Video Transcript
Firefighter Casey Chan is Serving the Community that Raised Her
(DESCRIPTION)
A firefighter with a face shield and helmet turns in a hallway with a headlamp as her only light source.
[DEEP BREATHING] (SPEECH)
CASEY CHAN: When I first told my family that I wanted to be a firefighter, they took it a little rough.
(DESCRIPTION)
She peers around darkness through a gas mask.
(SPEECH)
They didn’t love the idea. And they didn’t really know how to react. Seeing me go through Academy, graduate, and really enjoy going to work every day has changed their minds.
(DESCRIPTION)
Text, This is a story of a real Firefighter in the FDNY.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
Text, Profiles in Bravery, Casey Chan, E-15. Casey holds the head of a fire hose in full gear.
(SPEECH)
Since I’ve gotten on the job, I got assigned to an area that was close to the area I grew up in.
(DESCRIPTION)
She jogs through a parking lot in an FDNY shirt.
(SPEECH)
One of the most rewarding things about being on this job and working in my community is being able to help people in multiple languages. I think that that is a really big part of being in my community.
(DESCRIPTION)
She and a fellow firefighter walk outside a station house.
(SPEECH)
Going into, honestly, any emergency where somebody who can only speak Cantonese and I try my best– I’m not the greatest at it. But it offers them a little bit of security that they otherwise wouldn’t have had.
(DESCRIPTION)
Enters a building with a fire hose, coming out of bright daylight into a dark corridor.
(SPEECH)
For me growing up, if my parents were in that situation, if we did encounter firefighters or an emergency situation and somebody was able to speak to them, that would have changed everything about it. It’s nice to be able to be that for people.
(DESCRIPTION)
Wind blows her hair as she stands outside a brick building in a heavy jacket. A group of firefighters stow a fire hose on the truck.
(SPEECH)
I really didn’t see firefighters growing up, especially female firefighters. My probie school class graduated 16 women. And that was a really rewarding experience.
(DESCRIPTION)
She walks along the top of the fire truck in her fire jacket.
(SPEECH)
If someone said that they didn’t think that this was something they could do, I would tell them that it absolutely is
(DESCRIPTION)
She and another fireman spray a fire with a hose inside a warehouse.
(SPEECH)
because I have proved it to myself that I’m able to be here and able to do the work. And I have to show other people that it’s possible.
(DESCRIPTION)
Text, FDNY. ALL HEROES WELCOME. For more information, visit JoinFDNY.com.
Video Transcript
Firefighter Tyrin Torres Says the Fire Academy Teaches You to Never Give Up
[SIREN] (DESCRIPTION)
Orange flames billow under the trunk of a model car. A firefighter in full protective gear opens the trunk’s lid using a Halligan bar, and orange flames jump out of the trunk. The number 123 is in large white font on a red rectangle at the front of the firefighter’s helmet. The number 8554 is below that in smaller white font.
(SPEECH)
[MUSIC PLAYING] TYRIN TORRES: I grew up in Coney island, Brooklyn, 10 brothers, five sisters, 16 of us, and one apartment. Came up pretty rough.
(DESCRIPTION)
He closes the trunk’s lid using the Halligan bar.
(SPEECH)
I felt like it was my turn. I was running out of options.
(DESCRIPTION)
He turns around and walks away from the car.
Text, this is a story of a real Firefighter in the FDNY.
(SPEECH)
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
Text, Profiles in Bravery, Tyrin Torres, L-123. A black and white photo depicts Tyrin about to hit something with his Halligan bar. He stands next to an SUV that has a smashed windshield.
(SPEECH)
You got to be competitive in a household that’s so big. Everything was a competition in the house. Who could do the most push-ups, who could run the fastest.
(DESCRIPTION)
He does some push-ups on a floor.
(SPEECH)
We would get off school, and we lived on the 23rd floor. So we would go from the ground floor, race up to the 23rd floor.
(DESCRIPTION)
He climbs some stairs. Then he uses a treadmill. He wears a dark T-shirt with FDNY printed in white on the back, and a logo on the upper arm. In the next scene, he speaks with a lit FDNY logo on a wall behind him.
(SPEECH)
We used to call my brother Slow Mo because he used to always lose. So his name was Quentin. We called him Slow Mo.
(DESCRIPTION)
He does some chin-ups.
(SPEECH)
I wasn’t the fastest, but I was one of the strongest.
(DESCRIPTION)
He lowers himself and hangs from the bar.
(SPEECH)
Going into public school, I prepared by going into a lot of fat programs, switched up my workout. The things that I was doing was different from the things that I would need to do coming into public school. I wasn’t doing burpees and jumping jacks. I was more just calisthenics, push-ups, pull-ups, and dips.
(DESCRIPTION)
He walks wearing his firefighter suit.
(SPEECH)
When I went there, they told me, if I won a Fitness Award, that I would be able to pick what firehouse I would go to. So I told them, I was like, yeah, I’m going to win the Fitness Award.
