Black Sunday - FDNY Rescue 3 Firefighter Jeff Cool
Rescue 3 Firefighter Jeff Cool, FDNY (ret.), sits down with Jeremy and discusses the events of January 23, 2005, the day that has become known as “Black Sunday”. Responding to a tenement fire in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, Firefighter Cool along with five other firefighters were forced to jump from the fourth story after their exit was trapped by advancing fire. Firefighter Cool sustained career ending injuries from a job he loved. He credits his survival to his personal rope in his pocket and his Rescue 3 brother, Joey DiBernardo.
Working in partnership with the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, Firefighter Cool now travels across the country sharing his experience, to educate our own on the importance of personal escape systems. It is the mission of Firefighter Cool and the Foundation to preserve the sacrifice of those who were injured and for those who had lost their lives as a result of that tragic day. Raising awareness and soliciting sponsorships to fund grants for personal escape systems drives them to ensure we never forget their sacrifices. Joey DiBernardo loved the job and loved to teach. What a fitting way to see his legacy flourish by educating and protecting our own.
To hear the entire story, contact Jeff Cool through the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation at info@joeydfoundation.org. Schedule your lecture today and help support the Foundation and the mission of protecting our own.
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“Black Sunday” was titled by the media to describe January 23, 2005, a tragic day for the New York City Fire Department and the City of New York. Three firefighters were killed in two separate fires that fateful day; Lt. Curtis Meyran and FF John Bellew jumped to their deaths in the Bronx and FF Richard Sclafani who perished in a two-family house fire in Brooklyn.
The Bronx fire also involved career-ending injuries for several other firefighters, as they too had to jump from the fourth story of the East 178th Street tenement. Jeff Cool, Brendan Cawley, Joey DiBernardo and Gene Stolowski were all severely injured and disabled from their fall. Joey DiBernardo was promoted to Lieutenant during his extended recovery and passed away November 22, 2011 from complications of his injuries sustained that day.
Joey DiBernardo and the other survivors initiated a campaign for the issuance of personal life safety ropes for all members of the FDNY and, as a result of this fire, the FDNY did reissue ropes to all of its’ members. This mission did not stop with just New York City. They regularly spoke and lectured about the importance of personal escape systems for firefighters while telling their story and reliving that fateful January day.
After Joey DiBernardo’s passing, the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation (Joey D Foundation), was created to carry on Joey’s legacy by educating firefighters across the country about the importance of personal escape systems. Through speaking events, training seminars and sponsorships, the foundation issues grants to fire departments for personal escape systems. To date, the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation has awarded over $694,353 to departments who submitted to their grant process. Joey’s legacy lives on each day as the foundation continues to equip our own with lifesaving equipment.
Grant Information - www.joeydfoundation.org/grants
Contact Information - info@joeydfoundation.org
“Are you on the job, or into the job?”
- Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo
Пікірлер: 31
I purchased my own self-bailing rescue egress system which cost me around $500 but it is my life!!!
Thank you sir for sharing your story. And absolutely if we are lucky enough to get to work with our heroes it's definitely something that you will always know and respect. Man what a great message.
What a wonderful video by you Mr Cool. I was a fireman for thirty three years. I think there are some brothers who think it will never happen to them. I do not care if you’re a volunteer fireman with ten calls a year, it can still happen to you. Take care brother and God bless us all
THANK YOU Mr COOL ! YOU ARE STILL SAVING LIVES ! BLESS YOU AND YOURS ! 🇺🇲
We use bailout gear due to your story. We train on it often and even last night we trained bailing out a second floor window. Also we train at the Joey D flash over box at the Suffolk Fire Academy. The trainers always tell us the story and gives us a sense of urgency to get better at bailout. Thank you for helping to keep us safe, we owe you a ton Mr Cool.
Thank you for speaking the truth about how important it is to have the greatest chance to survive a life-threatening situation! I bought my own self-bailing rescue harness and rope repelling system!! Thank you for your sacrifice!!!
