Page 459 - Fireman News Today

Trade center five times in a single shift. >> well send you some help. >> my point is, we knew those towers as well as anybody. but nobody, nobody expected september 11th. [ screaming ] >> the world trade center. >> on that day, guys from my firehouse, my best friends, were some of the first firefighters

And theres so many dead. very emotional. a lot of guys are crying. so many thoughts and emotions. >> we lucked out. we were in one. they told us to get out. >> two fell first? >> yeah, two fell first. >> one didnt fall first? >> thats why they were getting us out. >> we got to call our loved ones and tell them we were okay. >> it was sick. we just got out. i got two blocks and im like, im still not far enough. >> you just needed to be with the guys, you know. >> i couldnt get back in. they would...

Fire house as his father and grandfather. >> what i like most about being on the job is, hands down, the family and where i am. seeing your guys in the house, theyre so amazing. theyre like my uncles and now are brothers. theyve taught me a lot between cooking -- thats the big thing. you know, i was a hot pocket guy before. now, watch out. ive spent my career at hook and ladder 34 because thats what i love. its the most beautiful rig on the job. those tillers are, you know, thats sexy right ther...

>> seen the pentagon. >> for us, we didnt have a clue. >> on top of everything else, just talking to the guys in the stairwells was tough. >> battalion 7. >> the towers internal communication setup had been knocked out by the crash. that left fire department radio. suddenly you have hundreds and hundreds of firefighters that have radios. seems to become more and more difficult. then one guy who was trying frantically to reach anyone on the elevators. >> is there anyone in this car?

♪ ♪ ♪ >> i just realized something

So i never got to see if they got her out. it would have felt good saying at least i got one person out, one family will be able to have a decent funeral. >> quiet! >> our first shift was 24 hours. and in all that time, there was one person pulled out alive. one. it was beyond discouraging. it was even hard to understand.

>> im going through the list. >> hello. is there anyone in this car? >> theres about 98 elevators in the world trade center. >> in the middle of all this, suddenly an elevator opens up. and we see people not having a clue of whats going on. theyve been stuck in there since the first plane hit. >> we were seeing the look on the firefighters. it was not fear. it was whats going on? disbelief. panic.

That i always wanted to deny, how evil, evil can be. >> i need five firefighters. >> we went down there and formed up companies, five men and an officer. we went to work right away, trying to look for survivors. >> can i get some buckets back here? >> guys were digging fast, passing those buckets quick. digging frantically. >> watch your back, guys. >> wed be digging, and all of the sudden everyone would say

He had a big smile on his face, and it was wonderful to see that smile again. >> probably the best, best entrance i ever made to a place. >> the kids came out, and we just kind of all cried in one big hug. we just cried. ♪ >> came back to the fire house the next day. i couldnt wait to get back, actually, because i wanted to get down. i figured, were going to have plenty of people that are going to be trapped for sure. were going to get them out. we have to. we always do. >> were all alive. tha...

>> when you work in a firehouse seven blocks from the two tallest buildings in new york, you get to know every step, every staircase, every story. >> jim. couldnt get too close to -- >> im james hanlon. im a filmmaker and a fireman at ladder 1 downtown. during the summer before 9/11 there were days wed go to the