(DESCRIPTION)
He strikes an already broken car windshield using his Halligan bar. Another firefighter stands beside him. A firetruck is behind them.
(SPEECH)
When I came to probie school though, and I seen, most of the guys was much younger than me. And I was just like, you know what? I’m not even about to get in competition with these young guys.
But when I went out there to do my baseline push-ups, one of the DIs came to me and told me that 80 was my number to beat. So she flipped on the competition, that competitive nature in me. And that just made me go.
(DESCRIPTION)
He stands and stares down at flickering flames, as rising heat turns the air into a mirage.
(SPEECH)
I won the Fitness Award.
Fitness matters in the fire department because it’s strenuous work.
(DESCRIPTION)
He lifts a large dumbbell to his chin then stands.
(SPEECH)
The elevators might be out. It’s a fire. The fire is on the 30th floor.
(DESCRIPTION)
He climbs a fire escape ladder.
(SPEECH)
You got to get up there and you still got to do your job. There’s still people that need saving up there.
So it’s not just making it to the top floor and being gassed. The brain will tell you that you’re done, but the body still got 50% more to go. You still got a job to do.
(DESCRIPTION)
He reaches the landing of the fire escape. He holds his Halligan bar and enters a room through a window.
(SPEECH)
This is serious work. There’s no time for nobody to be nervous. The person behind that door in that fire, they’re nervous. They don’t have time for you to be nervous. So come in here brave, and come in here ready to work.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
He stands before the window, and he and the Halligan bar are silhouetted against the blue sky.
Logo, FDNY. Text, ALL HEROES WELCOME. For more information, visit JoinFDNY.com.
Video Transcript
Firefighter Shanah Laroche is Inspiring Future Trailblazer
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
Two firefighters walk around the front of a firetruck. One tugs a hose towards a simulated car fire. Another puts on gloves, a gas mask and a helmet with the number 309 above a smaller number 9711.
(SPEECH)
SHANAH LAROCHE: I was in college. I was going for pharmacy tech.
(DESCRIPTION)
The first firefighter aims a stream of water at the back of the car on fire. The second firefighter directs a second stream of water toward the flames.
(SPEECH)
I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was just going for it just to try to get a career. And then when I met Melissa Bennett and went to workouts with her, I got a lot more comfortable.
FDNY was throwing a mobile academy, where we came out Randall’s Island. And they brought us to building one, and they were doing the rescue. So they put the rope around us and we went over the building.
When I tell you, I was like, yup. I could do this every day. [LAUGHS] I was like, this is the job for me. And it was just green light from there.
(DESCRIPTION)
She aims her hose at the flames.
(SPEECH)
I grabbed my sister and was like, we’re going to go through this journey together.
(DESCRIPTION)
Text, This is a story of a real Firefighter in the FDNY. Profiles in Bravery. Shanah Laroche, E-309.
(SPEECH)
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
In a black and white photo, she aims a fire hose into the distance. She examines the folded hose in the back of a fire truck as someone else stands behind her.
(SPEECH)
I remember going to certain runs and I would see little Black girls. They’ll see the firefighters at first. And then they’ll look at me and they’ll be like, oh, my gosh. There’s a woman, someone like me.
(DESCRIPTION)
With her helmet off, Shanah looks from side to side.
(SPEECH)
At one point, I heard two little girls running down the street. “Mommy, mommy, there’s a girl firefighter! There’s a girl firefighter!”
And that makes me happy, because I feel like I’m making a difference.
(DESCRIPTION)
Shanah smiles at a fellow firefighter.
(SPEECH)
Seeing that opens up doors for other Haitian female firefighters. And saying that, hey, this is something that I could do myself.
[MUSIC PLAYING] Don’t give up. Keep going. Push yourself.
It’s going to be hard. Just take a second and know that you can do this job like anybody else. You’re putting so much good in this world helping others. This is a non-selfish job. So why wouldn’t you want to do it?
(DESCRIPTION)
She and a second firefighter work together to put out a fire in a darkened smoke-filled room.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (SPEECH)
I feel like I leave home to come home. FDNY is my family. FDNY is my career. FDNY is my life.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
Logo, FDNY. Text, ALL HEROES WELCOME. For more information, visit visit JoinFDNY.com.
Video Transcript
Firefighter Emmanuel Zuaznabar Mentors the Next Generation
[MUSIC PLAYING] (DESCRIPTION)
In a dark room, bright orange flames lap up from a raging fire.
A firefighter pauses as he stands beside a concrete wall to the left of the fire.
(SPEECH)
EMMANUEL ZUAZNABAR: I think the one trait that you should have is grit because you need to be able to push yourself.
(DESCRIPTION)
His helmet displays the number 110 above the smaller number 13950.
(SPEECH)
The moments when your body wants to tell you that you’re done, you’re not. And you have to be able to push past that. So you need grit.
(DESCRIPTION)
Text, This is a story of a real firefighter in the FDNY. Profiles in Bravery.
