Andrew A. Fredericks: The Tool of
His Trade
Andrew
A. Fredericks felt strongly about the best way to blast a
stream of water at a fire. They called him Andy
Nozzles.
In training videos, speeches around the country, trade
magazine articles -- even on the couch in his home -- Mr.
Fredericks preached the gospel of the solid stream of
water aimed hard at the source of the blaze. "He was so
proud that his 9-year- old son could tell apart the
different nozzles," said Diane Feldman, the managing
editor of Fire Engineering, a trade magazine.
It is not an academic debate. Mr. Fredericks, 40,
believed that fog nozzles, which disperse water widely,
were dangerous because the steam that they produced would
burn firefighters who moved close to put out flames.
Solid-bore -- those were the kind that Andy Nozzles
liked.
His wife, Michelle Fredericks, said that her husband
relished the chance to pass on the knowledge he had
gained fighting fires for 20 years, 16 of them with the
New York City Fire Department, most recently with Squad
18. "It was his passion, next to me of course," Mrs.
Fredericks said. "He had a passion for teaching."
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