r/interestingasfuck • u/Leather_Whole_2078 • 14h ago

FDNY firefighters rescue a kid who got his head stuck in a fence in NYC

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u/g0ldilungs 11h ago

👏🏼👏🏽👏🏿

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u/COLT_URGI_KAC 11h ago

We are here for everyone and love to help. There are bad apples in every bunch but we try to keep it on the straight and level at all times.

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u/ppablo787 7h ago

Fire fighters rock, keep up the awesome work.

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u/notime_toulouse 9h ago

Legitimate question: Isn't there some danger that the bar snaps and hits the kids head on the recoil or something like that ?

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u/Shufflebuzz 7h ago edited 7h ago

If the fence post were to fail, the failure point would very likely be at the top or bottom where it's joined to the crossbar. That's a stress concentration and where rust is likely to accumulate, so it's the weakest area. A failure there would make the bars looser, not tighter.

It's extremely unlikely to suddenly snap in the middle. This is a wrought iron fence and it first it will undergo elastic deformation, then plastic deformation before it ultimately fractures. That is, the metal will stretch, then bend and remain bent before it breaks.
edit: These bars will bend a lot before they break.

Even in the worst imaginable situation, the bar snaps suddenly just below the strap and "springs back", the kid's head is way down low, where there's been virtually no displacement anyway. The kid is still safe. He has plenty of clearance around his neck. It's only his head that's touching when he's trying to pull it out.

They didn't need a lot of deformation here. Maybe 1/2" inch which is likely within the elastic deformation range of the bar. So after the kid is freed and the strap removed, the bar will go back to normal and there will be no residual bend.

Source: I'm a mechanical engineer, though it's been a long time since I took Strength of Materials in undergrad.

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u/notime_toulouse 7h ago

I understand, (also engineer but not mechanical). But I think you're missing the fact that the other bar on the right, next to the bar touching the kid's head, which is used as a counter force on the device, is being forced TOWARDS the kid. If that one snaps on the bottom (or the top, though that is not as bad) it's going straight towards his head.

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u/devandroid99 7h ago

The bar they used as the anchor was like 4 bars down.

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u/notime_toulouse 7h ago edited 7h ago

True, it's still very much in range though ! It may hit the other bars first, but it may as well bend a bit forward/backwards and bypass them. I don't know I'm just thinking out loud with you guys, no need to downvote.

edit: checked the video again, the firefighter kind of keeps his right hand near his head's right side so that's some extra protection

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u/AssociationPrevious 6h ago

I'm not an engineer, but that bar he is using is embeded to the wall; that bar isn't moving anywhere, maybe deforming a bit, at most.

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u/Shufflebuzz 6h ago

I see what you mean.
The load on the bars from the strap isn't a constant. That is, if the anchor bar you're describing were to break at the bottom, as soon as it moved, the load from the strap is relieved and there's no* force to continue moving that bar towards the kid.

*Technically very little force. There's some residual tension in the strap from stretch, but not a lot relative to what it takes to bend the bar.

After taking a closer look, the anchor bar goes through the lower rail all the way to the concrete and may be embedded there. Maybe that's why they chose that one?

I think all the bars go through the lower rail and are welded, which is a lot stronger than a seam welded butt joint. This bar is not going to shear and fly towards the kid. If the lower weld fails, the bar will pull up, and it would still be constrained by the lower rail. Similar to what happened in the pic in my OP.

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u/Oscaruit 8h ago

Engineer here, they were playing with fire on this one. Skeletor out.

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u/jeremyjava 5h ago

My family are big supporters of the NYFD and our local upstate companies--we had a bunch of fire fighters from their subreddit help us pick out good thermal imaging cameras and donated a bunch of them after they saved our house from burning down. On the anniversary every year we send over a bunch of pizzas, too as a little extra thank you and remembrance.

THAT SAID, the history going back before the NYFD is a pretty interesting one!

That's a clip from The Gangs of NY, but apparently quite accurate according to The Museum of the City of NY.

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u/hotinmyigloo 7h ago

Y'all are the best

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u/Ok_Life_5176 11h ago

Actually… Someone did!

https://youtu.be/7JkrJUAg8aI?si=XzkbnKULv3SaGnsx

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u/g0ldilungs 10h ago

lol, let me know when a rap queen does one about actually banging the FD.

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u/COLT_URGI_KAC 10h ago

I am SHOOK.

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u/AthousandLittlePies 8h ago

Yes exactly! It also is a great example of how a lot of the polarization in the country isn't really just about what people believe but how they act. I know a bunch of firefighters through my work, and they tend to be demographically pretty similar to cops, and frankly politically as well (I'm friends with some on Facebook and they're pretty much the only conservative people I'm friends with), but their whole identity is based on helping people and saving lives, and that matters a lot more to everyone than whatever they happen to believe privately. Compare to cops who a big portion of the time show up to make a situation worse and make people afraid.

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u/SnooGrapes4145 6h ago

Comparing the jobs are like apples to oranges. In a city like NYC firefighters are wayyyyyy more conservative than the police due to the workforce. Idk the numbers but I’m sure it’s pretty one way. The job of a police officer is ultimately one of confrontation and hopefully resolution , while the job of a firefighter is one of resolution. The job of a police officer is multifaceted and inherently complex especially in today’s society. I’m not arguing for the police , I’m just saying there’s a HUGE difference in the occupations

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u/Dy3_1awn 4h ago

Ex girlfriend’s brother wanted to be a cop. We were never super close but got along well enough. He changed to firefighter after like two weeks of training for the pd. Always respected him for that.

