Honoring those we lost, and those who continue to serve
On this 24th anniversary of September 11, we honor the memory of a national tragedy that changed our country forever. We will never forget the fallen, nor those who still carry the weight of that day. We honor the heroism, courage, and sacrifice of firefighters and all first responders who selflessly ran into the path of danger, and we recognize the lasting toll carried by survivors, families, and responders.
Today and every day, we recommit ourselves to the values their service represents: duty, compassion, and resilience. We remain profoundly grateful to every first responder who stood watch on that devastating day, and who continue, every day, to protect lives and communities with quiet bravery.
We remember 9/11 not just as a moment in time, but as a defining experience for our nation and our fire service. These quotes and reflections, shared by first responders, preserve the personal truths of that day, ensuring we never forget the sacrifices made and the lessons learned.
Chief Trisha Wolford, IAFC President
Anne Arundel County Fire Department
September 11th is etched into our national memory as a day of unimaginable loss and extraordinary sacrifice. It changed how we think, how we serve, and how we stand together as a people. For the fire service, it is a reminder of both our vulnerability and our strength.
When we serve in our communities, we do so with pride, knowing that every call we answer matters. Firefighters and paramedics will always step forward, never knowing if the call will take more than it gives, but always knowing we cannot stand idly by and watch. That is the essence of our duty and our promise.
Today, we honor the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the courage of those who ran toward danger on that fateful day. And we reaffirm that, as long as there is a call to answer, the fire service will be there, ready, willing, and unshaken in our commitment to protect others.
Chief John Buckman, IAFC President 2001-2002
On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was sitting at my desk at home, feet up, talking with Chief Richard Marinucci of Farmington Hills, MI. During our conversation, Chief Marinucci told me to turn on the television to see a large high-rise fire in New York City. My first thought was, “How could a fire get that big in an occupied high-rise?” Minutes later, I watched as the second plane struck the second World Trade Center tower.
I was preparing to leave for a conference in Delaware, but as the minutes ticked by, it became clear this was no accident. At IAFC headquarters, we gathered our staff for a meeting. The IAFC Hazmat Committee happened to be meeting in the building that day as well. Chief John Eversole of Chicago quickly became a key liaison and was dispatched to FEMA headquarters. Chief Nick Russo of Massachusetts led what we would recognize today as an Incident Management Team (IMT) and deployed to New York City to offer support—even though IMTs as we know them did not formally exist on 9/11.
IAFC’s Executive Director, Garry Briese, was in Colorado, but he did everything he could to provide leadership and direction. Together, we issued press releases to the American fire service urging firefighters not to “self-dispatch” to the attack sites. Unfortunately, some did not adhere to that guidance and were later disciplined by their local departments.
At IAFC headquarters, we kept the office open 24 hours a day for at least four days, working to provide information, coordination, and support during the tragedy.
Lessons Learned
- Leave your ego outside the door.
- Cooperation and Coordination are key to successful large-scale Incident Management.
- Interagency communication and collaboration.
- Crisis communications systems that helped all responding agencies. Removal of silos, primarily between law enforcement agencies, but also including fire and other public safety agencies.
- Continuity of Government planning (COG)
- More robust mutual aid planning and systems
- Improved information sharing between public and private entities.
- Mental health impact and services needed.
- Modifying the existing disaster management model.
- EMS delivery model and resources provided at the local response level.
Joseph Pfeifer, retired FDNY Assistant Chief and former Acting Fire Commissioner, is the author of Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11.
On 9/11, we were forged by fire and dust as we saved 20,000 people. Each anniversary, we come together to reflect on the past and to envision the future with hope, so we can enhance the present by recognizing that the ordinary hero of 9/11 is in each of us. We can make a difference.
Jim Schwartz, Fire Chief (ret) Arlington County Fire Department
(at the time: Assistant Chief for Operations, Incident Commander at the Pentagon)
The 9/11 attack on the Pentagon was obviously enormous. But we had great leadership in Arlington Fire Chief Ed Plaugher, who began focusing the department and the metropolitan region on preparing for terrorism in the early ’90s. Beyond accepting terrorism as a legitimate threat (there were numerous examples already; the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the African Embassy bombings in1998, and the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995), the chief mobilized the region's emergency services and political leadership to take it seriously which resulted in the development of what became the Metropolitan Medical Response System.
