The Day That Changed Everything Reflections on working at Ground Zero

摘要

I'm riding on a New York City Transit bus from an East 85th Street firehouse heading to Ground Zero. The bus is full of active-duty and retired FDNY firefighters. Although I'm no longer an active-duty FDNY firefighter, I am a former FDNY firefighter and am dressed as such. My gear is a bit dated, but the attire on the bus ranges from FDNY work uniforms, to turnout gear, to carharts, to jeans and work boots. The one commonality: the leather helmet with a badge number on the helmet shield and a unit number on the leather insert. Mine is a red insert with a white number 4.1 am a member of Ladder Company 4. The members of that company and all the members of every company in the 9th Battalion are missing.