24 hours in the FDNY firehouse that never sleeps

It’s long past midnight in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and firefighter Mark Merrell of Engine 255 is explaining to me why medals aren’t important and being called a hero doesn’t matter all that much.

“What you try to achieve is for somebody to say, ‘you’re a good fireman.’ That’s probably the biggest compliment you can get,” he says. “And that don’t come easy.”