Mike Colón Media

My first time visiting the FDNY’s training facility

I’ll never turn down a trip to New York City. I’ll especially never turn down that trip if it involves the NYPD or FDNY. Such was the case on Monday, August 7, 2023.

Admittedly, as a lifelong fire buff, I’d always wanted to go to Randall’s Island. Some of the greatest firefighters not just in FDNY history but fire service history period has trained there and even went on to instruct others there. It’s sacred ground and finally, I was going to get to walk it.

Of the many FDNY/NYPD friendships I’ve been fortunate to make, one of them is current FDNY Chief of Safety Frank Leeb. A previous guest on my program and frequent guest on the Gettin’ Salty Experience, he is a gentleman who leads as you’re supposed to, with confidence and trust in his personnel and terrific humility by extension. It’s a pleasure to know him. He makes you feel important and is never distant nor holier than thou as some in prominent leadership positions tend to be.

What’s better? This was a work trip as part of my duties with the West Haven Fire Department. It hardly felt like “work” at all, and I mean that in the best of ways! With the intent of adapting some of the FDNY’s techniques and bringing those methods, or at the very minimum some semblance of them back to Connecticut, I set out to The Rock alongside my Captain Jake Urban and West Haven Fire Department Historian and retired Lieutenant Bill Heffernan. An hour and a half later, there we were. Just off a highway, the FDNY Training Academy on Randall’s Island is almost its own world.

A city in of itself, it’s built on legacy, experience, trials and triumphs. Each street for example, bears the name of a fallen firefighter, one of thousands who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice across the department’s history. Taking us around was Chief Leeb, Captain Jerry Perillo, Firefighter Joe Wisz, and Firefighter Dave Beshears. All gentlemen with a sense of humor to match, they gave us a walkthrough of The Rock.

First up was a look at the department video production unit. Comprised of two trailers, the unit reached new heights during the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic. Forced to shift to virtual trainings and filming sessions, they survived and thrived, unearthing a new methodology of teaching the next generation of smoke eaters through those videos and film work. Done with a core focus on improving in all facets of firefighting, the unit shouldered a heavy load. But after the rundown we received of what they do, I couldn’t help but feel proud. The fire service always adapts and is always resilient. The FDNY is no different.

Next was the plaque dedication ceremony. Beginning shortly after 10AM, a quiet descended over the crowd, for a brief moment the only sounds were the light rain and wind whipping about. This dedication would be for fallen members of the department who served during their careers in The Bronx. A majority of the members posthumously honored were those who succumbed to 9/11 related illnesses. With each name, a bell was tolled. Each toll signifying a life of service tragically extinguished far sooner than it should have been. Then, came the bagpipes.

Spending the amount of time I have around police officers and firefighters, I’ve heard the bagpipes several times before. Still, each time they start to play I get the chills. This occasion was no different. I didn’t know any of the names mentioned but even then, I still found myself wishing they were here. But in the same vein, I was proud of them. They gave everything they had until the bitter end, and that’s a special kind of courage and dedication no column written by even the best of wordsmiths could ever truly encapsulate.

Afterwards, there was much more to see, and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to see it. First up an entire subway train utilized to simulate all kinds of underground emergencies. From people struck by trains to electrical outages, active shooters, and terrorist attacks, this exhibit is dedicated to Firefighter Carmelo Puccia, who was tragically struck and killed by a train while operating at a below ground emergency on January 6, 1970. Included in the exhibit is a stirring tribute to him and his family, remembering both the firefighter and father he was and the life he never got to fully live.

Afterwards, the aircraft simulator designed to train for responses to aircraft emergencies of any kind. Extensive in nature, it follows the mold of late Chief of Special Operations Ray Downey, a legend of the FDNY and fire service as a whole, who responded to several emergencies involving planes amongst many other situations across his storied career before ultimately laying down his life heroically alongside 342 of his men on September 11, 2001. Not too far from the simulator lies a poignant tribute to him too. His plaque mantled fittingly onto World Trade Center steel.

Each hallway and each rig represented history. Patches, tools, and pictures telling the story of an agency that while constantly evolving, has always stayed true to its mission: to protect life and property. Outside again, we were observing and conversing, when all of a sudden rolling up to us was an old Grand Plymouth Fury from the 80’s driven by the department quartermaster. Utilized by the Fire Marshals of that era, the vehicle remains adorned in FDNY colors and very well maintained!

When Chief Leeb and the quartermaster asked me to get in? Well, the lifelong buff in me fully jumped out. I think my cheekbones hurt from how hard I was smiling! Now this? This was a proud moment. As I got off the car and said my farewells to Chief Leeb and his driver Joe Wisz, I noticed another familiar face I’d been hoping to see. Sitting off in a pavilion area was Amanda Farinacci, press secretary for the FDNY, another former guest of my show and yet another person I’ve been fortunate to befriend.

An excellent reporter at New York 1 prior to her 2021 arrival to the department, and more than that a warrior who like my mother beat breast cancer, she’s someone I have a very big amount of love and fondness for. I didn’t want to interrupt her conversation but thankfully for me she turned her head and noticed me: “Hey Mike, how are you?!” she said as I beelined and hugged her. Yet another cool moment. It’s always wonderful to finally see someone in person after a longtime interacting with them!

After one more trip through more hallways of history, we bought some shirts (I mean come on we had to!) and then headed home. The time upon boarding our car? 11:52AM. It was one of those mornings where time truly seemed to stand still in all the right ways. It was a full plate and a full view that I never wanted to end. If the me of today could tell 7-year-old me he’d one day get to see it and it’d be part of the scope of his job, he’d never believe. Well believe it kid, you made it!

I truly thank everyone for their hospitality and warmth they showed. I get teased by my fire department friends that I love cops more. Don’t get me wrong I love my police and I’m not ashamed to admit it. But I have a large amount of love for firefighters too, and that love with this experience only grew deeper. A day at The Rock, a day to remember, a day like no other.

Mike Colón is the host of the Mic’d in New Haven Podcast which can be found on all podcast platforms and is simulcast in video form on YouTube