Tribute to firemen strikes chord

Many books were written immediately after Sept. 11, but none were able to capture as much raw emotion as David Halberstam's Firehouse.\nHalberstam, a journalist and historian who lives with his family on 67th Street on Manhattan's west side had never visited the fire station just blocks from his home until, "On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, two rigs carrying thirteen men set out from this firehouse; twelve of the men would never return."\nFirehouse is the fateful story of how Sept. 11, 2001, changed the lives of some of the bravest men in the world. Halberstam tells this story beautifully as he has the reader almost reliving the day in the shoes of the firemen from Engine 40, Ladder 35 (known as 40 Engine, 35 Truck among firemen). \nBy fate, luck or circumstance 13 men made their way to the WTC site from 40/35. \nKevin Shea, the son of a fireman and the brother of a fireman, was the lone survivor sent out from the house that morning. He suffered major injuries including head trauma when he was blown back by the force of the collapsing high rises, which resulted in a fuzzy memory of what actually occurred.\nKevin Bracken, Captain Frank Callahan, Michael D\'Auria, Bruce Gary, Jimmy Giberson, Lieutenant John Ginley, Michael Lynch, Dan Marshall, Steve Mercado, Vincent Morello, Michael Otten and Michael Roberts set out together, and they fell together. They died as heroes, a term they never used to describe themselves because to them fighting fires is an honor, a duty and their job.\nHalberstam takes his readers into the lives of each of the 13 plus several other prominent members of the firehouse. Families and brothers of those lost offered anecdotes to bring the fallen heroes back to life in this book. He lets the ordinary person even if for just a moment or two, feel what great pride and duty is felt among firemen.\nThis book will take you through a whirlwind of emotions -- sadness, anger, longing, hope and even a bit of laughter may surface as Halberstam recounts the way Bruce Gary, a towering man whose shoes came in two boxes, took it upon himself to cut through some bureaucratic red tape with a sledge hammer when he knocked out one of the walls in the firehouse to increase kitchen space. \nA video clip was later shown to the men, replayed over and over again until they could point out each of their brothers in their final minutes. Halberstam tells of each man rushing into the South Tower as hundreds of people were at the same time rushing out.\nAs I made my way through the less than 200-page tribute, I couldn't help but remove the jacket and prop it up next to me so each time Halberstam wrote of a different man, I could look at that man's picture. I was brought to tears in coffee shops and in my own home, from the pain of losing men who had become some of my own personal heroes. \nOn the back jacket cover the photographs of the 12 fallen firemen appear. Each has a look of pride in his eyes. The men all seem to be so good-natured, sort of happy-go-lucky. \nHalberstam explains how the men interact in the firehouse - only the probies (men still in the probationary period) speak with each other about the inherent dangers of the fires they battle each day.\nMany firemen across the country come from firefighting families. They grew up hanging out at the houses of their fathers, uncles and brothers so it was only natural to follow in the same path. But each one chose the path of firefighting for himself. They were protective of their families, but were without inhibition when following the captain into a situation where "every call might be a ticket to a burning inferno where there was no light, where falling walls and ceilings cut off exit routes, where a floor could give out, and where a fireman could become disoriented and begin to feel his source of oxygen failing is he grew weaker and as the heat grew more fierce second by second."\n Many firemen, such as Bruce Gary, are skilled in other areas and moonlight as plumbers or electricians. Gary was planning to go back to plumbing full-time in June 2002, when his daughter, Jessica, was planning to get married. But like Gary, a fireman's first love is fighting fires. It has to be - how else could you literally tip-toe across the tightrope of life and death every day? \nThese outside skills often came in handy as it was given that if one man was renovating his house or needed a job done, several would show up on their days off to help complete the task. Marian Otten, wife of fireman Michael Otten, encountered constant reminders of her husband and his "brothers." She only had to look as far as the bathroom that Bruce Gary had helped repair and the wallpaper that Jimmy Giberson had put up. She recalled one day when about fifteen men from the firehouse had come to their house to help renovate in order to make space for their three sons, Christopher, Jonathan and Jason. She was not surprised too much when, in early December, she was asked about the plans by Matt Malecki, one of her husband's closest friends.\nWrites Halberstam, "The men of 40/35 are bonded now more than ever, not just by their job, as in the past, but by their grief as well." The chalk-up of the roster of men from 40/35, with Vincent Morello's name misspelled, remains untouched after Sept. 11. Halberstam has done his part in ensuring the memory of the bravest of the brave will live on in all of our hearts and minds.