GRANADA HILLS : N.Y. Firefighters Provide Quake Relief in Valley

Twenty-four New York City firefighters have been spared the cold weather of home this month--but they hardly got what most would call a vacation.

The group is part of New York’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, a volunteer program for firefighters willing to give up their vacation time in order to help the American Red Cross provide services to victims of calamities such as the Northridge earthquake.

The firefighters--many of whom are from engine companies in the Bronx and Brooklyn--have been working 16-hour shifts in several San Fernando Valley disaster assistance centers.

Their firefighter training, the distance they’ve traveled, and their unmistakable accents make them distinct from the scores of Red Cross volunteers who have descended on the Valley since the Jan. 17 quake.

For many of the volunteers, it was their first trip to Southern California. But the long nights at the shelters, unloading trucks, making coffee, handing out blankets, and tending to jittery earthquake refugees have taken a toll.

Several said that despite the freezing weather at home, they are looking forward to Friday’s trip back.

“It’s starting to get monotonous,” said Firefighter Kevin McCabe, of Ladder Company No. 122 in Brooklyn. “But it’s an opportunity to help someone having a bad time.”

“When you are in the middle of it, you think ‘argh, I want to get home.’ But you get some distance from it and think of all the people you helped, and it’s all right,” said Firefighter John Hannon, a native of what he called “the beautiful Bronx.”

The disaster response program is the brainchild of Bronx Firefighter Cesar Rivera, who was among a group of Spanish speakers called to help out in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Rivera was so enthused with the experience that he petitioned his superiors at the New York City Fire Department to allow 100 specially trained firefighters to use their vacation time, or work extra hours, in order to serve the American Red Cross during times of disaster.

In January, 1991, the program was formally launched, and 100 firefighters are now signed up.

Rivera said the program provides the Red Cross with a ready group of volunteers who can take three weeks off from their jobs at any time.

For the firefighters, the program gives them an unusual chance to help victims after the initial moment of crisis has passed, Rivera said.

“The firefighters form a real connection to these families,” said Rivera, interviewed by phone from New York.

“They have to deal with them in a sincere way, they have to be compassionate . . . it’s the ultimate sensitivity training.”

Pam Toussaint, spokeswoman for American Red Cross in Greater New York, said the firefighters have played key roles in the Red Cross response to the Midwest floods and Hurricane Andrew.

“Firefighters are used to being in disaster situations, used to being compassionate, and have a good ‘take-charge’ attitude,” she said.