A TALE OF TWO FDNY CHIEF’S – INTERESTING READING – by Bob Farrell (Capt, TL31)
January 11, 2017“THE TALE OF TWO CHIEF’S”
PART #TWO
ALFRED ECKERT - ASST CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT
This Chief was my idol- Eckert was his, name and fire was his game.
He had a sixth sense when it came to fire’s.
Just to be around him, you got a knowledge of firefighting. When he talked, you listened. When he wasn’t around I called him, Uncle Al. One of the toughest Firefighters i ever met. I can remember one incident of a fire in a sub-cellar garage with two cars on fire. The engine was having trouble getting down to the seat. Grabbing the tip of the nozzle he pulled the brothers down to the fires, directed them to operate and when over complimented them on the job. He had run into a sharp duct and split his head wide open. When we got back to quarters refusing me to take him to the hospital he now said, Bob get some tape and pull the wound together. I got Lt. Clark who Eckert liked to demand me take him to St. Clare’s Hospital. They put 60 stitches in his head. A tough Dutchman he was.
Now during World War Two, Firefighters were exempt from going into the service. Chief Eckert had two young boys and his wife pleaded for him to not volunteer. Al was s Captain in Engine 47 in Harlem at the time. The Navy gave officer ranks to Rank Firefighters. Deputy chief McNiff who was Al’s boss got a full Captains rank and was in charge of the fire school at Pearl Harbor. He told Al he could get him a officer's rank if he joined. By the time Al decided all officers rank were filled. One of Al’s fireman got a Lt/jg rank and was assigned to Pearl harbor fire school. When Big Al decided all officer ranks were filled and Al got a petty officers rank but was also assigned to the fire school under McNiff. Now one day Uncle Al got into a bru-ha with his fireman who was the J/G. He called Al a (stupid fucking Dutchman) and Al cold-cocked him. Now that’s 20 years in Leavenworth striking an officer. Chief Mcniff took over and warned the Lt/jg that he would have to press charges not only to Al but to him as well. To settle the dispute without pressing charges he transferred Al to the first ship out of Pearl Harbor which was a ammunition ship.
At Okinawa the ship was hit by two Kamikaze planes. one started afire in the munition hold. The Captain called for an abandon ship and left the ship with all members. Al single handed took a hose line and put out the fire. He then waved the captain to come back on board. Al was transferred to a hospital ship. The story Chief McNiff always told, was that Eckert should have got the Navy cross but got a Bronze Star instead. He said that a bronze needs no investigation but a Navy Cross does and how was he to explain the abandon ship.
You can’t make this shit up. uncle Al came home and immediately studied and became Battalion Chief. We never did hear about the fireman the chief cold-cocked. I guess he ducked Captain Al the rest of his career in the F.D.N.Y Chief Eckert went on to be a Deputy Chief of the 3rd Division and Chief O’Hagan’s right hand man as Assistant Chief of Department. For a guy who didn’t have even a grammar school education because he had to support his family.
Big Al Eckert did mighty good and the men who worked for him, as I did, thought he was supreme.
REST IN PEACE UNCLE AL – YOU WERE A CREDIT TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK