First In, Last Out
Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department
Chapter One
You're the Chief
I've been working on this book for more than twenty years, ever since I stepped down
from the cab of 11 Truck's apparatus and came face-to-face with a big fire that was
gutting a ConEd plant on Manhattan's Lower East Side. I was a young man then, twenty-two
years old, and I was, like all young men, worldly, wise beyond my years, and
fearless.
I'd been on the job only a little while, having been appointed back in 1979. After
graduating from the academy, I was assigned to 34 Engine, but that was too quiet for me,
so I worked the system and got over to 11 Truck, on the Lower East Side. Our firehouse
was on East Second Street, between Avenues B and C. Alphabet City. I loved it. I loved
everything about being a firefighter. Not only that, but I figured I was getting pretty good
at it. I had already made up my mind that there wasn't much a fire could throw at me that
I couldn't handle.
The call came in during a day tour. As I said, I was on 11 Truck then, which shared
quarters with 28 Engine. Most ... read full excerpt from First In, Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department ebook