Thank you Jeff. Long live Joey D!
Thank you for keeping Joe D's story alive. And not just his dtory, the entire story. They say you only die when your name is spoken for the last time. Im glad you did this. Thanks
Nice job Jeff, as we spoke weeks ago its amazing how many Departments out there do not have bail out systems!
Joey D was to be my probie instructor at Suffolk County Fire Academy. We had two classes with him and then he went to work that faithful day. I remember telling the senior guys at my vollie dept he was going to be my instructor. It was then that I learned just how amazing an oppurtunity I was going to get. I remember those first two classes he tought, he was so full of excitement and pride for the job.
Amazing story and well spoken…kudos to such a skill in communicating meaningful detail in a amazingly articulate manner…like a human in 100% awareness
I went to the Funeral Homes and was standing in the long line for Curtis Meyran and a Firefighter recognized me and took me by my arm.." I know who you are Sir"..He than took me inside and to the Casket.. I said a Prayer..and was introduced to Family..I was so very Sad..I told the Family that I didn't know Curtis but I would never forget Him and I haven't and I won't.. My Son John his name is Memorialized in Granite and Stone, but the most poignant Memorial is in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.. Joey D is in your heart and through you in mine....When I mourn for my Son I mourn also for those who have Fallen before him and after..I write what I write to tell a Story of Heroes.. Not only because of how they died but Heroes because of how they lived..Thank you Jeff for your Story..you make Angels smile..
@NationalFireRadio
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you John for sharing this. We are honored to help share their story and to make sure it is never forgotten. Jeff and the Joey D Foundation is making an impact with their mission to protect our own. Learning from history... we have an obligation to learn from the sacrifices of our fallen. Honor our Brothers and ensure their legacy lives on.
@colleenfromsydney4194
5 ай бұрын
Well said Mr Napolitano.
14:08 the entire tragedy is heart wrenching…the last few minutes yank at the soul. Bless all involved in public service minus government bureaucracy & politicians.
Hello Jeff just saw the Black Sunday Video, great job my brother “keep On Keeping On” Doing great things for the fire service ☮️❤️
God bless! 🇺🇸
So glad I found this channel. I'm hoping to be a firefighter soon, so having all of this knowledge in this video and the rest, it is invaluable and an awesome learning tool.
@NationalFireRadio
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for subscribing!!
Stellar job by host as well as interviewee …sorry can’t think of name of hero story teller
Worked wit Joe senior. I was in L-3 and he was Capt E-33. Solid guy. Von dumbass and his replacement should have faced charges over that cheap moronic policy and in not replacing the system we relied upon. I too went out and bought my own. Remember they also took out harnesses that had expired, never bought new ones, and the Engine guys had to give them up to supply the trucks.
I went through the Ems academy with his son.
At any time during a extinguishment or search, if you get to the point where you can't protect yourself and you obviously can't protect the victims, you back out until you have re-established your ability for protection. Common sense and logic dictates that. Those are the tools you use to make decisions, not your emotions.
Emmanuel freed his red book fire fighting in New York City. Do you think you’ve got a fire behind the wall don’t open it do you have a line I did it once in DC once went into a second alarm immediately
I find that alot of FF on this day were to blame why people are in fires without scba on I've been in fires with smoke eaters and it goes south quick
Bailout gear should not be the reaction to firefighting mistakes like this. You don't create Bandaids for Bad training, you fix the training. You never proceed beyond your ability to protect yourself and others. They did and this happened.
My father was a ff.in.ladder.38.eng.88
Great video, liked and shared your video as well as subscribed and also shared your channel to my fb group 🧑🏻👍🏻
@NationalFireRadio
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you. A powerful story that needs to be shared. Thank you for taking the time to watch and share!! We appreciate your support.
@NeilM01989
2 жыл бұрын
@@NationalFireRadio It's no problem 🧑🏻👍🏻