I have a friend who is a firefighter in Toyko. His name is Tomohiro Kichiya. Several years ago he visited the firehouse I worked in. He had friends in the area and asked if he could visit the fire house. He was really into the job. He took a huge amount of pictures and wanted to know how our rigs were set up. He spent the day with us and the chief let him ride.
He had since returned twice more. I didn't get to see him last time though, but I understand the guys treated him Great. He has always sent my wife and I a Christmas card, and we keep in touch through mailings. I just sent him a letter One day (3/10) before this diseaster. In the letter I advised him to sign up on this web site so he could read about the FDNY, and I wanted him to read the stories on "My Younger Buff Years". I also asked him for his E-mail address as I never really got that.
We sometimes got vistors to our firehouse. Once or twice from FDNY Members who were at the nearby Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun Casino. But most of the time it was usually the local buffs or maybe a few guys on the job in other Ct cities.
A small 60 member dept to get a visit from a Toyko Firefighter, not once, but three times, was certainly an Honor for us.
Now I'm hoping that he's okay. I'm sure he is working very hard, much harder than I can ever relate to.
