Fun and serious business mix on FDNY’s Open House weekend
Banjo, age 3, tries out a fire hat during a visit to Engine 205, Ladder 118 in Brooklyn Heights during FDNY’s Open House this past weekend. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Families got an inside look at their neighborhood firehouses, met firefighters and learned about fire safety on Saturday and Sunday during the annual FDNY Open House weekend.
The business of fighting fires is often about prevention, firefighters said as they dispensed safety tips and signed folks up for smoke/CO detectors. FDNY personnel routinely carry out preventative inspections and make sure hydrants are working around the neighborhood.
FDNY personell routinely check hydrants and open them from time to time to clear out the rust, as this firefighter from Engine 205, Ladder 118 did on Sunday. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
For kids, it was an exciting opportunity to meet real firefighters, don child-sized fire helmets and sit inside fire engines. For grownups who remember September 11, 2001, the day was bittersweet.
In Brooklyn Heights, neighbors dropped by to view the memorial wall which pays tribute to the eight firefighters from Engine 205, Ladder 118 who died at Ground Zero on 9-11: Vernon Cherry, Leon Smith, Robert Regan, Pete Vega, Joey Agnello, Scott Davidson, Robert Wallace, and Martin Egan. Some visitors recalled these men lifting their own kids, now grown, up onto the fire trucks.
Never forget: This memorial wall pays tribute to the eight Engine 205, Ladder 118 firefighters who died at Ground Zero on 9-11. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
The fate of the eight firefighters was depicted in a now-iconic photo by Aaron McLamb which showed Ladder 118’s truck speeding over the Brooklyn Bridge towards the Twin Towers on its last run.
Kyle Cummings with his son Banjo, 3, at Engine 205, Ladder 118. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
