It's a scene we've all watched on television news — one you never think will be played out on one of your streets, in your community. Unfortunately, over the past month, it has been repeated all too often in all too many communities, some right here where we live. And today, outside Sacred Heart Church in Suffern, we'll see it once again. And once again, it will hit too close to home.
Firefighters from every Rockland department and from most departments in Bergen and Orange counties will line Washington Avenue to honor Andrew Fredericks of Suffern, a New York City firefighter who died in the Twin Towers attacks. Side by side with them will be firefighters from Rochester, Syracuse and other upstate departments. They will stand shoulder to shoulder with firefighters who have come from Ohio, Michigan and possibly as far away as Florida. They've come to honor Fredericks, but they've also come to give thanks. Fredericks, who was attached to the NYFD's Squad 18, was an author and teacher, a national authority on engine company operations. He started out fighting fires as a volunteer in Suffern, and before long realized he wanted to make it his career. He and Joel Kanasky, another Suffern volunteer, took jobs in Alexandria, Va., just to get a start. Later, they returned to Rockland to become members of New York City's bravest and to teach at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona.
FDNY Lt. Mike Wilbur of Otisville worked with Fredericks for about five years, starting in 1990 at a firehouse on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. He fought fires next to Fredericks and taught with him at the New York State Fire Academy in Montour Falls. It was there, Wilbur told me last night at Fredericks' wake at Scarr Funeral Home, that his friend taught firefighters from Elmira, Rome, Utica and all across New York. "He had a tremendous sense of humor," Wilbur said, but what impressed him most was Fredericks' dedication. "His thirst for knowledge about our craft was insatiable," he said, "and he had a remarkable ability to teach others. "He was a national expert. He fulfilled his teaching responsibilities while balancing his family life," Wilbur said.
Fredericks did some of his teaching at national firefighting conferences. At one of them, about four years ago, he so impressed three fire instructors from Ann Arbor, Mich., that they drove more than nine hours to pay their respects last night. After that conference, they asked him for advice on their rapid response training program based at Michigan State University. "He rode with us at night in Detroit," said firefighter Andrew Box, adding, "He was always talking about his wife, Michelle, and their kids."
As much as Fredericks loved the fire service, he loved his family more, Box said. As they wanted him to teach more in Michigan, he was concerned that the travel would keep him from home. He was going to make the trip in December for a state conference, said Training Chief Don Fisher, who praised Fredericks as "one of the best authors of our time in terms of fire service." Fredericks, who wrote often for Fire Engineering magazine and produced training videos, also had his own consulting company and was an adjunct lecturer at John Jay College. His loss is a serious blow to the staff at the Fire Training Center, said Dan Greeley, Rockland's assistant director of fire and emergency services. "There was nobody who knew more about the fire service than Andy," he said. "He lived it."
About 1,000 people paid their respects throughout the day and evening yesterday, and many more including Mayor Rudolph Giuliani — are expected in Suffern for his funeral. Many have come, Wilbur said, because Fredericks had always traveled to teach them. But it's more than that, Greeley said.
"The knowledge he provided others has saved many of their lives and the lives of many others." Because of his extensive writing, the films and his teachings, Greeley said, that will continue long into the future.
Journal News
October 8, 2001