Public Safety On The Minds Of Citizens

Sept. 11, 2004
Three years ago, a grieving but grateful nation embraced public-safety workers after hundreds of New York firefighters and police died in the World Trade Center trying to rescue the people who worked there.

Three years ago, a grieving but grateful nation embraced public-safety workers after hundreds of New York firefighters and police died in the World Trade Center trying to rescue the people who worked there.

That unprecedented passion has faded over time, but hasn't disappeared. And it has opened doors to the community that previously had been closed, local firefighters and officers said Friday.

At the same time, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have added a dimension of fear for them and their families.

The way people have expressed thanks epitomizes America's perseverance, said Lt. Tom Alipio of the East Palo Alto Police Department. By thanking officers and firefighters, citizens are appreciating their role in protecting society and saying, ``Don't quit.''

Alipio said it's a personal message for him, too. His eldest son, Jason, joined the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks because he was inspired to defend the country. Jason, 19, is stationed in Italy, and the 173rd Airborne unit he's with is being shipped to Afghanistan in February.

``People thank me; I thank my son,'' said Alipio, 42. ``It's that never-give-up attitude. It means more to me because my son is going over there.

``That's my hero. I tell him that every day.''

On the eve of what has become an annual observance in San Jose -- a memorial Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral and a procession downtown of firefighters and police officers -- safety workers say the tragedy has given new meaning to their careers and lives.

``It's affected me to this day,'' said Jason Blinn, a 3 1/2-year San Jose fire veteran who journeyed to the site of the twin towers a month after they toppled. ``I don't know that there's a day that goes by that it doesn't pop into your head. It's always with you some way or another.''

Of the more than 2,700 people who died in the terrorist attack, 343 were New York firefighters and 23 were police officers. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the public's appreciation of firefighters and police skyrocketed.

Fire Capt. Juan Diaz remembers neighbors bringing pie and coffee to his station at South Third and Martha streets. Letters of thanks and sympathy poured in. Drivers and pedestrians flashed the thumbs-up sign and a smile to passing fire rigs.

``It was just overwhelming,'' said firefighter Dave Ennes, who joined the department just five days after the attacks.

But as the months rolled by, the public's enthusiasm and support mellowed.

Said Blinn, ``People move on and . . . ''

``. . . Tend to forget what we do on a day-in and day-out basis,'' said Ennes, without a trace of rancor in his voice as he completed Blinn's sentence.

Now and then, people still will wave and say thanks, but not as frequently as three years ago.

``The public still honors those who serve their country and community, but things fade,'' said Paul Wilson, chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.

He worries that Congress and the Bush administration won't continue funding California Task Force Three, the Menlo Park-based emergency rescue team that sent members to the World Trade Center in 2001 and now has workers in hurricane-stricken Florida.

Professor David A. Harris, who specializes in law and values at Ohio's University of Toledo College of Law, said public safety workers are still held in higher esteem than before Sept. 11, ``but it has faded, and it depends a lot on where you live.''

Scandals including the Oakland police's ``Riders'' case, involving a group of officers charged with beating residents and filing false reports, or San Francisco's so-called ``Fajita Gate,'' an incident involving off-duty officers accused of assaulting a citizen over a bag of food, erode the public's good will, Harris said.

The legacy of Sept. 11 has added another dimension of danger for first responders, including police and firefighters, who could suddenly find themselves on the front lines of a terrorist attack that could be nuclear, chemical or biological in nature.

It's a risk that San Jose police officer Michael Trudeau says he doesn't discuss with his wife and family ``because you can't dwell on it,'' he said.

More than ever, San Jose officer Bill Doane said, he's suspicious of others, on and off work.

``I'm looking around and sizing up people a little bit more than I did,'' he said. ``For my sanity, it's probably worse. As far as safety, it's probably for the better. It certainly raises your stress level.''

At the same time, said Doane, this new responsibility to combat terrorism has placed an extra importance on his job. By extension, police not only are protecting a single city, but perhaps the entire nation depending on the circumstances, he said.

The specter of Sept. 11 hovering over every firefighter has forced some to re-evaluate their dedication and why they joined a public safety agency.

But for most, the same motivation still drives them, before and after Sept. 11.

``You tell me that I'm going to die on this job and then I'll tell you I hope I don't,'' said Capt. Diaz. ``But if I do, that's what I signed up for. I hope I die saving somebody's life.''

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