On a recent afternoon, five retired members of the New York City Fire Department gathered for lunch at O’Hara’s Pub, located half a block from the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan. O’Hara’s, which suffered extensive damage when the Twin Towers collapsed, is now a gathering spot for 9/11 first responders, especially after visits to the memorial. Every inch of wall space in the pub is covered with patches from fire and police departments from all over the world.
This gathering was a reunion of sorts for the five firefighters who share an indelible bond, and we share their story on these pages today. On Sept. 11, 2001, after the Twin Towers were struck by two hijacked planes, the firefighters were among thousands of emergency personnel who responded
to the scene. As fires raged on the upper floors of both towers, this group rescued people trapped in the towers. When orders to evacuate the buildings were given, four of the firefighters, who were in the lobby of the north tower, believed that the fifth member of their team was still on an upper floor. The four started climbing a staircase to search for him, not knowing their colleague had already made his way out of the building. As they ascended the stairs, the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed on top of them. In an unfathomable stroke of luck, as the tower collapsed, stairs and steel from the falling tower created a “tepee” above them. Rather than being crushed by the falling debris, they were trapped in the rubble, relatively unharmed. Five hours after the collapse, the four were able to crawl out to safety.
They were among only 14 people who survived the collapse of the north tower.
After photographing the firefighters at the 9/11 Memorial, I, along with my colleague, reporter Tom Zambito, joined them for lunch at O’Hara’s. We listened as they remembered the day. While they each had slightly different accounts of their experience, the four who were trapped agreed on one fact – had they remained in the lobby instead of entering the staircase to search for their brother firefighter, they surely would have died when the tower collapsed.
I covered the attacks on the World Trade Center on that day 25 years ago, and in the years since, I have continued to help tell the stories of survivors and family members of those lost, as well as the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Covering these stories is always an honor that I never take for granted. It is humbling when I hear the accounts of heroic actions taken that day. But to sit with these firefighters as they recounted how they survived the unthinkable, left me struggling for words.
The recurring theme for the stories in this edition is resilience. That resilience is shown in the transformation of the World Trade Center site from a scene out of a dystopian nightmare to today’s gleaming tower and memorial. It is shown in the stories of these men and others who responded to the tragedy, whose lives have been changed, in many ways, by that day.
They have continued on with their lives but have never allowed the memory of that day and of those lost, to drift far from their consciousness.
As I photographed the firefighters at the 9/11 Memorial, visitors to the site, including one police officer on duty, continually approached them, asking to take photographs with them, but mainly to express their gratitude for their service and sacrifice. It was a privilege to share lunch and a beer at O’Hara’s with them that afternoon, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share their story here.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: The resilience of 9/11 is shown by those who responded that day
