Remembering September 11, 2001

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nfd2004

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The Day of Terror, September 11, 2001, when America was Attacked.

This year marks the 15th Anniversary and we should Never Forget. So many innocent lives were taken away. Including:

  343 - New York City Firefighters (FDNY)
  37 - Police Officers of the Port Authority of NY/NJ (PAPD)
  24 - New York City Police Officers (NYPD)
  8 - EMT/Medics

  It was the "Deadliest Attack on American soil".

  2,606 - killed from the World Trade Center, plus 6,000 injured
  265 - killed from the Four Planes that crashed (Two into the WTC, one in a field in Shanksville, Pa., and one into the Pentagon)
  125 - killed at the U.S. Pentagon

2,996 - Totally innocent Americans murdered that day. Each one not just a number, but a human being with families and friends who still miss them. Today that count continues to rise as more people are dying from the effects of that dust cloud when those Two - 110 story buildings collapsed. For many, this was all live on our televisions as we watched. WE MUST NEVER FORGET.

  All flights in America were ordered to land. For the first and only time in America, there were no planes flying. The only planes in the air were US Fighter Jets.

  Many of the injured were expected to be transported by train to some outside hospitals. Most nurses and doctors were ordered back to work. For my sister in law, an RN at Bridgeport (CT) Hospital, a Code D was activated. Meaning all off duty nurses were to report back to work. As they waited, nobody arrived.

  Sometimes there were five or six funerals a day for those FDNY Firefighters. It was sometimes impossible for those FDNY firefighters to go to these funerals. There was a request made for firefighters from anywhere, just to show up in uniform, to try and give each member the full fire department honor they deserved.

  As I understand it, not only was it necessary to fill those 343 firefighter positions to give the city adequate coverage, but there was also a required amount of firefighters to continue searching through the huge pile from the collapse of those two buildings.

  In addition, members of the FDNY needed to cover each and every firehouse in which a funeral was occurring. Just so those that worked in the same firehouse could attend the members funeral. There were sometimes weeks that went by in which these FDNY members never got home to be with their families. And this went on for almost a full year.

  Today, many Ground Zero Firefighters, EMTs, Police Officers, and other nearby Ground Zero workers have come down with 9/11 linked cancer. Some have passed on because of it. Others have severe breathing problems. PLUS, there are over 5,400 people who suffer today from the 9/11 linked cancer, who were also exposed to that dust cloud.

  There were many heros that day. Each one with a story to be told.

  A country singer by the name of Alan Jackson decided to write a song about it. He called it "Where were you when the World Stopped Turning". And for those of us who watched these events play out it is a day we will never forget. To this day, 15 years later, it is still hard to believe. We offer our condolences on the loss of so many of your friends and family members. We Thank ALL of YOU for the job you did. A job that no one else in our civilized society has ever had to do.

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ittG66J8_hQ
 
How bout a post with the total FDNY response on that eveil day of infamy so that the heroic work can be documented HERE for future generations to marvel at; such an overwhelming and unprecedented man and machine mobilization in all human fire dept history?
 
I think that it is probably reasonable to say that every FDNY member active on 9/11/01 together with units from the Fire Patrol and many volunteer companies from Westchester, Nassau and several New Jersey communities participated in some way in the response to the attack.  While some probably manned stations to ensure full coverage of the city on Day 1, thousands of people worked "the pile" on subsequent days.

Here's an excerpt from the official FDNY final report on 9/11 operations:

At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, the first hijacked plane slammed through Floors 93 to 98 of the North Tower with a force equal to 240 tons of TNT.

Observing the impact of the aircraft into the North Tower from a dozen blocks away while at another incident, first-due FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer immediately called for a second alarm. While en route, he called for third alarm units at 8:48. He designated West and Vesey streets as the staging area.

At 8:57 a.m., Chief of Department Ganci, while still en route to the incident, requested the assignment
of a staging chief to coordinate activities at West and Vesey. He then issued a fifth alarm for WTC 1 and responding units were instructed to report to this staging area

Shortly after Chief Ganci arrived, the second plane hit. The time was 9:03 a.m. At 9:12, Chief Ganci called a second fifth-alarm assignment and soon thereafter designated a staging area for these units at West and Albany streets.

The incident was building, minute by minute, second by second. Companies were arriving at a rapid pace and were sent up the stairs to work. Twenty-six of the department's 32 staff chiefs and executive staff were on the scene.

At 9:29 a.m., Chief Ganci ordered a full recall of all off-duty FDNY personnel. This was the first total recall of FDNY personnel in more than 30 years. Recalled personnel, without the benefit of instructions, either went directly to the scene, to their own fire station, to the closest fire station, or to recall staging areas such as the one set up at Shea Stadium in the borough of Queens.

