Capt. Morris FDNY R-1 Retiring

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CONGRATS TO CAPTAIN MORRIS-FDNY RESCUE 1.

Our congrats to one of the absolute most no nonsense fire officers in the business-Captain Bobby Morris of FDNY Rescue 1. The Captain is retiring-working his last tour (shift) as you read this. You can google his name to find out much about him (don't confuse him with his son, also a phenomenal and deeply respected FDNY Captain) and all he has done in his career. From our perspective, Captain Morris is the consummate "pass it on" officer who will teach as much as you want to learn...and he sets the example on what training is and should be to a company officer-and those they command. Seriously, firefighter and rescue training and preparedness literally never stops with him. Ever. While he has no interest in retiring, the fire service nationally will fortunately continue to benefit from his knowledge and "come here, you wanna learn something?" attitude ..as he will continue to teach-coming up, for example, very soon in Baltimore at Firehouse Expo, July 23-27 http://firehouseexpo.com/ (register now!) and other national fire training programs in the future.

Credit: www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

[grumpyff 1,159]

Also FF Kenny Ruane of Ladder 16 retiring with 43 years on the job. Looks like they had an interesting last day with a gas explosion/collapse in Chinatown this morning. I was fortunate to attend a live burn years ago with Capt. Morris that I will never forget the professionalism and calmness he displayed in his teaching. Even when the fire almost got away from us and extended into the attic.

Good luck in your retirements gentlemen!

[RES24CUE 168]

Had the pleasure of taking Stiloski's Heavy Duty Extrication Class that he teaches. Captain Morris made extremely complex and technical evolutions, that challenged a number of veteran career and volunteer firefighters, look like a regular walk in the park. His incredible knowledge of both the rescue equipment and the overall operation were everpresent at all times during the class. I wish him the best of luck in his retirement as he as surely earned some rest and relaxation.

[FFPCogs 863]

I don't know firefighter Ruane, but I wish him the best of luck in the future.

Capt Morris on the other hand I've had the good fortune of knowing, training and even on occasion, fighting fires with for all of my 33 years in the fire service. In fact he ran my first drill, portable ladders, all those years ago and many more since. He has been and continues to be a major influence, role model and teacher for all of the "Belltown Boys" and through those efforts has helped us immeasurably to maintain the high standards of our operations. We are fortunate to have him as a veteran member and for the fact that he is one who truly lives the motto of not "forgetting where he came from". And while I consider him to be my mentor and one of, if not THE, best examples of what it means to be a fireman out there, above all else I'm grateful and honored to be able to call him my friend.

THANKS Cap for all you've given me and so many others...enjoy your retirement!!

[grumpyff 1,159]

Article in today's New York Daily News, with their photos when they first came on. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hamill-firefighters-bravest-article-1.1394368

Edited July 11, 2013 by grumpyff

[R1SmokeEater 359]

http://youtu.be/U8XFhXrVxTQ

[TSull 33]

Captain Morris was my Captain at Ladder 28 and at Rescue 1. It was an honor and a privilege to have worked for him. As a "proby" in L28, I made a mistake at a fire and thought for sure he was going to rip me apart for it. Instead he said "do you know what you did wrong, did you learn from it, and will you never make the mistake again?". That is the essence of leadership. Last night at his "Last Tour Party", I reminded him of a conversation we had back in L-28 after he had turned down Battalion Chief for the final time and I asked him why and his response back then was "I still have 10 miles of hallways to crawl down and doors to force". Last night I asked if he had made the 10 miles of hallways and he said he came close but the clock ran out. I congratulate the Captain on his retirement and thank him for letting me serve in his companies. As a friend said to me the other day: "the man had a lot of influence on my fire department career".

[RWC130 594]

Congrats Captain Morris...... ENJOY RETIREMENT!

Attached is a video of Rescue 1 (Capt. Morris is featured)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiq4-fmmZEs