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American Morning
New York Fireman Discusses Closing of Ground Zero Recovery
Aired May 30, 2002 - 08:20 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: As the recovery efforts come to an end this morning, we want to take you to one New York firehouse that lost five of their own on September 11. And this morning ,they are coming together with the families of their fallen comrades to give each other strength during today's emotional ceremony.
CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now with more -- good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Paula.
A very somber morning for the people here in Manhattan, especially so for those here at Engine Company Number 3. As you say, they lost five men here at this engine company. Evidence of that is everywhere. If you take a look out here on the sidewalk here, it says, "in memory of our brothers." And then if you walk right over here, you can see that they've got a memorial set up. This has been set up for several months. I walk by here every other day. It's been here for quite some time.
Here are the fallen firefighters: firefighter Steve Belson, Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, Lt. Phil Petti, firefighter Michael Mullan, and firefighter Angel Juarbe.
Let's take a look inside now. You can see what's happening in here. They're in the process of setting up for today's ceremony, scheduled to begin at 10:29 a.m. Before the ceremony, they'll have a prayer. Then they're going to watch the ceremony on TV. Then they're going to have a moment of silence. They'll also have a moment of reflection.
The firefighters will be joined by the victims' family members.
Joining me right now, Lt. Bob Doherty.
Lieutenant, thank you so much for having us out here this morning, especially on such a difficult day. I know that many times journalists are always asking, We're trying to get information from you. But on this day, what is it that you'd like to say? What is it that you would like to get off of your chest?
LT. BOB DOHERTY, FDNY: Well, today is a very important day. It's, the families will be coming to the firehouse. This is where they chose to be. This is where they want to spend their time with us today. We've developed a relationship over the last couple of months, and they feel very comfortable here with us.
CARROLL: Everyone coming together. An incredibly difficult day for the men here. Not only did you lose five men at this particular company, but some of the men here have also been involved with the recovery effort downtown.
How are the men doing at this particular point? How are they holding up?
DOHERTY: The men are hanging in there. Of course, it's a very difficult situation. But they are strong willed, and we will get through it.
CARROLL: I'm also wondering, in talking to some of the people who have been involved with the recovery effort downtown, they say this day in some way brings closure for them. Others have said closure is a word that you can't use, even at this point in time.
What are your feelings on that?
DOHERTY: Well, we have recovered three of our members. There are still two that haven't been recovered. Hopefully, through the DNA process, families will be able to have some closure and we will be able to have some closure.
CARROLL: How important has it been through this time for you and the other men here to meet with the family members, the victims' family members? Has that helped with the healing process in any way at all?
DOHERTY: It sure has helped. The family members enjoy coming here to meet with us. We enjoy seeing them. It just makes us close, feel closer, and we're very comfortable with each other.
CARROLL: I know you're going to be having a moment of silence out here today at 10:29. Have you given any thoughts as to what you'll be thinking about during that moment?
DOHERTY: Well, I'm going to be thinking about how all the guys are missed. Every day that we come to work we see the memorials here, we miss them, and I'll be thinking of them.
CARROLL: I'm also wondering is are there a number of firefighters who are just anxious just to sort of move on, get back to just being a firefighter?
DOHERTY: Well, that's our job, and I believe it's always in our mind that we want to continue being firefighters.
CARROLL: All right, thanks very much.
Lt. Bob Doherty, thanks again for joining us on such a difficult morning. Again, Paula, for the people here, it's about recovery. It's about rebuilding. But today, of course, is also a day about reflection -- Paula.
ZAHN: I just hope they feel the respect the rest of the nation has and the sense of gratitude we have for the very difficult work they've done since September 11.
Thanks, Jason.
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