I have been at the site for the past three days. The first time our department went in was to support the Port Authority Special Response Unit with our cascade system. We supplied air for air bottles for PA police in the staging area.
Now I can now relate to people in foreign countries who have had their homeland bombed, what Germany looked like when it was bombed. Now I can relate to how the devastation looked.
On the second day we went to the site and started sifting through rubble and looking in voids. It didn’t feel unsafe. We focused on the job we had to do. The consensus at the site was that everybody wanted to help find firefighters and cops.
Talk consisted of what shield you were wearing and where you were from and thanks for coming. Atmosphere was business as normal. There was more of a security presence Friday because of President Bush’s visit-national guard and police. His visit shows rescuers and the rest of the country his support for the efforts.
I’ve been in the fire service for 27 years-being a marine in Vietnam is the closest I’ve come to this experience, but nothing of this magnitude, ever.
A lot of colors of faces, a lot of colors of turnouts, a lot of shields on helmets, but underneath you’re a firefighter, and now is the time firefighters have to pull together and keep the tradition of family alive, and no matter where in the country you are, prayers and support are needed, whether you’re in Hawaii or New York. You don’t have to be here to show support. Show it by flying the flag, writing, photos. Don’t forget that it happened and how it can unfortunately happen again.
