James R. Coyle: The Force Was With
Him
James
R. Coyle wanted to be Luke Skywalker. But because of
certain difficulties in pursuing that career path, he
decided to do what he thought was the next best thing,
which was fighting fires.
Sure, there was no flying across galaxies or rescuing
princesses, but joining the New York Fire Department had
its own rewards.
Both of his grandfathers were New York firefighters.
Firefighter Coyle joined the department's cadet program
while studying at Brooklyn College. He was 22 when he
graduated as valedictorian of that program on a wet June
day about four years ago.
For the next three years, he worked as an emergency
medical technician. He delivered a baby in the back of an
ambulance. He ducked bullets in crime-ridden
neighborhoods.
Last December, he completed training in the fire
academy and joined Ladder Company 3 in the East Village.
One grandfather gave the firefighter his old fire
hat.
The last glimpse his mother, Regina Coyle, had of
Firefighter Coyle was on her television set on Sept. 11,
when a local television station was doing a morning show
on cooking in the firehouse. He had just finished a night
shift, she said, and he was there to eat meal before
heading off to Chicago on vacation.
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