Category: Mic’d In New Haven Highlights
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🔥 “It was everywhere — an absolute inferno.”
In Volume 7 of Best of The Bravest: Interviews with The FDNY’s Elite — New Haven Edition — Fire Chief Dan Coughlin recounts the October 2023 Ferry Street fire, the city’s largest blaze in more than three decades. What began as a standard morning response quickly escalated into a four-alarm…
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“The best thing I did as Fire Commissioner — and the most painful.” Former FDNY Commissioner on 1998 formation of Squads
🔥 “The best thing I did as Fire Commissioner — and the most painful.” In July 1998, under the leadership of Commissioner Tom Von Essen, the FDNY established its Special Operations Squads — elite companies designed to bolster the city’s technical rescue capabilities and support the department’s five Rescue Companies.…
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The Snake Job 🐍
When retired NYPD Emergency Service Unit Officer Carl Russo picked up an animal job in Brooklyn, he didn’t expect to walk into a scene out of a horror movie — blood on the walls, a man cornered with a steak knife, and a 15-foot Burmese python lunging to attack. With…
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🚓 The Birth of “NYPD POLICE”
In the mid-1990s, a quiet but significant change appeared on New York City patrol cars — the familiar “NYC Police” lettering gave way to “NYPD POLICE.” Former Deputy Commissioner of Fleet Services Robert Martinez recalls how that transition reflected more than a cosmetic tweak. Commissioner Howard Safir and Mayor Rudy…
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🚑 The 1996 Merger: EMS Meets the FDNY
When HHC EMS was merged into the FDNY in 1996, there were growing pains — and big debates. One proposal was to run EMS communications under a battalion-based model, similar to how fire companies operate. Retired FDNY EMS Captain Mitch Stern, then working in communications, knew that wouldn’t work. With…
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🚑 “Don’t worry kid, the woman does all the work.”
At just 19 years old and fresh out of EMT school, Mike Granton got thrown into the deep end — delivering a baby in a Brooklyn walk-up with nothing but an OB kit, a pair of medic shears, and a whole lot of nerves. From panic to relief, this unforgettable…
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FDNY Lieutenant Dave Russell on His First Tour
FDNY Lt. Dave Russell remembers his first tour: senior firefighters, a massive header on the horizon, stairways filled with debris, and heat so intense a single wrong move could have burned through helmets. Following trusted leaders into chaos, he learned what it meant to earn your place on the job.…
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A 3 AM call: A firefighter buried, another trapped — and a department forever changed
At 3:00 AM, a call came in no firefighter ever wants to hear: a building collapse. Lt. Sean Williamson was buried. Others were trapped — among them, Bobby Brennan Jr., the son of a veteran battalion chief. In Volume 6 of Best of The Bravest: Nationwide Edition, Deputy Chief Anthony…
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COVID: NYC’s Fight – Unbelievable Scenes & Heroes’ Sacrifice
When the pandemic brought New York City to its knees, FDNY veteran Bill Gross answered the call. In Volume 72 of Best of The Bravest: Interviews with The FDNY’s Elite, Bill — a longtime EMT and member of the FDNY’s administrative staff — reflects on returning to help the city…
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He Chased Smugglers at 2 AM: His First ‘Holy Crap Moment in Law Enforcement
In 1987, just two weeks out of the academy, rookie U.S. Customs Special Agent Pete Ostrovsky was thrown into the deep end — literally. At 2 AM off the coast of Miami, he and his team pursued smugglers by boat into the Bahamas, a baptism by fire that set the…
Mike Colón Media 