At 9:47 a.m., with three simultaneous, major operations ongoing in the North Tower, the South Tower, and the Marriott Hotel, Chief Ganci, anticipating an extended operation and the need for relief, called for a third fifth-alarm assignment and ordered these units to be staged at West and Vesey.


Before September 11, the FDNY had rarely requested mutual aid from
departments outside the city to support fire operations. The Department had no
process for evaluating the need for mutual aid, nor any formal methods of
requesting that aid or managing it. Therefore, the Department had limited ability
to evaluate how mutual aid could be integrated into its operations. However, due
to the magnitude of the WTC incident, FDNY personnel sought mutual aid from
Westchester County at approximately 10:07 a.m., and from Nassau County at
10:23 a.m.
These initial mutual aid requests did not specify the level and type of resources
needed. In addition, the FDNY did not have adequate information on the
resources and capabilities of departments in surrounding cities and counties (e.g.,
the size, capabilities and expertise of different units). And, the FDNY had
minimal operational training with surrounding fire departments, and hence had
limited ability to evaluate whether and how resources from other departments
could be integrated with the FDNY?s operations. For instance, it could not tell
whether procedures could be integrated, equipment could interoperate, and
whether the capabilities of units with the same names (e.g., rescue or hazmat) were
comparable.
Our interviews and review of dispatch tapes indicate that mutual aid received from
neighboring fire departments on September 11 consisted primarily of engine and
ladder units. Some mutual aid units deployed to staging areas. Some deployed
directly to the incident and others were paired with FDNY units to help maintain citywide coverage.

The complete report can be found here:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/fire_operations_response.pdf

There are also some interesting sections on Frank Raffa's site: http://www.fdnewyork.com/

FDNY radio archives can be found here:  https://archive.org/details/911_fdny_dispatches

As to what units responded: what difference does it make?  Suffice it to say that everyone responded . . . and 343 members didn't go home.  :'(



 
If it makes no difference who/what responded then why do smaller incidents on here get posted with that very information?
 
The FDNY formally assigned 121 of 198 Engine Companies, 62 of 143 Truck Companies, all 5 Rescue Companies, 6 of 7 Squad Companies, 4 marine companies plus the retired and privately owned Harvey along with many other units to the site, with more than 1,000 firefighters, EMTs and paramedics on the scene when the towers collapsed. Attempting to compare this event with any other in the history of FDNY is in my opinion an exercise in futility.  No one knows for certain all of the units that responded.  The department lost much of its senior staff and many companies including volunteer units from within and outside the city limits self-dispatched.  Communications broke down. In the chaos that followed, it was impossible to keep track of the personnel and equipment that was there.
 
Never forget 9/11/01 ??

As far as the response to this incident goes, it is purely unimaginable, the scale too grand. I'm sure we all know however, and as some have already said, ALL gave some, some gave ALL.
 
I forgot to mention that various Suffolk County units responded, too.  One I'm aware of for sure is the Commack FD Technical Rescue Team.

Also, hundreds of retired FDNY members, when they realized the extent of the disaster, dug out their bunker gear and helmets and responded just as they had done during their active careers.  Just like Marines . . . once an FDNY Firefighter, always an FDNY Firefighter. Steve Buscemi (yes, THAT Steve Buscemi), a former Engine 55 member, also responded with his old company.

For some other thoughts on the response, see http://nycfire.net/forums/index.php?topic=6506.0
 
Don't forget Keith Roma of Fire Patrol 2 killed on 9/11 at the WTC, he is not included as one of the 343
 
I believe at the time the towers fell 3 5th alarms and a 2nd alarm plus the extra 10-60 units were mostly on scene with a few co's still enroute along with nearly the entire team of staff chiefs. Plus there were multiple company's not listed on those alarms that had self dispatched plus all the members responding to the recall that responded in personal vehicles, reserve vehicles and buses
 
Thoughts and prayers for all those who lost their lives and for those who carry on without them. May they eternally rest in peace, we will never forget!
 
Some off duty Members who responded in their own vehicles lost their vehicles also.
 
I was proud to honor the 343 by marching from E219/T105 to the Trade Center yesterday. There must have been over 300 firefighters marching as well. Again, it was an honor...
 
I did my part at my local rod & gun club, Morehouse, NY  on 9/11 at 9 A.M.before we began shooting trap by saying a prayer for those lost and then all present firing a 12 gauge salute. May all rest in peace 
 
Never forget...and to all current and retired FDNY FFs---Thank you all for your service to your city, and to our country.

God bless America.
 

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  Helpful Source:
  http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/fire_operations_response.pdf
 
I was surfing YouTube and found a show called Miracle Detectives from 2011 that has the story of a member of the Tenhouse on September 11, 2001.
I had never seen it before or ever heard of the show. I think it's very good and the member interviewed speaks very well.
It's in four parts.
Johnny Gage might find the 3:00 minute mark in part 2 interesting. I wonder if he has seen it.

Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4:
 
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