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)
