What 9/11 Means To Me.

  A couple of months before the attacks happened on 9/11/01, my cousin was a part of the Volunteer Fire Dpt. where we lived. Around mid summer of 2001, I began starting to toy with the idea of joining the Fire Dpt. I had just turned 16, the age required to join the Fire Dpt.  As the school year began, I concentrated on my work, as I had not performed up to par in the previous years in High School. I had a lot of catching up to do, because I we behind in credits. I will openly admit, I was a lazy High Schooler. I never did home work, and I never studied. As you can guess, I did hardly at the average level. I was talking my mom into joining, and almost was allowed to get an application. Then the day of 09/11/01 came into everyone’s life.  I will not get into the “What were you doing when it happened?” saga, as you can assume I was in High School. I came home that day, and sat at the TV with my now late grandmother, brother, and mom. We watched in shock like everyone else, and the phone was steadily ringing from other family and friends to see if we were watching it. We knew what happened in school, but seeing it was an entire new ball game.

I knew right away, after seeing everything that the FDNY went through, I wanted to do that.  I waited for a few months to go by, and around Christmas time I began to throw the idea around more and more. Finally, in mid Jan. 2002 I talked my mother into allowing me to join the Fire Dpt. She said yes, and I filled out the application.  I handed it in, and a couple of weeks later I got the phone call I had wanted.  I was told to show up in the 2nd week of February to a meeting, and I was brought in as a Junior Fireman.  I was sent right away to EMT school, because at that time you needed to be 18 to go to the Fire Academy. I went, and continued my same practices as I was trying to over come in High School. I passed the EMT School, and how I’m not sure. I never studied, and barely payed attention. I made it to the State Testing, and failed. I didn’t care at that time, I just wanted to be a Fire Fighter.

As time went on, I learned a lot from the Veteran Firemen in my Dpt. When the time came, I went to Fire School. I did great, and loved every second of it.  I would stay at the Fire House into the morning hours when it wasn’t a school night, and even got a part-time job from a friend in the Fire Dpt.  Life was good, but something was still odd in a sense.  People would ask what you did, and when you said a Fire Fighter, it was almost like there was two images that came into their minds. September 11th, 2001 or, drunk Firemen.  I would say 90% of the time I received some sort of comment from an individual about either subject. Now I would like to formally say, alcohol is something now that isn’t tolerated in the Fire Fighting world, but stereo types are what most professions have.

Through the years, I later went back to EMT School and became an EMT-B for the State of New Jersey.  I find it odd that it came back full circle from where I began, but I’m also happy that it did happen.  I work full-time as an EMT, but I still love doing the Fire Fighting side of it all.  Looking back to September 11th, 2001 I knew a few people who were there.  A former Supervisor I had at a previous job was apart of the New York City Police Dpt.  He was there during the attacks, and received multiple awards for pulling people out of the Towers while he was injured on his quad. A piece of metal sliced it open, and he continued his job. He told me some stories, which I won’t share on here without his permission, but some are stories I never even heard told on TV before. Another reason I won’t share them, is because I can’t confirm them to be true.

I think back, and wonder what I would have done had I been there. I know I would have been scared, but I would have never guessed on those two towers coming down, just as most of the Firemen, EMT’s, and Police probably didn’t expect originally either.  It was very important to me to take part in ceremonies for 9/11 ten years later, because I know if I was there during the initial attacks, I probably would have been dead in the 343 Firemen that did die that morning.  I would want someone to honor me, and show appreciation like many did yesterday.  I was invited by the local VFW that my brother belongs to. He is in the Army, and it was something that I saw I might not have a chance to do again.  He was part of their Honor Gaurd, and I was invited to take part in the Honor Gaurd Gun Salute.  This was something that I will never forget in the almost ten years I have been involved in Emergency Services.  I could quit, or get forced out of Emergency Services, and after yesterday I feel as though that career for me is now complete.  I’ve helped a few people along the way, taught a few new people also. Nothing was more humbling, and satisfying as standing next to my brother on a 9/11 to Honor all the lives lost.