Editor’s Opinion | By David Rhodes
It was a gorgeous day all up and down the East Coast. The sky was that perfect blue, and everything was going along as normal. I was a newly promoted captain and was still spending most of the morning after our shift muster and breakfast in the office making sure I had everyone documented on the time sheets, had checked the e-mails from the previous two days, and was caught up on entering training time from the previous shift.
Like most fire station officers’ quarters in circa 1960s-era construction, this small 10 × 12 room was packed with a bunk, a desk, and a couple of tall file cabinets with as big a television as you could get that would fit on top of the file cabinet. This particular morning, I had on one of the national network morning news programs, but it was mainly background noise for me as I struggled through completing all the daily administrative duties.
“We have a report that an airplane has crashed into the World Trade Center ….” I turned around to look, but there was no video and the anchor stated that the station had a crew on the way, so I returned to my work. My first thought, like many watching, was that it was most likely a small plane that experienced a mechanical issue. Although unfortunate for the pilot, there wouldn’t be any real significant damage.
A few minutes later, a camera feed was up, and what we all saw was unimaginable: the outline of a large commercial jet on the side of the building with thick, black smoke billowing from the large opening. Now, video was being broadcast on every station, and all firefighters around the country knew there were casualties and that this was going to be a difficult incident even for the largest department in the country.
In our minds, we knew there were multiple alarms being sent, equipment being moved to cover, and hospitals ramping up for mass-casualty protocols as we were glued to the television waiting to see those blasts of water coming out openings in the building.
As we waited with anticipation, the second plane hit the South Tower during the live feed. Everyone was confused, including the news anchors, but in just a few seconds, we all realized that this was not an accident. Within two hours, both towers had collapsed, the Pentagon was burning, and a plane was down in Pennsylvania. We all knew in our guts that a large number of firefighters had been lost.
By this point in my career and through my involvement at FDIC International, I had come to know several FDNY members, among them John O’Connell, Mike Davis, Bobby Knabbe, Andy Fredericks, John Salka, Bob Athanas, Chris Blackwell, Nick Giordano, Joey Light, Mike Ciampo, and Ray Downey. In the days that followed, I would learn that three of them were either missing or confirmed casualties. Gone were Andy Fredericks, Chris Blackwell, and Ray Downey.
The nation responded with unity and newfound respect and admiration for firefighters spread across the world. Support, resources, and compassion filled America’s fire stations as the public once again rekindled an admiration for sacrifice and bravery that had become a complacent, mundane expectation. In the months and years to come, we experienced an influx of budget increases, equipment and training grants, and the expansion of urban search and rescue on a federal and state level. Public outpourings of support on the anniversary continued for a decade. The fire service was back as a staple and trusted core of the communities across the nation.
Fast-forward 22 years, and our fire service struggles with recruitment and retention in both the paid and volunteer departments. In most communities, it is the fire department that organizes and remembers 9/11, not the members of the community. A large portion of the technical rescue and weapons of mass destruction equipment is outdated, broken, or poorly maintained. Training funds for the technical rescue programs have dried up, and we are back struggling to hold onto resources as crime captures the headlines.
Small but very loud groups of citizens see anyone who wears a uniform as fascist. They throw rocks at fire apparatus, assault and shoot firefighters and medics, block streets, and attempt to disrupt our service delivery. They chain themselves to trees and fences, attempting to stop construction of our public safety training centers.
Despite all of this, our members show up and perform with limited staffing and equipment, knowing that the communities are no longer unified in patriotism, the appreciation has waned, the threats have increased, the resources have decreased, and we must look out for ourselves more than ever. We have members on our departments who were born after September 11, 2001, and more who were too young to witness the sacrifices made that day. We have surpassed the 343 FDNY members who were killed that day with those who have died since from cancers and a host of other 9/11-related illnesses.
We must continue to set the example; do the right things; take calculated risks; and serve our communities with a passion, character, and competence second to none. We must continue to do our part to be the example, even though many have forgotten their pledge to Never Forget!
