Denis Leary | Leary Foundation | Leary Firefighters

Actor coming to the rescue of firefighters Boats, $100,000 grant donated
Thursday, October 5, 2006

By Trymaine Lee
Staff Writer

With nearly half its firehouses still in a state of disrepair, the New Orleans Fire Department on Wednesday received a $100,000 grant from the Leary Firefighters Foundation to repair three of its facilities.

The foundation also supplied the department with 15 flat-bottom rescue boats valued at about $100,000.

Created in 1999 by actor-comedian Denis Leary after a firefighter cousin was killed in a Massachusetts warehouse blaze, the foundation has dedicated itself to providing for firefighters across the country. Leary said Wednesday that the storm-battered NOFD and its firefighters, like many other departments, are "underfunded," "underappreciated" and "always the last guys that get help."

Leary's foundation delivered the 15 boats to the department to bolster its rescue capabilities. Leary, who plays a firefighter on the FX Networks' "Rescue Me" TV series, said he was moved by the plight of New Orleans' firefighters and awestruck by tales of them commandeering boats or using their own crafts to save lives after Hurricane Katrina.

The boats were financed by the Jeremiah Lucey Grant Program, established in August 2005 in honor of Leary's felled firefighter cousin.

The money to restore the three New Orleans firehouses was made possible by a gift from the Mercantile Exchange in New York.

The three fire stations, which will be repaired via volunteer work from the firefighters themselves, are: Fire Station 4 at 6900 Downman Road, Fire Station 14 at 200 S. Robertson St. and Fire Station 38 at 4940 Clara St.

When asked how long the foundation would work with the NOFD to mend the wounds inflicted by Katrina, Leary jokingly said: "Because we're brothers, it's going to be hard to get rid of them now. . . . This is a forever-type deal."

"I feel a sense of brotherhood with these guys," Leary said Wednesday after a news conference and ceremony near Lake Pontchartrain off Lakeshore Drive. Leary said his foundation will continue to drum up support for the department, and he hopes to match the Mercantile Exchange's donation in the next few months.

"This is a big relief," Fire Chief Charles Parent said.

Assistant Chief Edwin Holmes said repairing the stations will produce a more effective firefighting force.

"Restoring these stations from a safety side means a lot," Holmes said. "It means our guys have a permanent place to live and work out of instead of a trailer site. And it always feels great when you're appreciated, when the citizens and individuals show how much they care about you."

Also on hand Wednesday were representatives from Ruth's Chris Steak House, who donated $5,000 and lunch plates to firefighters in attendance Wednesday.

Since Katrina, Ruth's Chris has given away hundreds of "Heroes Lunches" at its establishments to first responders, rescuers and groups helping to rebuild New Orleans, said Tom Pennison Jr., senior vice president and chief financial officer of Ruth's Chris Steak House.

"This is just one more way for us to recognize, to honor (our firefighters) for putting their lives on the line for each and every one of us and our city," Pennison said.