Man Alive: The Bronx Is Burning (Complete) FDNY 1972

[@DanielOrtegoUSA]

I was an engineer with the 2nd largest FD in San Diego County for 11-years, and we always regarded the FDNY, as the premier fire deaprtment in the nation.

[@philduckworth8284]

Daniel Ortego you spelt Chicago fire department wrong lol

[@billb.9876]

@@philduckworth8284 Not in the 1970s, pal.

[@azul8811]

@@philduckworth8284 Isn't spelt a grain like wheat? Not sure. But I do know that Chicago has a population comparable to that of Brooklyn.

[@davidweston6653]

Phil Duckworth Took me a second to get that-one lol 👍

[@johnsanford2683]

@@philduckworth8284 Wrong. The Washington metro area. LOL

[@wethepeople8542]

I was a cop in this area in the early 90s the vacant burned out shells still remained. Was an Erie depressing sight. Very high crime area. FD guys up on intervale we’re great guys. Many cops left PD to go to FD which is considered a way better job by most. RIP 343 🇺🇸

[@charlesrudish9147]

My god, I was fighting fires back in those days. Looking at these old films and the videos of today, we were living and working in the stone ages. Hardly anyone wore SCBA's, the turnouts were pretty much useless, the hand tools we used were bought right out of the hardware store, the apparatus, I mean open cabs, seriously? and the pay was right around minimum wage.

[@fyfrants9711]

I grew up south bronx, this place was a war zone from my earliest memories till the day I left in 86. I remember the OG gangs having shootouts in the streets in the 70's, the building being burnt down by arsonists for hire, the long lines of heroin addicts waiting for the spot to start selling dope, then in the 80's crack hit the scene and things really got bad.

[@hazmatemt]

This is a “Must See” for all FD members. The last time I watched this video was 1985. It has lost none of its impact in the ensuing years.

[@jadegarner1731]

Richard Gillespie very powerful!

[@9751asd]

Even though the fdny apparatus has changed over the years

[@Johnny7051MC]

27:14, that's fucking awesome!! What do they call that?? Fucking love it!! Old-School Firemen to the core, the fucking core!! Red meat, black coffee, smoking cigs, fighting fire hard, living hardy, partying harder!!! All when the BRONX BURNED!! What a time that must have been, being a New York City Fireman in the 1970's, from Rescue 1 out of Hells Kitchen in Manhattan, the Big House of 82/31 in the Bronx, the Firemen of East New York Trucking Co. 175, to Rescue 4 covering Queens with 292-Engine, and Rescue 5 jumpin' the occasional call to Coney Island from Rescue 2(The Rescue that is) straight from Staten Island, the FDNY is truly the best!!

[@corazoncubano5372]

As a Bronx resident for the last 15 years his was painful to watch but their observations were true. The Bronx may have been physically rebuilt, but unfortunately some of the people with the same hopeless beaten down mentality still live here. It's amazing that this borough hasn't gone back to how it was during those times. Other than those characters, the Bx is a beautiful place to live.

[@waynejfoster9860]

I have the deepest respect for firefighters all over the world. Like they say, only a true hero would run into a situation when everyone else is running away from a situation. To all firefighters past and present and where ever you are in the world I thank you for your service. True heroes each and every one of you. 👨‍🚒🚒🔥🧯🦸‍♂️👍

[@Wa3ypx]

I'm a third generation inner city FF and this still hits home. What a great program

[@jadegarner1731]

Wa3ypx thank you for your dedication!!

[@Wa3ypx]

You are quite welcome! Its all my pleasure

[@sully801]

Thank you Stockton Fire History for preserving this amazing piece of firefighting history.

[@Eggyfart83]

wow man wish my station was as busy as that. those old school guys had some big balls. no air, no face protection, proper old school. respect to those guys.

[@jadegarner1731]

the naked worm thank you for your service. Stay safe:)

[@Eggyfart83]

Jade Garner thank you

[@annother3350]

Couldn't they have been given gas masks?!

[@deckerhand12]

the naked worm They had Scott packs on. Back then they didn’t have hoods if you talk to an old smoke eater they would tell you they judge by their ears if their ears started to burn it was time to leave. I was lucky to be able to talk to a few of them when I was a fire fighter

[@johnsanford2683]

@@annother3350 They were to expensive back in the day. We had them, but we were not allowed to use them unless told to do so. We used what was called a charcoal re breather..They were carried on the front of our chest instead of on the back.

