All,
On February 27th, 1975, FDNY members responded to a fire at the New York Telephone Building…and it was that fire that got people in our profession THINKING about cancer. FIREFIGHTING CANCER. That’s where FIREFIGHTER CANCER got started…for our generation.
At a time where a beer, a cigarette after a working fire was “rehab” and blowing “black snots” for days was a gauge in determining how “good” the fire was…we were NOT thinking or talking about cancer. But then THAT fire happened.
Learning what happened at that fire in 1975 DID NOT start right away. It wasn’t like a collapse, a smoke explosion, a flashover or a related “instant” cause of Firefighter deaths. We sometimes learn quicker from those.
The TELEPHONE COMPANY FIRE took time for people to realize, and rightfully so, that something isn’t right. Member after member started developing cancer, cancers-horrific deadly cancer.
February 27, 1975…TODAY is the anniversary of the NY Telephone Exchange Fire.
Veteran FDNY FF (Ret) and well known Fire Instructor Danny Noonan has become the “face” of the fire-as he is one of the few still; alive. And it has not been easy for him by any means.
Danny was the “irons man” in Ladder Co. 3, the first due truck at that fire. It should be noted that following 9/11, the fire at the phone company is the second most deadly and costliest in the history of the FDNY. It had taken the efforts of 699 firefighters, over a two day period, to extinguish this infamous fire. And everyone was exposed. Everyone.
Danny will never know how many of the nearly 700 FDNY members who responded to the fire with him were struck with cancer in the aftermath — because most of them are dead. HOwever, his daily work on FIREFIGHTER CANCER AWARENESS is #1.
Since the fire, Dan has tirelessly promoted and echoed “the many lessons learned” from the department’s most challenging disasters. Last November, as just one example, the FDNY Fire Bell Club Honored Danny for his untiring work
WATCH & LISTEN:
(WATCH THIS FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT DANNY)
***GETTIN SALTY EXPERIENCE PODCAST w/FDNY LADDER 9 DANNY NOONAN***
RED STAR OF DEATH:
FDNY VINTAGE VIDEO FROM THE FIRE:
FDNY CEREMONIAL VIDEO:
Q-104 INTERVIEW/PODCAST WITH DANNY
DECADES LATER-FIRE CANCER RAVAGES FIREFIGHTERS:
This fire made us all aware-or at least started the thinking toward the “everyday” aspect of Firefighter Cancer…and so many have suffered and or died from that fire. And, as we have learned, so many fires.
The least we can do is honor them through our behaviors (as bosses and firefighters), on and off the job-and by getting checked. If you are 40 and you go to fires. Insist on getting checked. More at www.40plusfire.com
Take Care. Be Careful. Pass It On.
BillyG
The Secret List 2/27/2022-1953 Hours