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American Morning

Firefighters Who Posed for Calendar Discuss More Serious Tone

Aired July 01, 2002 - 08:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The annual New York Firefighters Calendar has always been big on beef cake. But this year it's taking on a more serious tone. Instead of "Firehouse Hunks," the just released 2003 edition is called "Calendar of Heroes." It includes photos of three men who died on September 11 trying to save the lives of others. The 2002 calendar was canceled because of the 9/11 attacks.

And two of this year's featured heroes are here with us now, Mr. February, Ed McNulty, and Mr. August, Tom Caruso.

Welcome. Glad to have you with us.

What is it like to be referred to as a pinup boy when you do such serious work protecting the rest of us here?

TOM CARUSO, MR. AUGUST: We, I take it as a compliment, you know? Guys in the fires, they joke on guys. But I take it as a big compliment. I don't know about you, Eddie.

ED MCNULTY, FDNY: It's definitely fun. I mean good guys at work. They support everything we do. So it's definitely fun.

ZAHN: How has September 11 changed the way you approach this project, because I know you have a lot of mixed emotions as this moved forward in the process.

CARUSO: I think I'm definitely more focused on this project because of what happened then. I really want to make this calendar work and just raise that much more money for the awareness, because this goes to the Fire Safety Education Fund, which, in turn, you know, saves firemen's lives and saves civilians' lives. So this is something I'm very dedicated to doing.

ZAHN: And you, as well?

MCNULTY: Yes, I just, I think we should just dedicate this to the three guys. We all knew them and just don't want them to be forgotten. And it just feels good that they'll be always in this calendar and the families will know that, you know? I mean they were at their prime. They look great. They were great guys. And that's the way they'll be remembered, you know?

ZAHN: Let's introduce some of them now to our audience. And let's start with Ed Cordice. His mother, Caroline Cordice, wrote this about him -- and that's obviously his picture on the right: "Rob knew everyone in Staten Island. Everyone knew him and was his friend. He loved his family. His job was his life. He was my best friend."

What do you remember about your good friend, Robert Cordice?

CARUSO: Just a great sense of humor. Just a man who loved his job, and just a beautiful person.

MCNULTY: Yes, absolutely. You couldn't say anything better than that.

ZAHN: We want to take the time to honor another one of your friends, Thomas Foley, who also lost his life on September 11. Obviously, that's him on the right. And Patricia Foley, his mother, wrote, "Tommy enjoyed everything that life had to offer."

Did you guys know him, as well?

CARUSO: Yes, Tommy, he definitely enjoyed life. He loved to ride bulls. He was a bull rider on the side. I mean whatever he got his hands on, he was totally dedicated, the most dedicated firefighter, the most dedicated bull, whatever he wanted to do. He was so focused. It was just an honor to know him.

ZAHN: Do you remember any of the time leading up to his being photographed and what he went through to get ready for the shoot?

CARUSO: Yes, actually, I was out with Tommy about a week before we shot the calendar and stuff. And he was just so just psyched and pumped and just -- and nervous at the same time. He wanted to make sure he looked perfect, because that's the way he was. He was so dedicated, he just wanted to be perfect at everything he did.

ZAHN: He looked perfect in that photo.

CARUSO: Oh, he definitely did.

ZAHN: Let's talk about Angel Juarbe. Am I pronouncing his name correctly?

CARUSO: Angel Juarbe, yes.

ZAHN: Yes. Miriam Juarbe, his mother, wrote, "Angel was always a gentleman. He was a hero among heroes."

Did you know him, as well?

MCNULTY: Yes, well, he was actually in a show, "Murder In Small Town X." He actually won it. And that's how we first came to know him -- or I did, anyway. But he was just a great guy to work with. Always, you'd see him at the functions and stuff, you know? He was really a nice guy.

ZAHN: Do you think the public -- I know we've talked a lot about 9/11 perceptions, how it's changed everybody's attitudes towards firefighters. Do you think that the public will retain that same kind of respect?

CARUSO: I think the public always respected firemen for what they did, and I think it just, you know, it maybe gave them a sense of they respect us a little bit more now, knowing, you know, 343 guys gave their life that day. And I think we just gained a little bit more respect. But I think we always had the respect of the public.

ZAHN: Can we come back to something a little more frivolous now, the pictures and what you had to do to get in shape? How much do you guys work out to look the way you do?

CARUSO: Well, I think Eddie works out a lot more than I do. But no, we just...

ZAHN: Eddie, how many hours? An hour a day? Two hours a day?

MCNULTY: Just an hour a day, that's it.

ZAHN: That's it?

MCNULTY: Yes, if I do any more, the guys at the firehouse would kill me so.

ZAHN: Do you guys really eat what they say you eat at the firehouse?

MCNULTY: Oh, we eat good. We eat good food.

CARUSO: We eat a little too good sometimes, you know? But we do a lot of running, try to stay in shape but...

ZAHN: Now, there is not one ab muscle that's sticking out in any of these pictures. Tell me the truth, were you guys sucking your guts in when you were photographed?

CARUSO: No, not at all. Not at all.

ZAHN: True confessions here.

MCNULTY: Yes.

ZAHN: And do you think these guys were at all self-conscious posing for these pictures in the middle of the city as thousands of bystanders were walking by?

MCNULTY: Oh, it was, yes, Matty Mills, he was in Times Square, and he said it's in the morning. He was saying thousands of people walking around, and he's sitting there with no shirt on, you know? But it's New York, so I guess it's normal looking.

CARUSO: Yes.

ZAHN: You guys look great here.

Now when you look at these pictures, are you a little self- conscious? CARUSO: You're always a little self-conscious. You always critique yourself. I'm always too hard on myself.

ZAHN: OK, let's go back to that picture. You tell me one thing that's wrong with that picture. Come on, let's roll back there. Now, come on. What do you, do you have anything to criticize there?

MCNULTY: He looks a little jiggly to me, you know?

ZAHN: He looks what?

CARUSO: His hand's out of place a little bit.

MCNULTY: He's a little sloppy, yes.

CARUSO: His hand could have been a little better, but...

MCNULTY: Yes, right.

ZAHN: The smile is perfect. Well, that's just...

MCNULTY: Well, it's just so embarrassing, you know? People are watching you. You're like, Get this over with, you know?

ZAHN: Well, Tom and Ed, we congratulate you. We know this is a bittersweet moment for both of you because...

CARUSO: Yes, we have a couple of things for you, Paula.

ZAHN: You do?

CARUSO: This is the first calendar off the press. We want to sign it for you.

ZAHN: Oh, I would be honored.

CARUSO: It's the first copy.

MCNULTY: And then I'm going to plug my firehouse.

CARUSO: And Eddie's got a...

MCNULTY: This is for you.

ZAHN: I would be honored to wear that. And guess whose office is going to become the most popular office at CNN? This is going up on the wall, folks. There we go. Come to my office.

Again, congratulations.

MCNULTY: Thanks a lot.

ZAHN: And I hope this raises a lot of money for fire awareness safety programs.

CARUSO: Thank you very much, Paula. MCNULTY: Thank you.

ZAHN: Again, congratulations.

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