13 years ago today I like others could have never imagined what was about to happen in the next 24 hours. It was the unthinkable. We all thought this country was untouchable at this magnitude. We were wrong. The next morning when this began to unfold I remember sitting on my bed just watching the tv in disbelief almost like I was waiting for them to say this is not real. When the towers fell one after the other it was as if time was standing still. Still waiting for someone to say this was not real. I was sick to my stomach for my country and my family and those directly involved. The department I work for recalled all firefighters for precaution. As we all began reporting and continued to watch it unfold on tv Jimmy and I decided at that point we were making the trip. We didnt know what we would do but we were going. Whether helping at a firehouse or assisting in rescue ops we were going. It was not without some resistance from others but we went. As we drove across the George Washington Bridge it began to sink in. The magnitude of this act was beyond what anyone could have imagined. We arrived at a firehouse in Greenwich Village which housed E24-L5-B2. As we walked up to the apron their engine was sitting outside smashed and covered in dust and debris. One firefighter stood outside with a look on his face I will never forget. We walked up to him and introduced ourselves and said we are here to help in any way we can. He thanked us for coming and instructed us to drop our gear and get breakfast inside. The introduction was a little at odds as we stated our names to him Jimmy Young specifically. The house had lost 11 members and we were going to look for them at their last know location. As I walked into the garage I came upon a memorial of three firefighters killed at a separate incident years prior. The names, Jimmy Young, Chris Seidenberg and John Drennan. I got chills. As we continued to meet firefighters our first order was to go to the catholic parish one block over to get tables and chairs for grieving family members who will be in the firehouse. As we went with a few others the priest opened the door. This particular priest was Father Kieran Monohan the Headmaster of Serra Catholic High School 20 years prior and the man who handed Jimmy his high school diploma. Jimmy had not seen him since. It was at that point I knew we were supposed to be there. After some conversation we returned to the firehouse and prepared to head down to the what was then know as the Pile. Before going I made a phone call to my now wife laurie, it was almost impossible to talk holding back the tears I told her I loved her but deep down inside there was a part of me that believed I may not go home. A port authority bus pulled up in front of the firehouse and we boarded. The bus was carrying firefighters from other houses and you could hear a pin drop. The looks on their faces were all the same. As we made our way to the area about 6 blocks it was as if it was a ghost town covered in white dust and ash. We finally arrived at the drop off point and our Captain Anthony Varialle stood up as if this was a military platoon. Instructing the men to stay in formation and follow orders. We marched from the the drop off point to one of the financial building where we had to walk through to make entry into Ground Zero. I remember looking in cafes and coffee shops as we marched down the halls, money on tables, food sitting on plates, purses, belongings etc just sitting there as if people just vanished. It was the eeriest thing I had ever seen. After walking a couple hundred yards we came to the entry point. What we looked out at can not be explained in words. Id never really believed death had a smell but that day changed my mind. The 11 firefighters from E24-L5-B2 were last known to be in a stairwell of the South Tower. Thats where our efforts would concentrate. we began making our way to that area, climbing what was stories above over and stories below the street. We searched as long as we could that day but never located them. They were located soon after. These are some pics from this experience. God Bless America. Ladder 5 Lt. Mike Warchola Lt. Vincent Giamonna Lou Arena Andy Brunn Greg Saucedo Paul Keating Tommy Hannafin John Santore Battalion 2 BC. William McGovern BC. Richard Prunty FF. Fautino Apostol, JR
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:09:00 +0000