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CNN Live Today
New York Fire Department Remembers
Aired March 11, 2002 - 11:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Three hundred forty-three firefighters died on September 11. Their colleagues at New York firehouses remember their tragic sacrifice every day.
CNN's Michael Okwu is standing by, and he's with squad 252, in Brooklyn, this morning.
Hello, Michael.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, good morning to you.
As you can see, life goes on here. In fact, squad 252 just got a call, and they're off to go and fight yet another fire.
When you think about September 11 and you consider New York City's Fire Department, there are 343 stories. Sadly, some of those stories will never be told. Of course, 343 is a number of firefighters who lost their lives on that day. And we had the opportunity to tell their story of at least six of them, six men from one squad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OKWU (voice-over): September 11, 2001 it's 9:28 a.m., 37 minutes before the collapse of the World Trade Center South Tower and the last time all of these men would be photographed together alive. All six are about to die saving others.
ROB MCDERMOTT, SQUAD 252: I love being a fireman, but coming into the firehouse is -- it's just not the same. There's always that -- there will always be that emptiness here.
OKWU: They were all brothers in Brooklyn's Squad 252, Pat Lyons, Tarel Coleman, Pete Langone. They called Kevin Fryer (ph) Moe because that's what he called everybody. Thomas Kuveikis, they simply called TK. And then there was the lieutenant, Timothy Higgins.
RICH MYERS, SQUAD 252: I was on the crew for that day and Lieutenant Higgins said we're going in, well all of us would have followed him right in. Wherever he would have went, I would have gone -- no doubt.
OKWU: Squad 252 was among the first units to respond to the attacks on the World Trade Center. An elite company, they are specifically trained to free victims from confined spaces and to save other firefighters -- to be on hand even when a hero needs a hero.
JEFFREY CONVERSE, SQUAD 252: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Pete (ph) looks up and he sees both towers are going. We've got, you know, an immense fire situation in both towers. So you know it's about -- now we've got a long task in front of us.
OKWU: For all the loss, 25,000 people escaped from the Twin Towers. Eyewitnesses tell stories about men from Squad 252 rushing to the North Tower's 10th floor where civilians were trapped in an elevator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lt. Higgins, as was his personality, introduced himself to the people in the elevator to calm them down -- Lieutenant Higgins, we're here to help you. I'm going to get you out of here, and Lieutenant Higgins and Kevin Fryer (ph) forced the door open to the elevator, got all 12 people out, walked them down to the lobby.
OKWU: Back on ground level, they heard a May Day call from other firefighters on the 50th floor and so they went back up. An internal fire department fire review reportedly reveals that firefighters faced conditions even more dire than previously known. What remains unclear is whether more lives might have been spared had their communication system been working the way it normally would have.
CAPTAIN PETER GORMAN, UNIFORMED FIRE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: There certainly were communications problems on 9/11. The incident commanders in both towers had reported that it was difficult to get a confirmation that their messages were being received on some of the upper floors.
OKWU: The bodies of Timothy Higgins and Kevin Fryer (ph) were found 18 days later. The others are still missing, which is why since 9/11 somebody from Squad 252 is usually here at ground zero. Six months later for all firefighters, it is still a call to arms.
STERLING ALVES, SQUAD 252: It's a very unique situation. We're brought back to the same site, a battle as (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
OKWU: Six months later 200 firefighters are on leave due to respiratory problems. One hundred and three are out due to stress, and still there's guilt about having survived.
How would you characterize what these six months have been like psychologically?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they could do a study on us. And they could -- maybe they should. I can't really characterize it, but psychologically, a study should be done. Why we're able to continue or what makes us go on, I don't know, and I don't think anybody here knows.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKWU: What they do know is that life since September 11 just has not been the same. Each fire seems a little bit more routine and yet very much a rememberance of what happened six months ago -- Leon.
HARRIS: That's totally understandable -- totally.
Michael Okwu, thank you very much.
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