In the hours and days that followed the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States, what was believed to be the final number of missing and deceased FDNY firefighters was announced as 343. The number seemed unfathomable, but having been at the World Trade Center that horrific morning, it certainly wasn’t surprising.
I ran into some recalled firefighters who worked in Brooklyn, and they asked what it was like. I said, although still in disbelief, that the buildings were gone. They didn’t believe that 220 stories of two of New York City’s iconic skyscrapers were gone, and quite frankly, neither did I.
By 2021, as we remembered the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks, the number of FDNY firefighters that were claimed by the attacks had doubled. Combine that with firefighters from around the world who responded with USAR Task Forces or assignments, plus those who volunteered to toil at Ground Zero, along with law enforcement and EMS workers, and today the death toll is nearing 1,000.
On this quarter-century anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, we once again will hear the words “Never Forget.” Perhaps this anniversary calls for something more. We need to honor the fallen through action. This means taking an honest look at what happened on and after Sept. 11 and what we learned from it. We must ask ourselves what we’ve done with those lessons. Many of the hard-learned lessons after Sept. 11 have been ignored, overlooked or forgotten.
Mid-rise buildings, which could house hundreds, can be built with a single stairwell, despite the horror stories of firefighters trying to climb in the narrow stairwells of the World Trade Center while occupants tried to escape down the stairs. A second-floor fire could turn that lone stairwell into a chimney for anyone who is trying to escape.
Municipalities have allowed high-rises to be constructed with cross-laminated timber, glue and nails in the vein of sustainability. Even with an understanding of flammable exteriors, high-rise buildings that were approved to be adjacent to each other have become international tragedies.
Federal grants to support the fire/rescue services have been reduced again and again by lawmakers who have forgotten.
Even our national fire service institutions have faced setbacks. The reduction of personnel and resources at the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy should concern you. It’s more than the classes that are being affected but the research and innovation that works to foster stronger, better prepared leaders, community risk staff and large-scale incident command staff, too.
The threat of closing or reducing FEMA’s footprint represents something larger than the federal bureaucracy. It could decrease the number of specialized rescue teams that are trained and equipped for high-risk/low-frequency incidents. Look at the growing number of natural disasters, including hundred year storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, that continually require extensive and lengthy resources from across the United States.
Funding cuts have also forced the closure of regional hazmat teams, despite more synthetic, toxic and humanmade materials being transported through our towns or used and stored in mega warehouses.
The World Trade Center Health Program, which has helped thousands who are dealing with illnesses, has been placed in jeopardy repeatedly, even as the number of responders, workers and citizens who are suffering continues to grow.
Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks, some of the lessons from that day seem to be fading.
I sadly admit that I can no longer remember the name of every fallen FDNY member 25 years later, but I do recall the successes and failures that we witnessed.
Twenty-five years ago, the number 343 seemed unfathomable. Twenty-five years later, it still is, and we must honor them by refusing to allow the lessons to become history that we remember but fail to act on.
