VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- As anguished residents flood the city's fire stations with flowers and condolence letters, an extraordinary effort has begun behind the familiar brick facades to rebuild the department's force.
With 343 firefighters missing or declared dead in the World Trade Center attacks, the city has quickly reassigned firefighters, made key promotions and prepared for a larger number of recruits.
``We will overcome this,'' Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said. ``We will persevere and continue to be the greatest fire department in the world. We will rebuild and fortify this department on the memories and heroism of our fallen members.''
The rebuilding began almost immediately. In a somber ceremony days after the terrorist attacks, 168 firefighters were promoted to help fill holes in the command structure.
Other city firefighters -- and many dozens from departments elsewhere in the country _ have been assigned to stations where the losses were greatest.
At the Manhattan fire station that houses Engine 40 and Ladder 35, the names of the 11 men missing from the station are still scribbled on the blackboard announcing the lineup for Sept. 11 -- the day of the attacks.
``This was an act of war. And we, the firefighters, are certainly closer than we've ever been,'' said firefighter Terry Holden as he screwed a new headlight onto a fire engine that also had its windshield blown out.
In back of the light, a curved steel surface was still coated with residue from the trade center. ``We'll never get rid of the dust. It's inside, everywhere,'' Holden said.
Along with the 11 men, the station lost several engines and gear.
``One engine was crushed to a few feet, as if it were in a junkyard,'' said Holden, who got to the trade center hours after the attacks.
It's just one of many stations that suffered losses when the World Trade Center's twin towers collapsed.
The city's five rescue companies lost all of the firefighters who responded to the attacks; they account for 75 firefighters either declared dead or missing.
The Special Operations Command lost 95 of its 452 firefighters and fire officers, said Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
To help, Von Essen has ordered officials to call up 400 people on the department's hiring list to enter the next 25-week academy training class. It's more than triple the usual number of recruits. They begin training Oct. 29.
``Four hundred is an extraordinary number of people to enter the academy at one time, but we need them right now,'' Von Essen said. ``We're beginning to rebuild, and we need all the help we can get.''
The department must also replace 89 destroyed vehicles, including 18 fire engines, 13 ladder trucks and five rescue unit trucks, Gorman said. Every piece of equipment has been pressed into use; trucks that were destroyed have been replaced by backup equipment normally kept in garages.
As the infrastructure is rebuilt, support from the community continues to pour in to the city's stations where more than 11,000 firefighters are grieving the loss of friends and co-workers.
Flowers and candles are placed outside of stations; letters and children's drawings are taped to firehouse walls.
``We're all just people. And there are no boundaries to suffering,'' Lt. John Byrnes of Ladder 25 said, fighting back tears. The station lost seven men, plus its division chief and his driver.
On Wednesday, Byrnes represented his station at the Lincoln Square Synagogue. The temple had raised $40,000 for victims of the terrorist attacks, and a new appeal went out to the congregation.
Across the street in front of Ladder 35, 9-year-old Aryeh Goldstein wore a Jewish skullcap as he knelt under a Christian cross and clusters of flowers.
He and a 9-year-old friend added roses and sunflowers to the pile and then lighted candles.
``It's amazing how the people have shown their support,'' said Holden, a 37-year Fire Department veteran. ``Before in Manhattan, you felt like everyone is out for themselves. But they're really not selfish. It's not true.''
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