We are proud to announce in 2024 we were able to provide 15 Fire Departments across the country a total of $230,943.80 for the purchase of 452 Personal Safety Systems along with the necessary requisite training. To date we have given a total of $1,288,488.90 in Grants to 112 Departments in 26 States and purchased 1,922 Safety Systems along with the...
In 2023 we are proud to announce the Foundation provided 14 Fire Departments across the country a total of $200,546.00 in Grants to purchase 324 Personal Safety Systems along with the requisite training. To date we have given a total of $1,057.545.00 in Grants to 97 Departments in 25 States and purchased 1,922 PSS and trained over 2,520 firefighter...
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation is proud to announce our 2022 Grant Recipients for the purchase of Personal Safety Systems, Safety Equipment and the requisite Training. 15 Departments across America will receive a total of $166,078.00 for the purchase of 278 Systems. The recipients are Ashland MA, Benton Harbor MI, Clinton SC, Ft. ...
Thin Line Service Dogs is a pioneering organization that was established in 2021 to support the need that provides service dogs to our First Responders and Veterans with disabilities. Thin Line's goal to utilize the puppy in training to service dogs, peer support dogs, facility dogs and our change of career dogs to enhance the lives of our First Re...
Fire News donates $50,000 to local charities Fire News held a charitable awards event recently donating a total of $50,000 to five fire related charities. The commitment to donate the funds was made by Fire News publisher Frank C. Trotta when the Fire News 9/11 20thAnniversary Issue was released last fall. Publisher Frank C. Trotta and Chief O...
The Foundation, in partnership with Steve Sanguedolce, of "Affordable Drill Towers", and Chief Griffin and his fire service instructors from the Woodlands Emergency Training Center, held our first "Lonestar Training Seminar" this past April in Woodlands Texas. With two days of 22 Hands On Classes to choose from and 1 day of lecture presentations, o...
Like our original seminar, which will be held November 4-6, 2022, the newest training offering boasts three days of world class training. The Lonestar Training seminar, sponsored by Affordable Drill Towers, will take place deep in the heart of Texas on April 8-10, 2022. For those farther west who haven't made it out to Long Island yet, here's anoth...
Like our original seminar, which will be held November 4-6, 2022, the newest training offering boasts three days of world class training. The Lonestar Training seminar, sponsored by Affordable Drill Towers, will take place deep in the heart of Texas on April 8-10, 2022. For those farther west who haven't made it out to Long Island yet, here's another opportunity for great firefighter training a little closer to you. A perfect warm up for the seminar in November!
The Foundation held their 8th Annual Training Seminar this November 5-7. Over 300 students and instructors from all over the country and Canada were in attendance. Two days of hands-on training were conducted in the field and at different venues. Nineteen hands-on subjects were taught, including: live burns in residential and commercial dwellings, roof ops live burns, and flashover simulator. Technical skills training included: high-angle rescue, elevator rescue, trench rescue, and scaffold ops. Basics were reinforced in engine ops, ladder ops, confined space, thermal imaging, standpipe, RIT, forcible entry, fire behavior, search and advanced auto extrication. One day of lectures included keynote speaker, FDNY Chief of Department Tom Richardson. Chief Leigh Hollins, from Florida, and Mo Davis, from Texas, also came to New York to impart their knowledge to our students. FDIC “Man of the Year,” Captain Mike Dugan, presented his third class for the Foundation, as did Instructor Ray McCormack. The Seminar was a huge success and we are looking forward to our next Seminar in 2022.
The Foundation held their 8th Annual Training Seminar this November 4-5-6. 365 students and instructors from all over the country and Canada were in attendance. Two days of hands-on training were conducted in the field and at different venues. Twenty hands-on subjects were taught, including: live burns in residential and commercial dwellings, roof ...
We are proud to announce our 2021 Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation Grants to fire departments. These grants will provide Personal Safety Systems (PSS) to firefighters.
