Here's Johnny! FDNY & Johnny Carson.
The description with the video above says this "training" with Johnny Carson occurred at Randall's Island. Fire buff extraordinaire Vito Maggiolo says otherwise:
At the time that was shot, the FDNY training academy was located on what was than known as Welfare Island, nicknamed “the rock” by FDNY firefighters. It was later moved to Randalls Island when a housing development was built on Welfare Island, which was then renamed Roosevelt Island.
Welfare Island got its name because it had several hospitals for the poor, people with terminal diseases, and a mental institution. They were put there because of the isolated nature of the island, which at one point could only be accessed by a vehicle elevator from the Queensboro (59th St.) Bridge. For years there was an engine company on the island, due to its isolated nature. If a truck company was needed, it could not fit on the elevator, so they had to load ground ladders and whatever other tools on a sanitation truck that could fit on the elevator.
Eventually a bridge was built from Queens to the Island, which was considered to be part of Manhattan, and had Manhattan box numbers, but all responding companies came from Queens.
In March of 1963, a bus carrying hospital staff on the Island went off the roadway into the East River. A number of employees were trapped and drowned. This incident was a motivating factor in FDNY eventually developing trained scuba teams, although it took almost two decades to do so.
