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He's been a firefighter longer than anyone else currently working in the FDNY. But at the end of the month he'll be hanging up his gear for the last time. NY1's Amanda Farinacci spent some time talking with the veteran they call "Tony Cat," and she filed this report.
Anthony Catapano is in charge of making sure everyone at Engine 202/Ladder 101 knows when it's time to eat.
He's got 42 years on the job, and when the FDNY veteran began his career in 1963, starting salary was less than $$100 a week, and firefighters rode on a fire truck that was a bit different than the ones used today.
“There was no seating arrangements in the old rigs. You had to hang on the back step, that's where you stood,” he says. “And it was nice in the summertime, but in the wintertime, it was kind of tough.”
The man known as “Tony Cat” is set to retire at the end of the month because he's turning 65, and FDNY regulations say he has to. He's a staple in the kitchen - he even co-wrote a cook book whose proceeds went to the FDNY Burn Unit.
But since he's got so much seniority, he doesn't have to cook. He saves his lessons for the many new firefighters the house has seen since 9/11, after seven members of Ladder 101 were lost.
“I for one say a prayer every day that I'm working, because I'm thankful for those guys because I know they were all junior to me, but they taught me, too,” he says. “You can always learn from the younger firefighters. They always say, ‘Why can't we do it this way?’ Well because 42 years I've been doing it this way.”
Doing it “this way,” with a cigar in his mouth as he maneuvers the rig into the firehouse. He's been driving for the past 20 years, and says he misses being in the fire. It's that rush, and the fun he has in the kitchen, that he says he'll miss the most.
“Firefighting is a great job. A great job,” he says. “[You’re] able to save people's lives and property - there isn't any other calling I believe that's worthy of saying 'great.'”
To give you a sense of just how long he's been around, Catapano has worked through seven administrations, 13 commissioners, and 17 chiefs of department. He started at Engine 202, 14 months before Shea Stadium even opened, although the Brooklyn native professes loyalty to the Yankees.
“I played ball against Joe Torre. I played baseball against Joe Torre in Park Circle,” he says.
As for what happens next, Catapano says he's got no plans, because he says he can't imagine not being a firefighter.
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