Firefighter John Bergin
Rescue 5
Memorial Service was held
on October 20, 2001.
On
holidays, John P. Bergin wasn't just the turkey carver. He prepared the entire
turkey. "He was good old Martha Stewart with the cheesecloth," his wife,
Madeline, said. "We're going to starve without him."
Mr.
Bergin, 39, honed his cooking while working as a firefighter, first with the No.
6 truck in Manhattan and more recently with Rescue Company 5. At home on Staten
Island he took up other domestic chores. He changed diapers for three children
and coached their teams. With his co-workers' help, he put a swimming pool in
the backyard; beside it stood a beer tap, his prized possession. Most recently,
he and a partner had bought a local bar, the Grand City Tavern. On Sept. 11, renovations
were two weeks away from completion.
"They
did everything together," Mrs. Bergin said of her husband and the other firefighters.
Now, she and 10 other wives of men from his firehouse who were lost in the attack
are carrying on the tradition, albeit more somberly. "We just started counseling
together," she said. "We've become very close. How the guys shared a
bond &emdash; now we share a bond."
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