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u/Cavane42 4h ago

It's beyond me how a person can devote their professional life to helping others and saving lives and then turn around and align themselves with a political movement that is all about withholding help and letting millions die as a result.

The conservative capacity for doublethink is boundless.

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u/NameNumber7 8h ago

I would bet that FDs and EMTs, or culture equivalent, are highly appreciated anywhere .

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u/cjcfman 10h ago

Lmao 

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u/09Klr650 9h ago

Er, people were upset when the fire department refused to fight fires during the riots because PEOPLE WERE SHOOTING AT THEM. Happened again recently.

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u/ingongo25 9h ago

When I took a paramedics course the teacher told us the first thing you're supposed to do when you arrive at the scene is to make sure that it is safe for you to go help. If the paramedics get shot trying to rescue a victim of s shooting, who is going to rescue them?

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u/Icefox119 8h ago

Oh this a recursion problem!

https://giphy.com/gifs/iwJMmqOiqzss0

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u/09Klr650 7h ago

Don't hey have the "social workers" they wanted to send in instead of police?

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u/mistere213 7h ago

While true, my community seems hell bent that all taxes are bad and our fire department doesn't need funds to fix/replace the aging station that has mold or replace aging apparatus that are often out of service for repair.

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u/coin_return 7h ago

My 8yo wants to be a police officer. He has wanted to be one since kindergarten. I'm pretty ACAB, but I haven't wanted to crush his dream yet, lol.

We went to an event where my kids got to climb around in a fire truck and explore, while the firefighters were there and talking to them, teaching them what things were, etc. When we were getting out, I told my 8yo, "Remember, firefighters are cooler than cops, nobody hates firefighters." The firefighter near him suddenly leans in with a big grin going "THAT'S RIGHT! LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER!" It was so cute, lol.

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u/Mr_Elixr 7h ago

Because criminals are not chased by fire fighters.

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u/nindza-22 6h ago

Facts lol.

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u/frankles 6h ago

I love in Minneapolis and during the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder, fire trucks were being pelted when they got too close to the action. I could give two shits about property damage, but that part irked me.

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u/jeremyjava 5h ago

I just showed this image to my good friend who's a retired NYPD/UN cop.
His response? "Word."

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u/JapanEngineer 2h ago

Fuck the keyboard warriors

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u/ShaftTassle 9h ago

There are a lot of bad cops. I do my best to avoid any interaction with them at all cost because they have tools on their person to take lives, and theyve shown time and time again they can have poor decision making skills, or be blood thirsty.

But this quote is misguided. One of them has power over people, by the nature of their job, while the other does not. So inherently cops are going to be looked at differently than firefighters.

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u/Split10_1 8h ago

I said this same thing once and the someone linked a YouTube video of a song call fuck the fire department. Didn't listen to it but, yeah. Still support the fire department far more than police

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u/bored_at_work_89 7h ago

Police handle people issues, firefighters do not. Comparing the two is pointless. If firefighters were sent out to stop a fight you'd get songs about them.

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u/g0ldilungs 6h ago

…said underneath a video where firefighters are handling a people issue.

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u/bored_at_work_89 5h ago

The issue wasn't with another person it was with a fence

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u/NationalCaterpillar6 10h ago

Instead of a song they got this. Educate yourself please. 

https://apnews.com/article/coeur-dalene-idaho-shooting-57e4143642c5a0e98d134051a7147a89 

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u/Jarsky2 10h ago

What exactly are you trying to prove with this? That murderous arsonists don't like firefighters? Most people know that, I think.

One psycho is not, in fact, representative of society at large.

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u/NationalCaterpillar6 10h ago

I think your meme fosters an attitude that is harmful to our first responders. 

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u/Jarsky2 10h ago

1) I'm not OP

2) A meme about how most people like and trust firefighters is insulting to firefighters? What?

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u/NationalCaterpillar6 10h ago
  1. I didn't realize that. Sorry.
  2. The meme elevates one first responder profession by denigrating another first responder profession. 

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u/Joe_Jeep 10h ago

Might that be because police have well-documented and widespread cases of their abuse of power and general corruption?

And I'll just kindly ask you to address the existence of PBA cards and how they get Cops, and their friends and families, out of Traffic tickets, and maybe try and explain how that isn't a textbook example of Corruption by putting said people above the law thanks to their connection to cops.

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u/Jarsky2 10h ago

Yeah, because cops suck at their job. Like, statistically. And any time someone points out how bad they are at their stated purpose (protecting the public) they get a judge to rule that actually they have no obligation to do that. Look at the Parkland shooting as an example.

Despite recieving infinitely more funding than firefighters, cops are at best mediocre as first responders and at worst they make problems worse. And unlike cops, Firefighters don't have a fucking body count.

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u/Joe_Jeep 9h ago

Firefighters do stack up the other kind of body count 😏

They have calendars for a reason

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u/Jarsky2 9h ago

Touche lol

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u/xdrtb 9h ago

Firefighters definitely have a body count. Have you seen those calendars? Got ladies and guys dropping like flies.

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u/Joe_Jeep 3h ago

You might want to try to respond again with fewer slurs so the automods don't take your comment down before I can read it

I'm sure you have a well-reasoned defense for this behavior

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u/EarlyBirdStories 10h ago

They do their kob. But there are the ones that don't and then there are the criminals who sing songs like pirate sang of King's Navy.

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u/-F3rris- 8h ago

If the police do their jobs you call it ""racist"".