Firefighter
Thomas Schoales
Engine 4
Laid
to Rest
on January 16, 2002 1
Competitive
Baby Brother Tommy Schoales landed at Engine Company 83 in the Bronx as a
novice firefighter. A low-key one, too, everybody thought. That
was before they experienced his competitive streak. He'd dash into the fire
truck when the alarm rang because there was a prize: controlling the hose at
the fire. "Here, if you get to the back step first, you take the nozzle," said
Michael Scanlon, who worked alongside him. "And it was hard to beat him to
the back step. He was always there." He fought flames in the tenements of Mott
Haven and responded to alarms from Randalls Island. He bunked in Stony Point,
N.Y., with a battalion chief — his father, Edward. To his five siblings, he
was the much-loved baby brother who danced at their weddings and treated their
children to the batting cage. And to the older firefighters he was the kid
who worked hard and came up with well-timed pranks, like balancing water balloons
in the rafters so that a fire engine backing in would dislodge them, spraying
everyone around. After that first year, he was assigned to Engine Company 4,
at the southern tip of Manhattan. But his heart remained with Engine 83, said
his brother Eddie. He went to their picnics and played on their basketball
team. At 27, he had found the firehouse where he wanted to stay. "He fit the
typical mold of a good fireman," Firefighter Scanlon said. "He was looking
forward to coming back." (Legacy.com)
Newsday Article