Jeff Cool of Pomona talks about the jury verdict after several of his FDNY brothers were killed or severely injured during a fire at an illegal apartment building. Peter Carr/The Journal News
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Retired FDNY Jeff Cool now advocates for firefighters getting needed equipment and laws to hold landlords responsible for firefighters killed in illegal buildings.


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Jeff Cool of Pomona said Tuesday that a $183 million New York City jury verdict for him and four other families does little to ease the memory of the day his body was broken and several of his FDNY brothers were killed or severely injured in what became known as the "Black Sunday" fire.
"I'd rather turn the clock back to that day with all the brothers and still be fighting fires for the city of New York," Cool said Tuesday. "I had worked two jobs outside the FDNY to keep my family going. I (would) prefer to be that person today."
"The money doesn't bring joy," Cool said. "There's the pain, the suffering. I am going to have aches and pains the rest of my life."
Cool survived a four-story fall Jan. 22, 2005 from a burning Bronx building filled with illegal rooms.
The former hockey player broke 13 ribs, both shoulders, his pelvis in four places, cracked bones in his spine and neck, and fractured his skull in two spots. He spent nearly three weeks in a coma. He lost 72 units of blood.
"My body was put back together with Krazy Glue and duct tape," Cool said. "That's a joke, but fact. I live with survivor's guilt, post traumatic stress."
He said he can't walk well and arthritis is taking over his shoulders and wrist.
"I call him the 'miracle man','' said close friend Gordon Wren Jr., the coordinator of Rockland Fire and Emergency Services and a decades-long volunteer firefighter in Rockland. Wren's brother, Tim, worked with Cool for the FDNY, and Cool said he and Tim Wren are friends who still speak several times a week.
Cool said the jury settlement should bring some closure to the families of  two firefighters killed that day — John Bellew of Pearl River and Lt. Curtis Meyran — and Joseph DiBernardo, who saved Cool's life that day.
Meyran, 46, of Battalion 26, and Bellew, 37, of Ladder Co. 27 were killed on impact. DiBernardo — whose heels and feet were crushed by the impact — died six years later from the physical and psychological impact of his injuries.
Cool and firefighters Eugene Stolowski and Brendan Cawley suffered life-changing injuries.
At the heart of the lawsuit against the city was a failure by the Fire Department to equip firefighters with personal safety ropes that would have let the men escape from the burning building in 2005. Meyran’s family settled his case separately, but the other firefighters went to trial after a panel of Appellate Division judges last year ruled New York City could not claim immunity.
A Bronx jury on Monday found the city 80 percent responsible for the deaths and injuries. The building’s landlord was found liable for 20 percent. New York City officials contend the liability was unfairly apportioned "in view of compelling evidence that established that the landlord's numerous building code violations were directly responsible for this horrible event."  They said they are considering appealing.
Vito Cannavo, the lead attorney for the five families, said they were "glad this is finally over,"
"These are great guys. These were talented firefighters. They knew their jobs. They loved their jobs. They want to make sure no other guy gets trapped," he said. "They really want it to mean something in terms of protecting other firefighters."
Gordon Wren said landlords and municipalities in Rockland County and elsewhere should both take heed of the verdict, which suggests the financial hammer could come crashing down on them if they don't follow and enforce fire and zoning codes. Locally, Spring Valley and Ramapo already are under state orders to improve their code enforcement.


"We don't want this to happen here or anywhere," Gordon Wren said. "If there isn't a financial deterrent, unscrupulous landlords will continue because the rents are so lucrative. It's all about the money."
New York City is considering an appeal, given the city was held 80 percent liable for the $183 million verdict.
The FDNY now equips its firefighters with safety ropes, but it didn't at the time of the Black Sunday blaze. A harness-type rope system used from the mid-1980s until about 2000 had been discontinued at the time of the Bronx blaze.
Cool said he hopes New York City doesn't appeal the jury verdict and allows the families of those killed and the survivors to get on with life.
"I firmly believe if all six of us had those ropes, we would have been able to egress down the building," Cool said.
Cool, who had brought his own rope to the fire scene, said DiBernardo saved his life.
When the flames proved too much, DiBernardo anchored the rope around his arm and told Cool to lower himself out the window first because he had a family. Because Cool's rope was not designed for the harness provided by the FDNY, Cool went out the window but couldn't control the rope and fell dozens of feet onto a concrete landing. DiBernardo then tied off the same rope and went out the window, but he also fell when the rope broke.
Retired on a disability pension, Cool has advocated for bringing life-saving rope devices to firefighters and other safety improvements. He and others also are pushing state legislation that would allow a landlord to be charged with a felony if a firefighters dies in an building filled with code violations.
He also speaks to firefighters at the Rockland Fire Training Center. The Joseph DiBernardo Foundation has raised $100,000 to equip fire departments with the rope and harness system.
Cool, who is married with two sons, said it was emotional Monday when the jury announced its verdict.
"When I heard the verdict, tears started running down my face," Cool said.
He hugged his fellow survivors and the family members of those who died, including John Bellew's wife, Eileen.
The Bellew family could not be reached for comment.
Twitter: @lohudlegal
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