I have known Paul since I moved to Sleight Ave. in the Tottenville section of Staten Island in 1972. I actually met his wife Arlene several years before, so I was very familiar with the whole family.
Paul and I grew up together, and I have always considered him to be my best friend. We worked out together for the FDNY physical test. Although our paths split, and I moved to Iowa in 1989, I still thought of Paul to be my best friend. I became a volunteer firefighter here, and Paul was appointed to FDNY. Since my father was a NYC Firefighter, I used to relate stories about the job to him all the time. We used to swap fire stories all the time when we talked anyway.
Thanks to Ma Bell, and later the Internet, we always stayed connected. The picture of Paul standing in his backyard in his bunker gear is one of a series of photos that also had me standing next to him in my turnout gear. It is one of my most prized pictures, and it rides in the clipboard of my fire rig all the time.
On September 11, 2001, when I found out that the WTC had been hit by an aircraft (even at first, I thought it was an accidental incident) I had a feeling that Paul was responding. It just so happened that I was teaching a fire safety training class at my work as a machinist that day too. My thoughts were of all the brothers of FDNY that day, and espically Paul, and other guys that I have known that were on the job.
I have always known Paul as a stand-up kind of guy, and never one to shirk his duties. I know that God has a mission for him and the rest that gave the Ultimate Sacrifice that fateful day.
Roger Ellis
Captain, Webmaster
Speedway Fire/Rescue
http://www.speedwayfire.8m.com