In a black and white photo, Emmanuel Zuaznabar, L-110, climbs a ladder in full firefighting gear.
[MUSIC PLAYING] (SPEECH)
I work in the neighborhood where I spent the majority of my teens here, Fort Greene.
(DESCRIPTION)
He walks down the sidewalk with two other firefighters.
(SPEECH)
Even now, the firehouse that I serve– I told the senior man– I was like, I remember you. I was stuck in the elevator and you pulled me out. And I’m now– I’m that guy.
(DESCRIPTION)
Emmanuel uses the jaws of life on a vehicle.
(SPEECH)
I feel like I’ve been in a lot of situations where I can inspire kids, where we’ve come on a run and the kid asked me to shoot a basketball in the projects. They have a basketball hoop. He’s like, hey, shoot for me real quick, firefighter. And I was like, yeah. I stand to the side. I take a shot. I miss. But it still motivates him just that the community hangs out with them. And that was a big part of me getting in.
(DESCRIPTION)
He examines the exterior of a firetruck.
(SPEECH)
Firefighters around my neighborhood always spoke to me, spared some time if I had questions for them, made jokes about them cooking, can I come over. And now I’m that same guy in the supermarket.
(DESCRIPTION)
Emmanuel smiles as he stands in front of a large bridge. He speaks and points at an unseen object.
(SPEECH)
My first fire, getting on the rig, it’s a high-adrenaline situation. Now it’s real. You get out of probie school. And the tones for a fire come out. And your adrenaline is pumping. And your fingers are shaking.
I dressed up. I get on the rig. And I feel like something’s missing. And I’m fumbling. There’s nothing wrong with my uniform. But in my head, I feel like there’s something– like I’m not prepared.
But then I look across. And the guy said, breathe. I took two seconds. And I remembered– it sounds corny to some people. But all you have to do is take that second to breathe. I stopped, looked at myself, realized I’m good. And we pulled up to the building. I looked up. And I did my job.
(DESCRIPTION)
Logo, FDNY. Text, ALL HEROES WELCOME. For more information, visit JoinFDNY.com.
Ashley Laroche, Ladder 236
Being a firefighter has truly changed who I am as a person.
OUR CULTURE
THE CULTURE OF THE FDNY
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
DE&I at Work
The FDNY is committed to equitable recruiting and service fulfillment, and we work hard to foster diversity. We’re looking for qualified individuals from all communities who will be proud to maintain its long tradition of responding to all those in need, no matter their race, creed, nationality or religion.
SUPPORTIVE TEAM
Find Your Fit
Beyond working as a firefighter, we offer numerous ways to be part of the FDNY. With one of the strongest unions in NYC, multiple sports teams and more than 30 affiliations, you’re sure to discover your community within the FDNY. There’s something for everyone. For specific DE&I affiliations, check out our FDNY DE&I affiliations list.
OUR BENEFITS
Taking Care of Our Own
We offer advantages for Firefighters and their families that go beyond employment. Besides creating a meaningful and fulfilling career, the FDNY offers a generous salary and pension after retirement. This includes medical and dental benefits for you and your eligible dependents even after retirement. Plus, with college scholarship opportunities for you and your children, flexible work schedules, and career growth options, there’s never been a better time to join.
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
DE&I at Work
The FDNY is committed to equitable recruiting and service fulfillment, and we work hard to foster diversity. We’re looking for qualified individuals from all communities who will be proud to maintain its long tradition of responding to all those in need, no matter their race, creed, nationality or religion.
SUPPORTIVE TEAM
Find Your Fit
Beyond working as a firefighter, we offer numerous ways to be part of the FDNY. With one of the strongest unions in NYC, multiple sports teams and more than 30 affiliations, you’re sure to discover your community within the FDNY. There’s something for everyone. For specific DE&I affiliations, check out our FDNY DE&I affiliations list.
OUR BENEFITS
Taking Care of Our Own
We offer advantages for Firefighters and their families that go beyond employment. Besides creating a meaningful and fulfilling career, the FDNY offers a generous salary and pension after retirement. This includes medical and dental benefits for you and your eligible dependents even after retirement. Plus, with college scholarship opportunities for you and your children, flexible work schedules, and career growth options, there’s never been a better time to join.
Emmanuel Zuaznabar, Ladder 110
I have no regrets.
I would do this 10 times over.
OUR PODCAST
Check out our podcast
Hear more from FDNY employees, listen to stories and discussions about their on-the-job experiences, and learn what you can do to prepare to join the FDNY.
Getting Ready
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 8
Hear our 2022 Fitness Award winner’s steps for peak health & fitness.
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 8
From U.S. Armed Forces to the FDNY
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 11
Hear insights from former U.S. Armed Forces members and their journeys to becoming members of the FDNY.
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 11
Mentorship Advantages
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 13
Listen to advice from current mentors to those preparing for the Fire Academy.
Join FDNY Podcast, Episode 13
