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Hines started his career early - about 9 years of age. "I'm the little kid in the storybook that tells you he wants to grow up and be a fireman," he said. He attended Holy Trinity School in Arlington as a child. His father's close friendship with then-Fire Chief James C. Laffin, resulted in an agreement: Hines would go to the fire house after school, do his homework and soak in the ambiance, and Laffin would take him home at about 5 p.m.
At 16, Hines joined the Arlington Fire Department as a volunteer, and when he was old enough he took his civil service exam to be a New York City firefighter, and worked in the Bronx until the motorcycle accident in July 1967.
"Even after the accident, I always had the desire to return to the fire department in some capacity," said Hines. He even interviewed with the Chicago Fire Department for a job as a personnel officer.
In the meantime, Hines went to Marist, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American studies, with a minor in psychology. At Syracuse University, he got his masters' in counseling psychology.
"At Syracuse I got interested in the human resources field," said Hines. "Being from Poughkeepsie and returning to Poughkeepsie, I obviously was interested in IBM as an employer. It took me a little while but I was eventually hired."
Hines worked at IBM in the HR department until 1995.
It wasn't until the tragedy of September 11 that Hines returned to the city as a fireman. "Like every other ex-fireman, I went down to the city that night," he said. It was about 11 p.m. by the time he got to ground zero. "I met a chief. I told him who I was and I asked him if I could be of any assistance." He went with a triage doing emotional assistance work and was swept into the intensity for days.
"Out of the tragedy of 9/11, I don't even like to use the word - an opportunity presented itself - almost like a responsibility - I had to do something, and it just kind of fell into place."
Hines is now a field supervisor for New York's Counseling Services Unit (CSU), which was formalized in the 1960s. On 9/11, the CSU had fewer than ten employees.
"You had an unprecedented situation," said Hines, 343 firemen were killed on 9/11, and "thousands were scarred emotionally. The ripple effect upon their families was unbelievable. It's an extremely dangerous job and men die doing it, and women. But it had never been to the scope of 9/11."
Now CSU is a thriving organization, with five locations in the city and about 120 employees. They do peer counseling, using 35 well-known city firefighters who have been trained. "What's more important than the training is they have the right personalities," said Hines. "For the most part, they are guys that are well-known across the fire department so when they walk into a fire house it's not a complete, total stranger."
"What they're doing is they're seeking out guys that need help," he said. "Firemen are knuckleheads. They're tough guys. They get tougher because they see it more than the average person. And it does toughen you. But it still takes its toll."
Hines says the culture of the fire service has changed since 9/11; firemen are more ready to seek help and admit problems instead of "sucking it up."
"There's not a theory that you could find that describes what we do. It's very pragmatic. It's very realistic. We don't mess around. We address it, we figure out what's wrong, and we fix it. And we'll work with you as long as we need to until it's fixed," said Hines.
CSU services are available to New York City firemen, their families, and extended families. They've seen over 20,000 firefighters and family members since 9/11.
"The impact of 9/11 is still there. It will always be there," said Hines. "These guys are going to carry that until their lives are ended."
For local volunteers, who are fewer and fewer these days, Hines says hang on. "It's the greatest job in the world," he said. "You're not going to get rich. You're probably going to get hurt. You're going to see and do things that are pretty horrendous. But the gratification resulting from what you do - I don't think any other job even comes close."
"We are brothers," he said. "There's no way around that. It's a very tight-knit, professional brotherhood. Male and female."
To illustrate this, Hines gave an example: In 1967, after the accident, he was in the hospital for five months. "There wasn't one day in those five months that there wasn't a fireman there," he said. "I could tell you a hundred stories about what those guys did for me. It's like a member of your family. Whatever he or she needs, you do."
Hines encourages young people to get involved with their local fire department, and beyond. "There's no place you're going to have more fun than the fire department," he said. "Part of the culture is the humor. I'm blind, OK - we have more fun with the fact that I can't see than you can imagine."
