FDNY Engine Co 326/Ladder Co 160 “Getting It Done”

August 31, 2022 I was in the area today, and decided to stop by my old firehouse, Engine Company 326 & Ladder 160, located on Springfield Boulevard in the Oakland Gardens section of Queens. I’ve been retired for a little over twelve years, so it can be a crapshoot bumping into somebody I actually worked with, as the NY City Fire Department is constantly changing, with firefighters transferring, being promoted and of course retiring. I was pleasantly surprised to bump into Dominic Buglione and Kevin Kozub. Dominic now has 15 years on the department. While in quarters Dom told me the story, that he recently told one of the new probationary firefighters in the house. When Dom was first assigned to Engine Company 326, he was in quarters maybe a week, when he accompanied me down to the shops, “Red Square” to pick up our rig that was just repaired by the department mechanics. After interrogating Dom that first week, I found out a lot of pertinent information, namely that Dominic was a certified diesel mechanic, and also possessed a CDL drivers license. Before departing the shops we completed a few safety checks, and made sure the rig went into pumps. Dominic was a little surprised when I asked him if he would drive the rig back to quarter, to which he agreed. When we pulled up in front of Engine 326’s quarters, the boss was waiting for us outside, and he wasn’t too happy when he seen Dominic behind the wheel with a week in the house! When Dominic refreshed my memory with that story, I laughed! Just another one of the great firehouse stories. Interesting enough, Dominic is today, one of the four seated chauffeurs in the engine. The engine company chauffeur’s job to many looks easy, but make no mistake about it, there are times you’d rather be operating a handline on the fire floor than trying to figure out problems that arise while operating the pumps. Never a dull moment in the New York City Fire Department. Thanks for the laughs today, be safe and like Patty Brown of Ladder 3 said, look out for each other. Thanks Brendan for showing me around, Tommy May Retired Engine 326/M-9