George C. Cain: Skiing Like the
Wind
Life
blew hot and cold for George C. Cain, in that he made his
living fighting fires but spent much of his time on cold
snowy mountains, skiing.
"I have pictures of him, and you'd think he could
reach up and touch heaven," said his mother, Rosemary
Cain. "He could ski like the wind."
Adrienne Bartolini confirmed Firefighter Cain's skiing
ability. They became friends in Telluride, Colo., where
the future firefighter worked for five years as a
carpenter in the warm months and skied in the cold. He
loved the mogul runs, and had no problem with one of the
resort's toughest runs, Kant-Mak-M. "He used to just rip
down that," Ms. Bartolini said. Then he got the call to
join the New York Fire Department, and they spent six
weeks driving to New York in her Volkswagen van in
1994.
Firefighter Cain, 35, joined Ladder Company 7 in
Manhattan and lived in Patterson, N.Y., though he grew up
in Massapequa. He was in terrific shape, and ran the New
York Marathon in 1999. He was training for this year's
event. His mates at Ladder 7, who called him the Dude,
recalled he could always beat them running up the
stairs.
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