View From
The Middle

By Charles Rogers

Guts and More Guts: That’s What Our Heroes Are Made Of...

Honest, these guys knock me out! Ever since I was a little kid, I looked up to "firemen and policemen" as heroes. Of course, it wasn’t without reason, because my parents were always quick to tell me that those were the good guys and, well, fires and crooks were the bad guys. There were no "grays" in that supposition to support a doubt and the theory was right in front of me: bad vs evil. Later I was to learn that the correct title for these people (or, at least the name they wish to be called) is "firefighters" and "police officers."

I mention all this because of a couple of stories that have dotted our headlines this spring and summer.

Shortly before the school year ended, two children who, along with a group of other children, had been playing hooky from Intermediate School 68, drowned while swimming in Paerdegat Basin. It was a tragedy that struck the entire community.

When the first calls were broadcast to emergency service personnel in the area via NYPD and Fire Department scanner, patrol officers from the 69th Precinct were among the first on the scene and commandeered a small boat from the Midget Squadron Yacht Club to assist in searches for the youngsters.

In their first sweep of the water under the Basin bridge they discovered the body of one of the kids and, without a second thought, Sergeant Andrew Baur dove into the treacherous water and retrieved the child. Other officers on board the boat helped to haul the young girl and Baur aboard and they proceeded to take the child to a wharf so medical workers could tend to her.

Unfortunately, the youngster died, along with another retrieved from the water a short time later.

The point of relating this story is not to bring up the tragedy again, but to elaborate on the heroism of our public servants at the time. Just going aboard the boat — without even questioning whether it would be dangerous or prudent to do so — says something about the courageous nature of the men and women who answered their call to duty.

The other story has to do with a member of our own Ladder Co. 170 and the firefighters who, along with personnel from Engine Co. 257 and Battalion 58, constantly put their lives on the line for us.

The story in this case has to do with Lieutenant Bill Croak, who risked his life earlier this year by rescuing a woman from a basement in a fire on East 92nd Street. Lieutenant Croak was honored recently, along with a number of others, for their heroic acts that show why they are called New York’s Bravest. A few weeks later, another firefighter, Anthony Lombardi, crawled through a basement apartment at another house on East 92nd Street and pulled an unconscious woman from a smoky fire.

I could go on and on citing brave acts by police and firefighters but, hey, we don’t have enough paper to do so.