The Jersey Journal
HOBOKEN, N.J. — Firefighter Brian Crimmins remembers searching through the smoke and flames of his former apartment for his missing friend, Seth Dembowitz.
“I got a call at 2 a.m. telling me there was a fire and we’re needed,” said Crimmins, who once roomed with Dembowitz in apartment 7D at 1203 Washington St., where the fatal blaze began early Tuesday morning.
“I heard the address and I arrived at the building, gear on - I was looking for Seth, because I knew he’d look for me.”
Crimmins searched his old apartment, shocked to see the home now engulfed in flames and heavy smoke, he said. Dembowitz was found later by another fireman.
“Thank God I didn’t find him,” said Crimmins.
Crimmins might not be a firefighter today if it weren’t for his friend.
“When we were both working at Deutsche Bank, I told him I wanted to change careers and become a Hoboken firefighter,” said Crimmins. “Seth supported me in the idea. He was a good friend.”
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