Terence S. Hatton

Knowing the Drill
Terence S. Hatton did not like surprises. A captain in the Fire Department, he took his squad to tour buildings when there were no smoke or flames, or people to rescue.

"He was very knowledgeable about the history of Manhattan and its buildings," said Alfred Benjamin, a firefighter who was a member of the captain's squad at Rescue Company 1 in Times Square. Captain Hatton was a 20-year veteran of the department.

The firehouse is an elite force of about 25 firefighters, whose mission is to perform rescues. It is one of the busiest houses in the city, with 10 runs a day -- very few of them are false alarms.

Captain Hatton, 41, once took his rescue team on a drill to a small theater on 43rd Street, off Eighth Avenue, so that they would know what to expect.

"The theater looks small from the outside, but it's a tremendous building," Mr. Benjamin said. "It has sub-cellars, and the performers have dressing rooms in one of the basements. We wouldn't have known that if we hadn't done the drill."