius of men and the means of refinement of mankind.

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"But, above all; our proudest endeavor is to save lives of men -- the work of God Himself. Under the impulse of such thoughts, the nobility of the occupation thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring, even at the supreme sacrifice.

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"Such considerations may not strike the average mind, but they are sufficient to fill to the limit our ambition in life and to make us serve the general purpose of human society."

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