Firefighter Dennis Dowdican

From the April 2002 Firehouse Magazine  

I was finishing the night tour. I rode in the cab as an extra man. We were sent to staging outside the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. We drove down Union Street and had an unobstructed view of the towers. I was looking for an extra mask. I said we are at war. We were told to respond and drove through the tunnel.

The rig was positioned just south of the south pedestrian bridge on West Street. I saw Chief Medical officer Dr. Kelly and Dr. Prezant. Dr. Prezant had some civilians he wanted to help. I told the doctor to walk the people towards the water. I looked up at the towers and said it’s a long walk up. All of a sudden, the building started to look like a pancake. Smoke was going into it. One firefighter from an engine company dove under a car. I ran south on West Street and dove under a car. I could hear debris hitting the vehicle. I figured I couldn’t outrun it.

We were all shook up. We regrouped. I still didn’t have a mask. I didn’t see too many people. It was completely dark and black. I walked towards the Marriott Hotel. A firefighter from a squad company said you know the next one is going to come down. Into the lobby of the Marriott, Lieutenant Brown had gotten to Lieutenant Nagel of Engine 58 who was trapped. Lieutenant Brown wanted to see if they could get in from another way. He needed more tools. We went outside to get them. We heard a rumbling and headed for the center support post of the south pedestrian bridge. We are not going to outrun this. All four of us from Ladder 113 and huddled. I heard the firefighters in front and behind me yell out they were getting hit by debris. I felt the water rise. It came over our boots when the water mains broke.

We said we have to find Lieutenant Brown. Walking to the hotel, the other members said we have Lieutenant Brown. There was a chief who was off duty and he said he was going to carry the lieutenant. Brown cried out in pain when he was lifted. Are you hurt pretty badly? He said I’m losing it. He had a head injury. They found a chair in an ambulance. Brown was carried up, over and around a lot of steel and debris. He was placed on a boat and taken to New Jersey for medical treatment.

Another firefighter from Ladder 113, Richie Nogan, was trapped in the hotel but was able to free himself and make it out and over the debris to safety.