LONDON (AP) -- Two New York City firemen met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, at 10 Downing St. on Wednesday, and were praised for the rescue work of the firefighting teams back home.
``We're just firemen, we don't consider ourselves special. He thanked us for doing our jobs and said we were setting standards for civil servants everywhere,'' said Jim Yakimovich. ``But we were just doing our jobs.''
Yakimovich, 41, and Richard Blatus, 42, met with the Blairs for five minutes.
``They were fabulous,'' Yakimovich said. ``Leo, their son, was running around and they graciously took a minute or two just to talk to us.
The two had received a standing ovation Tuesday night from the audience at the National Television Awards when they thanked the British people for their kindness.
They had come from New York to present the award for the most popular soap opera to the British Broadcasting Corp.'s ``Eastenders.''
Yakimovich, who works for the fire department's Third Division in Upper Manhattan, estimated that the department would be working for about a year to clear away the debris from the World Trade Center, destroyed by terrorists Sept. 11. Blatus is a member of the 18th Battalion in the city's Bronx borough.
The two firemen had been sightseeing at the Tower of London when they received word that a visit to 10 Downing St. had been arranged Wednesday afternoon.
As they scrambled to rescue victims, 343 New York firefighters died after two hijacked jets smashed into the twin towers of the trade center.
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