[@wethepeople8542]

My father in law was a firefighter back in the 60s and 70s he said it was a macho thing back then if you used safety equip you were considered a wuss. He would rarely go out sick and had many scars and burns all over his body. Some from Vietnam but most from fighting fires in the south Bronx. These guys were tough as nails. He would tell stories of the older guys that trained him the WW2 era guys and how tough they were. Really something now the millennial generation has evolved into needing safe spaces. Smfh. RIP 343 🇺🇸

[@johnsanford2683]

I came on board in 1968 my friend. Those were good times and you were right about the wuus thing, because we had to suck it up and get it done.

[@johnsanford2683]

@cforr154 Ha !! How about a broken neck and three ruptured lumbar dics my friend. I am now 74 and I have pain every day, but I would not change a thing. I served with some very good men.

[@neildonnelly5029]

My father was FDNY in the 1960's retired in 1999 ladder 124 busy company

[@michaelpatanella]

the tailboard riding on the engine looks great, but the 8 or 9 guys hanging all over the ladder is something we'll never ever see again.

[@markvalentino8422]

I just happened to stumble upon this documentary. What a great example of what the FDNY was like back in the early 70s. I was a fireman from 1990 through 2011. I remember back as a probie and my first couple of years as a fireman, we wore the role of boots and we rode the back step of the engine. I remember sometimes we we even get geared up while riding on the back step. You'd be rolling up your boots and getting your code on while your brother fireman was holding on to your back to make sure you didn't fall off the truck. And then you would do the same for him. We already had Scott packs by the time I got on, but I can only imagine what it was like for these old Smoke Eaters who only could breathe off of the nozzle.

[@toddcharry]

And boy would they have been screaming if they had stopped responding for an hour or a day. Excellent video, thanks for posting it.

[@russellcurley5151]

I miss those old red Mack fire trucks They definitely were classics

[@johnnyguitar108]

Russell Curley i remember riding the back of a mack with my partner theo the black

[@bohemoth1]

Russell Curley : Especially the hook and ladder fire truck with the driver in the rear.

[@johnsanford2683]

Yes I first operate a 1949 a 1945 and a 1956 Mack fire truck. All crash boxes, no syncs in the transmissions. You had to gage the engine rmp with rhe transmissions to shift gears. LOL

[@andrewperry813]

This is an amazing documentary. Thanks for posting!

[@michaelclark8532]

FDNY ❤️ thank u guys you are the best!!! My Dad was a New Brunswick NJ- pay fireman 🚒. He retired in 1985 after 33 years!!! You guys are the real heroes!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️🚒 RIH DAD Charles F , Clark NBFD !!!!❤️

[@lifelinepaul]

Engine 82 was Dennis Smith's company when he was a firefighter. Dennis Smith is also an author of some awesome books.

[@samt9912]

he made a book about he's time at 82's its called "Report From Engine Co. 82"

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

Indeed he is, I discovered him when I barrowed my library's copy of Firefighters: Their Lives In their Own Words to read. I have since read Report from Ground Zero, The Final Fire(a 1975 fiction book about the FDNY) and Report From Engine Co #82. He is one of my favorite writers, I am hoping to get more of his books soon, espically his other novels Glitter and Ash and Steely Blue.

[@grandtheftautotune7715]

He's in the video...

[@aportman58]

I remember as a new firefighter in 1980 reading every word in the book Engine 82, Busiest Fire House.

[@Gee-xb7rt]

So sad, the landlords would burn the buildings and never got charged, quite the opposite. They would get checks from their insurance company.

[@midcoastJB007]

As both a Firefighting buff and a History major this saddens me. It is bad enough to have deal with the stuff Firefighters & Paramedics in the F.D.N.Y. see on a daily basis, but arson fires is the worst kind of fire that anyone can face. Especially since arsonists often set traps in these days that killed and injured many firefighters during this period. Thankfully things have changed for the better in NYC since then, despite parts of the South Bronx still being crime ravaged and poor.

