by Carrie James
A member of the New York City Police Department, McEniry, 36, was working in Queens as part of the Emergency Services Unit. He said he was handling an unstable powdery substance, and in a split second, it "flashed" up, or exploded, severely burning his left hand and to a lesser degree his face.
"It was a regular day," McEniry said. "The substance, it's like gun powder, and there was just a flash, and it burned my face and this one hand. I first went to Jacoby Hospital."
When his wife, Kim McEniry, first saw him, she said he looked like he had a really bad sunburn on his face and his hand was all blisters, black and leathery.
"In the beginning, his face was red and over the night it turned purple and by morning it was black," Kim McEniry said. "The only way to describe his hand, though, was that it looked like a baboon's butt."
After that first day at Jacoby Hospital, McEniry was moved to Nassau University Medical Center's Burn Center, where he stayed for three weeks as they cleaned his face and hand regularly, then finally grafted skin onto his hand that was taken from his leg.
"The face was nothing, but the hand that hurt real bad. They gave me morphine while they cleaned it," McEniry said. "After the surgery, though, I forgot about my hand because my leg hurt so bad. They said it would be a full recovery."
McEniry now wears a special glove over his hand to help keep the skin in place and tight, as well as to protect it.
Despite all this, McEniry can't wait to go back to work for the NYPD, where he serves in the Emergency Services Unit and teaches tactical procedures for the department.
"He's been a friend for 12 years," said Mike Finnegan, a chief in the East Meadow Fire Department, where McEniry has volunteered for the past 15 years. "Seeing his injury, most would go out on three-quarters (pension), but that wouldn't stop him."
The Dec. 22 explosion wasn't the first time in the past few months that McEniry has put himself in danger for the job he loves.
On Sept. 11, he, along with many others from his unit, responded to the Twin Towers to try and help people escape. At first, he and others had planned to repel down from the roof and help people escape, but that proved too dangerous. McEniry then joined others on the ground near Tower Two to help move people out of danger before it collapsed next to Tower One.
"People were coming out of building two and we were trying to help them get out to safety," he said. "I looked up and building started coming down on top of us. I made it to the corner and dove underneath a fire truck with a couple firefighters. We dug ourselves out. I had an injury to my eyes and couldn't see for about an hour."
McEniry later found his way to a hospital, stayed long enough to get his eyes looked at, then left again to help in the rescue effort, despite medical staff recommending that he stay there.
For 30 days, McEniry went down to ground zero to help in the rescue effort, even though he mostly only found body parts and the smell of death.
It's a drive to do his duty, to help others and a love for a career that he first took on when he joined the U.S. Marines at the age of 17 that keeps him going back into the face of danger, whether it's in the NYPD, the EMFD or the Marines.
"I spent Christmas and New Year's in the hospital," McEniry said. "But I can't wait to go back to work. This is just something I've done my whole life. I was 17 when I went into the Marine Corps. When I got out, I decided to join the fire department because I expected it would be the same type of camaraderie. Maybe when I grow up, I'll look for something else, but right now this is what I do."
Just a year after joining the East Meadow Fire Department, McEniry signed up to be an NYPD officer, following in his father's footsteps -- even getting his dad's badge number.
Although the events in recent months have caused his family to panic, said Kim McEniry, she added that she and their two children continue to support him in his need to serve in the NYPD.
"We were talking the other night, and I remember him saying if a big job came out, he'd go right to it," she said.
Both his family and friends are happy to see that McEniry is recovering quickly and should be able to get back to work soon.
"When I first saw him, I asked if he could still hold a rifle," Finnegan said. "I'm happy that even though his injuries were serious, he'll fully recover."
