FDNY Ladder Truck Crushed on 9/11 Being Restored in New Holland, PA
LNP, Lancaster, Pa.
(TNS)
Jan. 17—Firefighters at the Great Jones Street firehouse in Lower Manhattan, New York, were in the midst of a shift change on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center.
By the end of the day, 10 of the 14 firefighters from the station that houses Engine Company 33 and Ladder Company 9 would be killed, and the cab of Ladder 9's truck would be crushed by falling debris.
Nearly 25 years later, the truck Ladder 9 firefighters used to rush to the scene of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history is being restored at 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service in New Holland.
For Jon Bredbetter, a service technician at the company that sells, repairs, and customizes emergency vehicles, the work has become a passion project. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran said he was excited by the idea of helping restore a piece of history.
"That was one of the big points with this project," said Bredbetter, who served for eight years including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's really an adventure. When you hear some of the things that this truck has been through — you wish that it could talk, just to hear some of the stories it could tell."
Paul Madeiros, who purchased the Ladder 9 truck along with the Engine 33 truck, aims to have them fully restored in time for a memorial Fire Department New York is holding on Sept. 9 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, which saw 343 of the department's firefighters die in the line of duty.
Ten of the firefighters who died were from the Great Jones Street firehouse in Lower Manhattan's historic NoHo neighborhood: David Arce, Brian Bilcher, Michael Boyle, Robert Evans, Robert King Jr., Keithroy Maynard, and Kevin Pfeifer of Engine Company 33, and Gerard Baptiste, John Tierney, and Jeffrey Walz of Ladder Company 9.
'Very long process'
Madeiros came across the Ladder 9 and Engine 33 trucks used on 9/11 during a visit with his son to a Long Island, New York, firehouse where they were housed toward the end of their service in 2021. After being informed that they would soon be decommissioned and auctioned off for scrap, Madeiros' son offhandedly suggested they purchase the vehicles and save them from the scrapyard.
That suggestion stuck with Madeiros, an active firefighter in North Carolina for more than 35 years, and led him to purchase the Engine 33 truck in 2022 and the Ladder 9 truck in 2024, outbidding scrap companies in the process. Entering into a bidding war with one scrap company, the cost of the vehicles ballooned to around $8,000 each. FDNY stripped lights, equipment, and decals from the vehicles prior to their sale, leaving just the base of each truck.
"It has been a very, very long process," Madeiros said of the restoration of both trucks. "We've had challenges with this from the start."
Bredbetter said he and the restoration team are already through some of the most difficult parts of the project.
"Getting it into a running state and down from Hamburg to New Holland was one of the biggest challenges," Bredbetter said of the Ladder 9 truck.
In September 2025, after the engine got up and running, the truck was driven to the New Holland business overnight to avoid traffic. In order to run the truck's lights, a gas generator was mounted to the back, and it was slowly driven from Berks County to Lancaster County.
Bredbetter said the restoration project has been a challenge, but the company has had experience working on older fire apparatuses in recent years as the rising cost of new vehicles has forced fire departments to rely on refurbishing older models.
Finding funding to help restore the trucks and companies with the know-how to restore them has been an uphill battle for Madeiros, who has worked with the Virginia Fire Museum and the Old Dominion Historical Fire Society to restore a number of vehicles over the years.
Most of the cost of the project has come out of his own pocket. Madeiros estimated that he's already spent around $22,000. He said he didn't have an estimate for the total cost of the project.
Madeiros said people interested in donating to the project can contact the Virginia Fire Museum. A page on the museum's website is being created so people can donate directly to the project.
'A story in itself'
While the Engine 33 truck is largely restored and currently housed in North Carolina, Madeiros said work on the Ladder 9 truck stalled, leading to it sit on the property of a Berks County fire chief for several months until Madeiros was connected with 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service.
Stefan Kuenzli, operations manager at 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service, understands the impact fire company vehicles can have for the crews that used them daily. Kuenzli is deputy fire chief for Garden Spot Fire Rescue, whose chief, Larry Martin, owns the New Holland business.
"Fire trucks have a unique story after they're retired," Kuenzli said. "People grow affectionate to them."
Kuenzli said 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service was uniquely suited to repair the Ladder 9 truck because the business is the region's only Seagrave dealer, and it is able to work directly with the manufacturer to source parts for the vehicle. Seagrave is the manufacturer for fire equipment used by FDNY. The business also has previously done work for FDNY and the New York City Police Department.
"It's been really cool," Kuenzil said of the business' work on New York City emergency vehicles. "Here at a little place in New Holland, building vehicles for the biggest city in the world."
Once 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service completes its work on the ladder truck, it will be given new decals by a local business and a paint job before it's put on public display.
For Madeiros, the challenges of purchasing and restoring these vehicles will all be worth it, once the surviving members of Ladder Company 9 and Engine Company 33 are able to see the vehicles.
"To still have these vehicles around — after everything that company went through — is important," Madeiros said. "It's a story in itself."
After the memorial ceremony, Madeiros said the restored Ladder 9 and Engine 33 trucks will be kept at the Virginia Fire Museum outside Martinsville, Virginia, and will travel for events throughout the East Coast so future generations can appreciate the historic vehicles.
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