[@midcoastJB007]

Stephen Leather Continued: If you have not read Dennis Smith's book Report From Engine Company 82 yet, I highly recommend it. It was published at the time of this documentary airing on television and is still in print today. Also many of Dennis Smith's other books about Firefighting are also great reads as well.

[@perrynnlynch9373]

Stephen Leather well said my friend. I will be sure to check out the book you recommend.

[@johnsanford2683]

@@midcoastJB007 I remember reading that book back in the day. It was a good read.

[@doctorzaius4084]

It's amazing that any of the South Bronx is still standing... these guys are legends. Incredible documentary!!

[@lilmamabrewster455]

Yeah

[@aportman58]

No kidding! It's a miracle!

[@annother3350]

Much of it was rebuilt

[@bigdrew565]

Thanks for posting this, i couldn't abide that prick on e-bay charging 40 bucks for this documentary. Someone told me that this aired over here years after it was shown in the UK on public television. La Casa Grande, circa 1972. When it really was the Big House, and before 31 got the dumpster. :) Engine 82/85 Ladder 31/712 and a chief. Some firemen in Brooklyn would probably violently disagree with their assessment that they were the busiest firemen in the world in those days. as a kid in the early to mid 80s I can remember my dad driving into the city, and we happened to pass through on Simpson Street, and the only building that was standing was the police station. It took until the mid 90s for the area to really come back.

[@perrynnlynch9373]

bigdrew565 I am around your age and these guys do a great job but perhaps they are forgetting about the dedication from firemen in other Boroughs in NYC. They are all brave, regardless of which Borough they serve.

[@alpappalardi7044]

When it was all burnt in the early 80s. I worked with the sanitation dept. all we did was build ridges on the along the perimeter of the burnt out shells to prevent dump outs.

[@timothybenamati6912]

Back when firefighters were respected and people moved for them. Was the videos of FDNY (and other departments) responding. You'll see the self centered general public not yielding or parking in the middle of the street.

[@eliguaapologynotaccepted7928]

I remember taking my son to louder 82 he was only 7 years old fireman's used to give him a tour around the fire truck👍

[@pigjubby1]

It is amazing how articulate the firemen are in 1972

[@classicmodelcarscmcusa9658]

when education was paramount in the USA. not anymore

[@pigjubby1]

Your so write.

[@77Andee77]

write ?? lol ??!! right

[@jadegarner1731]

pigjubby1 I think they are & have been intelligent ppl~ I'm grateful for their thoughtful & honest replies, too.....just not surprised:)

[@jadegarner1731]

77Andee77 you knew what he meant- yes, it was an ironic time to make a spelling mistake but he was complimenting the candid & honest replies from the firefighters interviewed. I just don't want to see people to afraid to comment if they don't use perfect grammar, etc- pls don't take this comment as fighting words (you caught the error, too, so I presume you can understand what I mean-& that it is not personal) :)

[@Johnny7051MC]

Looks like back in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's, the FDNY used tractor drawn tillers for most, if not all of it's Truck Companies. Then they started to phase out tillers in some areas of the city in favor of Tower Ladders and Rear-Mount aerials. Now there are a little over a dozen tillers sprinkled throughout the city, mostly in Manhattan, with a few in Brooklyn & Queens, one in the Bronx(39), and zero on S.I.

[@UPGF54860]

5:30...Dennis Smith who founded Firehouse Magazine.

[@togetherbrothers]

Thanks StocktonFireHistory for the accurate information.

[@bobettegiorgi9797]

Denis Leary and Peter Tolan definitely modeled at least 2 characters from Rescue Me, after these guys. Ken Shea for sure, it was practically identical.

[@JakeW26]

Love those old MACK FIRE TRUCKS! Record setting amounts of Arson back then! It was absolutely insane! With the incredible upgrades in technology etc.These days Arsonists are caught and face the repercussions of their actions MUCH MUCH more than back then. Thank God. God bless the FDNY and my fellow brothers and sisters Nation and Worldwide!

[@snidelywhiplash8399]

You forget about not only the smoke and flames but all of the noise at close quarters as these men try to do their jobs while staying out of each others way. An extremely stressful environment by any measure. Then I think about the men who went up those burning towers on 911 and it just moves me in ways I'll never be able to properly express.