Our 2021 grantees include:
In partnership with the Leary Firefighters Foundation:» Northwood Fire Department (NY)
» Center Harbor Fire Rescue (NH)
» Quincy Fire Department (MA)
In Partnership with Fire Hooks Unlimited:» Gales Ferry Volunteer Fire Department (CT)
» Midway Fire/Rescue (KY)
» Nittany Valley Volunteer Fire Company (PA)
» Satellite Beach Fire Department (FL)
» Washington County Fire & EMS (VA)
Now in it its eight year, the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation grant program has awarded over $694,353 to departments in need. Established in Joey’s memory in 2013, the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation holds training events that promote firefighter to raise funds to support its grant program. It also relies on the generous support of our sponsors and partners to help train and equip firefighters.
In 2005, Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo, known to his friends and colleagues as “Joey D,” was critically injured in a Bronx apartment fire where two firefighters died, and three others were also badly injured. A personal safety rope system, carried by fellow Rescue 3 Firefighter Jeff Cool, helped both Joey and Jeff to escape the flames by lowering themselves as far as they could from the four-story jump. After the incident, Joey traveled around the country training firefighters and sharing his story to help other firefighters. His foundation will continue this work, helping firefighters in the United States and Canada.
“Our Foundation works to prevent another ‘Black Sunday’ from occurring. With support from our grant partners, sponsors, and donors we not only keep more firefighters safe, but we honor Joey’s legacy. My family and I would like to thank everyone who has supported the Foundation and our work over the years,” says Chief Joe DiBernardo, Foundation President and Joey’s father.
The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation will continue to train firefighters and provide grants to departments to ensure the safety of firefighters across the United States and Canada. To learn more about the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation’s grant program for personal life safety rope systems or to apply visit: www.joeydfoundation.org.
The Red Coat Challenge was a 5 mile, 20 station Special Forces experience including: hostage rescue, archery, hand-to-hand, and a whole lot of firearms! Each station honored a fallen hero and the event concluded with a Hero Walk to remind participants what they did this for. The Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation received a generous donation of $25,000 from Birds Eye View Project. We are grateful for Birds Eye View Project's support and all that supported the event!
https://youtu.be/qnTTIlkXmPQ
Special guest will be retired 35 year FDNY veteran Deputy Chief Division 6 Commander Joe DiBernardo. After coming back from the Vietnam War in 1966 he was called and appointed to the FDNY in June 1966 and Assigned to Engine 39. In 1968 he worked in Engine 36 after a department-wide lift order. In 1973 he was assigned to 16 Truck. Promoted to Lt. In 1975 and assigned UFO To Engine 82 in the Bronx. Was then assigned to Engine 38 in 1978. Promoted to Captain in 1979 and assigned to Engine 33. Promoted to BC in 1981 and was assigned to the 28 Battalion in 1982. Promoted to DC in 1984 and assigned to Division 6. Called to duty in Desert Storm in 1990 and after returning went back to Division 6. His son "Joey D" was one of our brothers who jumped for his life on Black Sunday. November 22, 2011, Joe passed away as a result of injuries suffered on Black Sunday. To continue his legacy, the Lieutenant Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation was created for the charitable purpose of providing financial assistance to fire departments across America and Canada that need Personal Safety Systems. You don’t want to miss this one.
Support the the Middle Island Volunteer Fire Department and the Joey D Foundation at 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at the MIVFD Chinese Auction. Learn more at: www.middleislandfd.org
Your next great read about the job in the South Bronx during the late 1960s and 1970s can help Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation. The newly released book by Captain Bob Farrell (Ladder 31), The War Years, recalls those years at La Casa Grande. Ladder 31 and Engine Company 82 were among the busiest units in the City of New York. The War Years also features an introduction from J.M. Kearney, author of A View from the Backstep - Part 1 & 2.
Captain Bob Farrell (Ladder 31) is the real deal and among the many stalwarts of those "War Years." He is the recipient of numerous FDNY medals and awards, including the James Gordon Bennett Medal, the highest medal given out by the FDNY, until 2020.
Get this new book in paperback or kindle addition through our Amazon Smile program by designating the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation as your charity of choice.
Captain Farrell is kindly donating the proceeds from the sale of his book to the FDNY Honor Legion and the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation. Bob has been an ally of the Foundation since its inception and we are grateful for his generosity and friendship!
Order Your Copy Today on Amazon Smile!
Into the Smoke is a work of photojournalism and traces Tom Barry’s career as a firefighter—spanning parts of four decades in FDNY—along with the forty-year effort of noted freelance photographer Michael Dick.
