I have heard that Maxim already returned back to his home state but that he had a GREAT TRIP. He, along with his other buff friends, were treated GREAT by the members of the FDNY. I think he was able to visit firehouses in both Brooklyn and the Bronx, as well as The Rock.
Speaking as a buff myself, I can tell you that every time a group of us get together, "we too" are treated GREAT. We have visited 75/33 in the past.
In appreciation for the GREAT times that we (as a group) are given, we always make a donation to the "Elsasser Fund". That is a fund set up for families of FDNY members who have passed away NON Fire Dept related. It is our simple way of saying "THANK YOU".
On my own I have visited many FDNY firehouses over the years. I try to treat those guys with respect and they return the same to me. I also found over the years if anybody wants to learn the basics on how to fight a fire, from a brush fire to a fifty story high rise, these guys are the one's to talk to. They don't come on as "know it alls", but just in a simple, everyday style.
For me, I always considered myself "privileged" for being able to grow up not far from this kind of environment. Today, myself, along with a group of guys from this site are very lucky to have good friends who were a part of the busy FDNY War Years, as well as many current members of the FDNY.
There are many FDNY Buffs who feel just as we do. Some young and some not so young. But it's been the FDNY members of the past and present who have ALWAYS been there for guys like ourselves. We appreciate what you do for us and I think it is pretty safe to say, "the people of New York appreciate what you do as well".