[@cartconrad4426]

From being on that job yes the conditions can be stressful but you don't think about it your adrenaline is pumping through the roof now we have air packs we have it's mandatory to wear those Durham new studies have come out where firemen are getting cancer at a very early age I have been medically retired from soup for 6 years and the fire department and it was totally different when they fought fire the the tactics were a little bit different but nowadays the toxins and gases would kill you very quickly if you weren't on air for that time it was very true but money and those years for the City of New York was probably tight the fire service has very expensive fire apparatus we have to maintain 4 to $500,000 for every piece of so that equipment is very expensive set a turnout gear can run you up to $3,000 now when I started it was only 1200 would buy you a full set of gear so I mean the cost of having doubt that everybody with uniforms and everything that you're going to need could be easily up to $25,000

[@Sonic-sh2vh]

When MEN WERE MEN !!!! God bless these guys.

[@TheItrucker]

I was 7 years old in 1972...I wonder how many of these smoke eaters are still around?

[@kevinbaird1820]

Read the book, Report from Engine Co.82 by Dennis Smith its AWESOME.

[@bobnice3044]

Nice doc, parts of that look like Dantes Inferno 19.43. Nostalgia always looks better to me for some reason, Shame there was not a similar one on the London Fire Service. I wonder how many of those guys ended up dying of lung infections and what not in later life? It would be good to do a follow up on those men who are still alive.

[@emt5330]

Some parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan were just as bad at that point.

[@YankeeNationalist]

The scene at the bar looked like a good time!

[@johnsanford2683]

They were. It's all about the camaraderie. We would gladly die for each other if it had to be that way. In the line of duty of course.

[@Thelivingwordthesword]

I remember we use to chase after the fire trucks and cheer when I was born the fires started to die out. All around my building were lots where tenement buildings once stood dog packs running loose in the streets they would find dead people all the times in the burned down buildings so they started to knock them down with wrecking balls

[@perrynnlynch9373]

Thefaceoftheword great Childhood memories my friend.

[@tiffany4327]

my hood now.... I can't believe it ever looked like that omg

[@philipperiopel1911]

A time when america was manufacturing top quality, dependable and reliable fire trucks like Seagrave, ALF, and of course, MACK!

[@firestompa]

i have read this fellas book...great read,recommended

[@Johnny7051MC]

At 28:21, the Engine and Truck make that curve around at what looks like Southern Boulevard and Westchester Avenue under the E-Train in the Bronx.

[@Tbird1549]

Love looking at those old trucks! Great memories!

[@nigelcowan610]

Excellent really enjoyed it.Reminds me when l was a kid.

[@Mylatenightvids]

Looks like the setting of "Taxi Driver"

[@daviscampbell9020]

No air tanks or full face respirators. Geez.

[@kathyoberle9093]

I remember when I rode an the contrail train to linden hill school in the early 80,s ,it looks like a war zone.

[@kellyedey549]

I can't believe what they did to hurt the firemen whist they fight a fire. Animals.

[@andrewperry813]

I didn't notice any shots of the Chief's rig. What was he rolling in?

[@kathyoberle9093]

Now the train is called noter north.

[@aaroncone6778]

Mack fire apparatus & Federal Q sirens...,There is no greater sight or sound, cause help is just around the corner! ❤😎

[@bxbuff]

Except those sirens weren't Q sirens......they were Model 28s

[@johnsanford2683]

Well you are right about that. But most of us guys have considerable hearing lose do the noise. I had some apparatus that was so damn noisy that you could hardly hear the radio communications or communicate to each other without yelling.When I go to retired firefighters meetings at the union house. we are still yelling at each other. LOL

[@bluerfoot]

Now we know. Breakdancing did originate in the south bronx. By a firefighter in a bar.

[@johnsanford2683]

Well we did love our juice. It helped you to cope with stress. Our wives understood, at least I hope they did.

[@musicforthepeople4701]

Love the picture of Black Moses (RIP) above the stereo set at 19:19

[@bohemoth1]

At 19:54 is a sight that you rarely see within the FDNY. A yellow helmet which distinguishes an Auxiliary Firefighter from a regular firefighter. I really don't know whatever happened to the Auxiliary Firefighters. I know that NYC still has the Auxiliary Police. The FDNY could have really benefited from them on 9/11.

[@wethepeople8542]

bohemoth1 Was wondering what the yellow helmet was. I never saw one.

[@corazoncubano5372]

I've never seen a firefighter with a yellow helmet. I didn't know auxiliary firefighters existed here in the city.

[@adkforever6997]

@bohemoth1 The Galaxy Being.

[@freedomguard7822]

STRENGTH & HONOR !!

[@juliusceasar6002]

nice transition from bagpipe to screaming fed q siren!

[@bostonrumble8997]

Outstanding!!!

[@kellyedey549]

Men were men then that's for sure.

[@bryce6744]

I didn't realise they had Breathing Appartus' back in the 70's - I thought they came in during the early 90s - but then again that's probably because I got that idea from watching Backdraft haha.

[@mikeatv]

theres no way out of the projects either....

[@andeusmc2030]

And the Federal still sounds the same after all of these years. Warriors throughout the War Years for sure.

[@JoeSmith-zv4ic]

When did they stop riding on the back/tops of wagons? How many needless deaths later?

[@diskochimp]

It's v. depressing to think that, as recently as the mid 1980s, ITV would show a serious documentary programme like Man Alive at 8.30pm on prime time TV... & that people would watch it in their millions. "Dumbed down Britain" strikes again. :( Great upload though - many thanks.

[@A_10_PaAng_111]

28:00 Where's the brother at?

[@Ibigoo]

@3:54 ...the desperate fight of the cameraman to cut out the kids... :D

[@brushrescue1701]

Now I know where backdraft got it from balloons filled with gasoline......... waw

[@speeta]

Riding tailboard, that poor fella could have died of head injures just the same if he'd been responding to a real fire. A good thing that practice ended.

[@bigdrew565]

speeta three years before this documentary, one of the firemen in engine 85 was killed in 1969 responding to a false alarm. He fell off the backstep. Died instantly.

[@user-si9fx4xb6v]

Dennis Smith mentions that incident in Chapter 1 of his best selling book, Report From Engine Company #82. If your a fire buff like me, I highly recommend reading it. I got a copy for Christmas one year and I could not put it down. Also I highly recommend Mr. Smith's other books about firefighting. He even wrote a children's book called The Little Fire Engine that Saved The City that my grandma used read to me when I was young.

[@carolineullrich7323]

True Hero's ! God Bless. They do such hard and dangerous work!

[@charlesgov3656]

Didn't a firefighter from Eng 82 write a book about this as well..Dennis "something. "Report from Engine 82" I believe it was.

[@bkfd202]

Dennis Smith, who is featured a bunch in this video...I read the book several times before seeing this, and he is much as I expected from the book.

[@notthatdonald1385]

I read Report from Engine 82 when the book came out. But during an interview Dennis Smith (author) always came off as somewhat arrogant. The did have Scott SCBA though rudimentary. They just didn't use them most of the time.

[@TheDjp198]

N.Y.F.D. ...# 1 GOD BLESS ALL FIREFIGHTERS... NUFF SAID !

[@PinchTheBarb]

It's the F.D.N.Y. come on man haha

[@TheDjp198]

YES ITS THE F.D.N.Y. THE FINEST FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE WORLD.! AGAIN NUFF SAID !!!!!!

[@joesmoe2599]

TheDjp198 WHY ARE YOU YELLING

[@johnsanford2683]

@@PinchTheBarb I remember riding down the highway one day and I noticed a large house with the cock loft off, with heavy smoke. I pulled in and stopped. A guy stopped beside me and he was an off duty NY Firefighter on vacation. We went inside with a garden hose with no nozzle on it and vacated the family , who were sitting in their living room watching the TV. Then we went upstairs and I stood on his shoulders as he shoved my ass into the cock loft to put the wet stuff on the red stuff. I managed to knock it down, but took as ass whipping doing it. WE laughed our asses off afterwards and went to have a beer.

