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CNN Live At Daybreak

Firemen Reflect on Finding Ladder 4

Aired December 20, 2001 - 05:53   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well a fire truck uncovered after many months at ground zero was known as Ladder 4, the pride of midtown. Well many lives were connected to it and many of those lives were lost so imagine what it's like for those who knew Ladder 4 and the men who rode on that truck September 11 and didn't come back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL CIOFFI, LADDER 4: We were looking for that truck for a long time. After the second month, we kind of gave up on it. And then the other night, 4:30 in the morning, got a phone call to the firehouse that they had found the rig. Can't believe it was that far down, but it just kind of gives you an idea of the power and the force what they did to us.

LT. RICHARD TARKENTON, LADDER 4: It was good. First question of course is was anybody with the rig? That was my first question. But nobody was found. It's nice, you know. We didn't know if the rig was found, where it had been, where it was going. It was like 30 or 40 feet underground when it was found. It's kind of a closure kind of a thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FIREMAN: Did mean much. We lost 15 guys from the house and they only recovered one. So we were kind of hoping that maybe when they got to the truck and they found the truck that they'd find a few more people, but right now, they haven't found anybody else.

CIOFFI: The truck's replaceable. It's already been replaced, but the guys we lost will never be replaced. Their experience, their friendship, camaraderie, you know, that's something we'll never get back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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