The era covered in this book is best known in the fire service on the east coast of the United States as the War Years, the urban decay and social unrest that started in the 1960s and persisted, continually fed by arson for profit, into the 1990s.
Firefighting is a truckie blindly crawling down a smoke-filled hallway, searching for victims, hoping to find them before the fire does. It is an engine operator, calling on the last ounce of strength and pushing deeper into the apartment to extinguish the fire in the rear bedroom and beat the “Red Devil” one more time.
Fellowship of the firefighter
Fantasies from childhood intertwine with the terror of impending death, the pain of disfigurement, the joys of success, and the comradeship and respect of their peers.
Note: Many of the fires depicted in this book predate OSHA personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements. This period was a fertile stage for innovation and development of firefighting techniques and equipment.
Sales of this book benefit the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation
» View Jeffery's Instagram Story of His 4x4x48 Journey
Earlier this year, retired Navy SEAL and endurance athlete, David Goggins, put out his 4x4x48 challenge, which includes running 4 miles, every 4 hours, for 48 hours. When Jeffery Cool, Jr., a first responder in paramedic school, saw the call-to-action he knew that he “was hooked.” Not only did he accept this test of endurance, but he vowed to support the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation (Joey D Foundation), a charity that is close to his heart. He set a goal to raise awareness and $1,000 for the Foundation but did so much more! Through his efforts, he raised nearly $18,000 by training hard for five weeks, while promoting the Joey D Foundation to his social media followers.
When Jeffery was seven, his Dad, Jeff Cool, Sr., was critically injured on FDNY Black Sunday. The fire, in an illegally sub-divided Bronx tenement trapped firefighters from Ladder 27 and Rescue 3 forcing them to jump from a 4-story building as fire conditions worsened. Firefighters were faced with a split-second decision to burn in the fire or jump from the building to escape the raging inferno. This tragic day claimed the lives of Lieutenant Curtis Meyran and Firefighter John Bellew. Three others were also critically injured including Firefighters Eugene Stolowski, Brendan Cawley and Joseph DiBernardo. Later that day, Firefighter Rich Sclafani also died in a house fire in Brooklyn, making it the deadliest day for the FDNY since 9/11.
That day, Jeff Cool, Sr. had a personal safety system (PSS) that he bought for himself six months before the fire. Knowing that he had this way out, he yelled to Joey in the next window telling him to use the rope since he had nothing he could tie off to. Joey said, “You have a wife and kids, throw me the rope, and I’ll lower you.” Joey wrapped the rope around his body and arm. Jeff jumped out the window. The rope caused him to pendulum and lose control falling into the side alley. Then Joey tied the rope to a child gate and went out after Jeff; he was able to lessen his fall by about ten feet before he too lost control and fell into the rear yard below.
The survivors of the fire and their families, bonded forever, courageously battle with the scars of Black Sunday every day. Amid this tragedy, Joey and the Cool family remained close, and Jeffery and his brother Dylan gained an “Uncle Joey.” But sadly, in November 2011, the fire would also claim the life of their Uncle Joey, who died from his injuries.
After Joey’s passing, his family and friends started the Lt. Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, which provides funding to fire departments in North America to purchase PSS for their firefighters and offers training to keep them safe. Jeffery who wanted to give back, chose his Uncle Joey’s Foundation to make a difference in the lives of his brothers and sisters in the fire service.
“The runs were an absolute grind, but anytime I felt pain and felt sorry for myself, I thought back to that day with my Dad and Joey and what they went through and then I laughed at myself. I have no right to complain. Those guys are my heroes, and they push me to limits I never think I could go. They are my reason I never quit, and they are why I finished this challenge,” said Jeffery.
His endurance not only made him a stronger person, but it honored Joey and his Dad’s legacy. Jeffery also clearly understands and lives by the values that his Dad and Uncle Joey taught him, being “part of something bigger than myself.” He is an example for the next generation of firefighters. Jeffery’s ultimate goal is to follow in his Dad’s and Uncle Joey's footsteps in the FDNY. We have no doubt he will achieve that goal and do great things. As Uncle Joey would say, “reach for the sky.” We are all so proud of you, Jeffery!
