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Rescue 4 left Queens in minutes
Five rescue companies
The FDNY has one rescue company in each borough: Rescue 1 in Manhattan, 2 in Brooklyn, 3 in the Bronx, 4 in Queens, and 5 in Staten Island. They fall under Special Operations Command, which means more specialized training. Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell, 46, was in Rescue 4.
The long trip
The trip from Queens is not far in distance, but with traffic it usually takes a significant amount of time. Because of the scale of what was going down on 9/11, the company responded far outside its usual area.
A good job
Firefighters have a phrase for a big fire: a good job. We had a good job last night means the company went to a large one. The mindset behind it is wanting to go do what they can to help, taking someone's worst day and making it as good as they can. The brotherhood and camaraderie of it brings them together, and they love it.
Patrick Dowdell's brother is a firefighter now, and he served in Rescue 2, one of the same firehouses their father worked in for many years.
How do rescue companies differ from engine companies?
Engine companies focus on getting water onto a fire, while truck companies handle forcible entry, ventilation, and search. FDNY rescue companies add specialized tools and training for situations such as building collapse, trench and confined-space rescue, and high-angle rope work. Their rigs carry hydraulic cutting and spreading tools, air bags for lifting, and breathing gear for long operations.
How do distant companies end up at one fire?
In New York, a fire is dispatched by alarm level, and each higher level brings more engines, ladders, and chiefs from farther away. Officers can also request specialized units such as rescue companies by name. Companies from other areas then move into vacated firehouses to cover neighborhoods whose own units have left. On September 11, 343 FDNY members died.