Fire and Ice

By Gordon Bennet

This past Friday, at 1612 hours, nearly the entire Rockaway peninsula FDNY quiver was let fly in response to reports that three people had plunged through the ice in the immense frozen body of water astride 1310 Norton Dr. in the Bayswater section of Far Rockaway.

First to arrive, the members of “The Big House,” E-264, E-328, and L-134, quickly spotted three heads poking from separate holes in the ice, over 400 yards offshore from their position. Under the direction of L-134’s officer, Lt. Eric Creegan, keen to the likelihood of such an incident in The Big House’s immediate future, ice-rescue operations were immediately initiated.  FFs R.J. Hartmann and Noel Kennedy were the members designated at the start of L-134’s tour to don the cold-water rescue suits and enter the danger zone.

Their safety lay in the hands of the remaining firemen and officers posted ashore. Tactics were discussed and strategies decided. Immense rescue surfboards were readied. Hundreds of yards of nylon cord designated for such rescue operations were, in the best FDNY “Make Do” spirit, augmented by any and all suitable ropes carried by FDNY apparatus.

Just moments later, the members of the “Best on the Beach,” E-265, L-121, and Battalion 47, arrived, and perfectly mirrored the SOPs (standard operating procedures) of the “Big House.” Rockaway’s own, Battalion Chief Thomas Healy, was charged with the daunting and complex command and control of all FDNY units on scene.  Faced with a rapidly shrinking time frame to affect a coordinated rescue and the aggressive nature of all the firemen under his supervision, Chief Healy needed to ensure this entire rescue operation was done “by the book.” Lest the rescuers become in need of their own rescue.

The same brittle ice that swallowed up the three victims was certain to do the same to any would-be rescuers. The three men trapped in the ice were in the severest of danger. With the air temperature around 27 degrees F and the water temperature 47 degrees F, a body struggling to free itself from the frigid clutches of the ice-encased water can expect to lose all capacity and consciousness in as little as 30 minutes. Time was certainly not on the side of the three intrepid and dimwitted ice-explorers.

Another Rockaway Beach native son to arrive on scene was Probationary Firefighter Liam Murtagh, of E-265. With a zeal not uncommon to new firemen, especially ones from Rockaway Beach involved in water-rescue operations, FF Murtagh, donning only a lifejacket, lifeguard torpedo, and shorts, raced onto the ice fringing the frozen body of water. “Not another step further, Murtagh,” growled his officer, Lt. Christopher Bambury. In the FDNY rescue matrix, the cold-water rescue suits required for ice rescues are carried by the ladder companies. Without such equipment, venturing onto the thin ice would be foolhardy, to say the least.

After donning his form-fitting cold-water suit, Broad Channel’s own, the hardy and husky FF Martin Tubridy, of Ladder 121, would test both his own fortitude and the ice’s limits. Martin had not to think, that was the job of his officer, Lt. Brian Werner.  Martin had only to do.  With rescue surfboards under arm, he and fellow L-121 member, FF Eric Maxfield, began their perilous 200-yard march onto the ice. The imperiled icebound victims had rescuers coming from two directions. These were no story-book guardian angels; they were the real thing.

When the public is in danger, New York City throws every asset in its quiver at the problem. Last Friday was no different.  With firefighters from “The Big House” and the “Best on the Beach” mere yards from affecting a spectacular rescue, rescue suddenly came from a third direction. The NYPD Aviation helicopter dropped from the heavens with assertive audacity and awesome alacrity. Dangling a rescue swimmer belayed beneath the rotary-wing beast, the scene suddenly became an NYPD-run show.

But with each victim requiring about 10 to 15 minutes, from extraction to evacuation to FDNY and EMS members awaiting on shore, the FDNY members on the ice played a critical role in safeguarding the two remaining victims. Barely conscious after over 30 minutes in the frigid waters, the only thing keeping them from slipping below the ice was their FDNY rescuers. “I need you to stay with me, brother. You’re not out of the woods yet, but I promise that helo is coming back for you. Stay with me!” exclaimed FF Martin Tubridy to the victim he clutched, and whose charge he was not about to relinquish.

Upon each return of the descending NYPD helicopter, the rotor-wash was unimaginably fierce. Chunks of ice, rescue equipment, and wetsuit-clad rescuers went flying in all directions. The efforts of the FDNY members in safeguarding each victim against the violent forces of the whirling helicopter blades were paramount. And only after the last victim was lifted free from the ice could the FDNY rescuers breathe a sigh of relief.

This past Friday afternoon, the combined efforts of FDNY and NYPD personnel illustrated the definition of a coordinated multi-service synergy. New York City’s Bravest and Finest once again proved themselves worthy of the traditions of professional excellence forged by the many who came before. Truly marking these men and women as the world’s most elite and well-equipped first-responders, bar none.