Jeffery Cool is a retired New York City firefighter who survived a 50-foot jump from a burning building. He credits his survival to his safety rope and is now advocating that all departments provide ropes for their members. (File photo by Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

Had it not been for the safety rope he carried during the darkest night of his career as a New York City firefighter, Jeffery Cool said he likely wouldn't have lived.

The Pomona man and five fellow firefighters were trapped on the fourth floor of a burning apartment building in the Bronx, and realized there was no way out but down.

Two of his friends, firefighters John Bellew, 37, of Pearl River and Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46, of Long Island, died on impact after they jumped out a window.

Though badly injured, Cool and three others survived the fall.

He had a rope with him, which lessened the length that he plummeted.

At the time, the FDNY didn't require firefighters to carry the rope. They do now.

And to ensure that no other firefighter is caught unprepared, he's advocating that departments large and small procure ropes for all their members.

"I'm a lucky guy ... but you need a little more than luck to get out of these situations," he told a bevy of firefighters gathered at the Hillcrest firehouse last night. "I know a lot of people are saying, 'This is not going to happen in my department' or 'This is not going to happen to me.' But it could."

In Rockland, a few members of each volunteer fire department have ropes, said Gordon Wren, the county's fire coordinator.

"Some of the most active (firefighters) have them, but not everyone," he said. "We're phasing them in, but they're expensive."

Through vivid storytelling and a collection of photographs, Cool painted a picture yesterday of the dangers that fires in even small communities can pose.

"A 10-foot fall can kill you if you fall face-first. Think about the weight of our gear," he told the crowd.

Before the night he jumped from the Bronx apartment window in January 2005, Cool said money wasn't set aside for firefighters to buy new ropes after their shelf life expired.

He went out of his way to purchase his own, and hasn't regretted it.

"I said on that day, 'This is going to save my life,'" he recalled.

And though he suffered 13 broken ribs, a shattered pelvis, cracked bones in his neck and spine and fractures to his cranium - it did.

He urged department leaders to write grants for the ropes and offer training so firefighters know how to use them properly.

"We have to evolve in our fire service," he said.

Wren noted that each department is taking steps to boost the number of safety ropes they carry, though he said it could take time before everyone has them.

"We're working in that direction," he said.