Lt. William Butler - Guest speaker NJSFA Convention September 2011
| Manhattan Box 5-5-8087, 9/11/2001, the worst day in
fire service history, the best day in fire service history. We are gathered here today to memorialize our brothers, most of us still sad and dealing with some form of grief. But as much as I hurt today, a short ten years later, I am trying to focus on the duty, honor, service and sacrifice we witnessed that day. Although we didn’t have the opportunity to witness the efforts of each and every member of our department that day, I think we all know, exactly what they were doing. My company, Ladder 6, responded as part of the initial response for the North Tower, Tower One. Thousands of people lined the streets for a curious view, plane parts lying in the street, people with severe burns sitting on the curb being cared for by initial responders from EMS and the Port Authority. What we saw was horrific, but this day was about to get worse. One plane into the World Trade Center, was this a horrible accident or an act of terrorism? We were about to find out. We gathered our tools and made a dash into the building. Once inside, there was the appearance that an explosion of some sort occurred in the lobby, caused by the plane striking the building. Although the lobby had the appearance of chaos, things were not chaotic. Numerous people injured and burned, elevator car doors off the hinges, but everyone seemed subdued and methodical, they were doing what needed to be done. The Incident Commander stated to Jay Jonas, Captain of Ladder 6:“Go up and see what you can do ”, a somewhat vague assignment by a chief I was used to being very thorough and specific in his requests. Understandable, considering at this point we didn ’t know where we would encounter fire, mass casualties or both. It appeared that we were going to be the front lines on this thing. A daunting challenge, but the FDNY fights hundreds of hi-rise fires each year, I think we all thought this was going to be as tough as they get, but we would prevail. Suddenly, a fireball erupted out of the South Tower, reality set in, this was definitely terrorism, and our country was under attack! Our Captain returned from the Command Post and stated “Boys,they are trying to kill us, let ’s go ”! Without question or comment we made our way into Stairway B, along with the likes of Rescue 1 and numerous other companies who wouldn’t return that day. Many of the brothers embracing each other or a simple handshake or nod, wishing each other well and good luck. After all, we are one; we are a band of brothers! That stairwell and its size would prove to be one of the main factors in who made it and who didn’t. The initial entry was delayed due to the number of civilians trying to come out a door made for one person. Once in the stairwell, our trek was long and hard. Trying to pass civilians who were trying to help another civilian proved difficult and really slowed the effort. Normally, we would have relieved these people of their horrific task. Not today, not with the scope of this incident, not with the possibility of thousands of people above us, civilians unable to remove themselves. Ladder 6’s assignment as a Truck Company is Search and Rescue. We had to maintain our focus, we had to move on. We made it to the 28th floor when suddenly our building began to shake violently, the South Tower was collapsing. The radio was silent. My Captain made the difficult decision to evacuate this building, if one could go, they both could go. Numerous companies reluctantly made the trek downward. On the 19th floor we came upon Josephine Harris. A 60 year old Port Authority worker, whose body was giving out on her. She needed help, but we needed to keep moving. Time was not on our side, but we had no choice, this is what we do. This is what all the companies were doing that day. We began a long slow journey down the “B ”Stairwell. We got to the 5th floor and the rumbling and shaking came back. This time it was even more intense. Everything went dark. It sounded like two high speed trains going in different directions around us. The Tower was collapsing. Boom, boom, boom, boom, getting ever faster. The sound of the pancaking floors and bending metal was deafening. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. I really thought this was it. Some 19 seconds later I was alive, as were 11 of my brothers, Josephine and a PAPD Officer. We would wait some four hours for the dust to settle and make our way out. During that time we discussed our options, were put into survival mode by our Captain and constantly comforted Josephine. Eventually radio contact was made with the outside. They assured us, “Brothers,we are coming to get you ”. We knew it, because we knew the familiar voices. After all, we are one, we are a band of brothers! It wasn’t easy to do, but it was decided that we needed to give Josephine up to the fresh members from Ladder 43 who came to our location. Josephine was removed by the brothers from 43 Truck and we took our wounded to the street. It was here where we could finally see the magnitude of this attack, the worst day in fire service history. We all knew the numbers were going to be high. Since 9/11, we have honored and celebrated the lives of our dead, with a lot of help from many in attendance today. We have rebuilt the FDNY into the firefighting force it once was, less some very valuable experience. A less than publicized fact is that since 9/11, the FDNY has lost 57 members due to illness caused by their work at Ground Zero. Many other NYPD, PAPD, Construction workers and others involved in the recovery effort have died as well. Countless others are sick. We need to keep them in our thoughts and prayers as well. Unfortunately, earlier this year we had to bury Josephine, our Guardian Angel. The members of Ladder 6 served as her pall bearers and carried her to her final resting place, a fitting sendoff for a very special person. What our future holds is unclear to all of us. We must continue to fight the fight. We need the funding to maintain our capabilities, including equipment, training and manpower and we need to prepare ourselves for that uncertainty. We need to take care of our members, which includes their physical and emotional needs. In closing, I’d like you to please remember our veterans, those serving today and especially our wounded warriors. They make the freedoms we all enjoy. Thank You and God Bless! |
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