[@johnsanford2683]

They called our generation leather heads because we wore the Cairns leather helmets. LOL

[@bxdale83]

43:32 the kid is wearing a "Seven Immortal"vest. Wow

[@deejaygroovy]

Yeah. I saw it too... The cameraman is bad!!! Hahaha

[@deejaygroovy]

Seven Nomads... 44:56

[@LigaFantasma]

bxdale83 51:29 a dude is flashing Savage Skulls colors.

[@patricklo1514]

everything in 70s looks like cover an yellowish filter

[@freddyp07ify]

They should make modern day movie of this. Spike Lee ??

[@EchoCT-pg2fp]

Theres one called "Burn". its about Detroit though

[@JoyOfMachine]

go watch Rescue me

[@njjjjjjjjhhhs]

gisforgary So sad, the landlords would burn the buildings and never got charged, quite the opposite. They would get checks from their insurance company. 2 years ago•1

[@samt9912]

are they 82?

[@jameslee7535]

very interesting ! made the year I was born !

[@Johnny7051MC]

28:27, love that, the Firemen hanging off the back of 31-Truck, love it!! I was so born in the wrong generation, God forbid they let us do that now, "no can't do that",........Prudes.

[@johnsanford2683]

Ha !! Back in the day, when be had no buckets to sit in, we rode the back step and we were told that if you fell off you damn well have a rail in each hand when you hit the ground. can you imagine riding a ladder truck riding on the side of the ladder?

[@9751asd]

Does anyone know anything about the fate of the Mack pumper in this video?

[@waysav]

Wow, no air packs!

[@thebluesman9319]

waysav -- Ol' "leather lung", and Nomex by God!

[@andrewperry813]

+waysav There's a pretty clear shot of one at 37:15, but like +autobot 84 said, it's only one. Crazy! I feel like both firefighting and the south Bronx truly were the wild west.

[@steve1978ger]

they would rather send three members to the hospital after a routine fire... those where tough times.

[@deckerhand12]

I seen a few scba in this. In today’s firefighting you will not find any smoke eaters. Now they have hoods coving their ears the old times will tell you they used their ears to tell them when to get out.

[@EskimoJoe492]

26:37...never would've gotten away with that today!

[@goov47]

+EskimoJoe492 That's for sure!

[@robg836]

you've never been in a NY fire dept then.....

[@jaimiefisher1702]

What happened at 26:37?

[@kollusion1]

Excellent! The good old days.

[@280StJohnsPl]

The War Years

[@raymondj8768]

Americas Heroes !!!!!!!!

[@louisbailey1127]

ladder 31 was a tiller then a cherry picker now

[@9751asd]

What do you mean?

[@hopester0217]

The absolute "Bravest".

[@simonmadi1177]

Why is it FDNY, but it's NYPD? Always wondered why.

[@bk14nyc]

DSNY (NYC Dept. of Sanitation) New York’s Strongest! 👍👍👍

[@emt5330]

FDNY's official name is the Fire Department of New York. Hence, FDNY. NYPD's full name is the New York Police Department.

[@matthewbulger5876]

What Year Did The New York City Fire Department Outlaw Fire Fighters Riding On Back Of The Engine Companies? I Guess It Was Too Dangerous Right? I Await Your Answer.

[@azul8811]

I forget exactly. It might have been somewhere _around_ 1975 or so. I believe O'Hagan was the Chief of Department at the time.

[@9751asd]

does anyone know if Dennis smith is still alive??

[@masterm43]

9751asd He is

[@GeneralZodFDNY77]

Yes.

[@vsmichael1]

Steven seagals movie above the law some was filmed under that train trussell at the beginning of this film.

[@bayknight20]

The 70's were such a bad hair era

[@majestyk3337]

It was for men. The 80's was for women.

[@tzisme]

L. 17-2, Sq. 1, L.48...some of the best times and the worst could be lived all in one night tour.

[@BronxRiverEducation]

What years? My dad was in that area 62-82.

[@pitbullbitedog]

he reminds me hu.jackman

[@babscabs1987]

Snipers!?

[@wethepeople8542]

babscabs1987 Yep and tons of airmail to the cops to.

[@MatthewMello]

Am I seeing things, or am I counting up to 8 men on the apparatus?

[@kelvinshiang4791]

Is this news real?

[@ABCABC-hn1xw]

The announcer head is partially gone

[@boblawblaw6875]

No masks or breathing apparatus back then I guess