Our work before 9/11 focused heavily on building relationships across boundaries, both professional and jurisdictional. The National Capital Region has long had a mutual aid agreement, and the fire departments of Northern Virginia began automatic aid in 1975. The key to our success at the Pentagon was the relationships and trust that had been developed among response agencies, regardless of their discipline. This included the Washington field office of the FBI, which began attending regional meetings and participating in local and regional exercises in 1998.
The key takeaway is that in a crisis the size of 9/11, and many smaller but still complex events, no organization has all the capabilities, answers, or experience to bring the event to a successful conclusion. Building strong and enduring professional relationships across boundaries is essential to modern-day emergency services leadership. Leaders who not only practice this themselves but also institutionalize it in their organization stand a much better chance of success.
Mary Beth Michos, Fire Chief (ret)
Prince William County (VA) Department of Fire and Rescue
It happened that on Sept. 11, 2001, I was at a meeting in Fairfax for the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committee. The members flew in from all parts of the country for a meeting about terrorism. We were meeting at a hotel close by the IAFC headquarters and initially couldn’t get a TV into our meeting room when we were informed about a plane hitting the first tower, so we went into the hotel lobby in time to see the second tower hit. As fire chief in Prince William County, I was also the Emergency Management director for the county. My first thoughts were to get back to the county and activate our EOC due to our proximity to the Capitol and other federal institutions. I couldn’t get through to the county on a land line and cell phone. Since there was news discussion regarding the threats to the Washington Metro area, I left the Committee and IAFC staff to return to Prince William. The major roads were at a standstill due to the heavy traffic of people leaving DC into the suburbs. Even with lights and siren I had to ride the shoulder of the interstates to get into the county.
When I arrived back at the PW County offices, fire department staff had activated the EOC since the Pentagon had already been hit by that time. PWC is part of the Washington area mutual aid system so we knew we would be involved in responses out of the county. We mobilized additional fire and EMS staffing to ensure the county was covered as well as being able to send units wherever needed.
Since we are a bedroom community of the nation’s capital, everyday thousands of our residents travel up interstate 66 and 95 to work at the Pentagon and other federal and military facilities. Our concerns focused on how the disasters at the Pentagon and New York would immediately impact our community. One of the many concerns we had focused on children whose parents may not be able pick them up or come home. During Sept. 11 and for many days following we operated out of the EOC since our fire and Ems units moved up to cover Fairfax Co, Alexandria, and Arlington County since they were at the Pentagon. PWC units eventually were also dispatched to the Pentagon to relieve other jurisdictions. We provided personnel and units to the Pentagon for 11 days.
Like everyone else in the country we monitored what was happening in New York and were devastated by what we observed and worried about all the victims of the collapses and all the emergency responders. We were all stricken with the gravity of the situations, concerns about being prepared for any additional acts of terrorism and the continued fallout from what had happened. We were busy and had very little time off for almost 2 weeks.
Prince William County lost the most residents of any local jurisdiction, 23. A volunteer from Dumfries Rescue Squad, Jeff Simpson, was in New York City attending a business meeting at the Mariott World Trade Center. As he was being evacuated, he witnessed the towers collapse and he ran towards them to assist other first responders. He lost his life saving others.
Lessons Learned
For years before September 11, fire departments in the Washington Metro area had prepared for all types of major disasters including terrorism incidents. We developed a mutual aid system, trained together, conducted multi-jurisdictional drills and had many common response protocols in place. We worked hard to minimize that factor that our system spanned 2 states and the District of Columbia. It worked for us on September 11 and the days that followed.
We wore different uniforms and even responded in different colored apparatus, but we functioned as one organization. We were able to function and focus on the seriousness of this incident without having to worry about all our differences. Many of the operational and command personnel knew each other from meetings, exercises and training, which enhanced the teamwork. Since then, the fire departments in the Metro area have taken what was an outstanding system to a higher level of cooperation, coordination, operational readiness and response and made it into a model for the rest of the country.
The reflections you have read are more than memories; they are part of our collective history as a fire service and as a nation. They remind us of the sacrifices made by so many, and a promise we hold sacred: never forget. By sharing them, we ensure that the legacy of 9/11 endures not only as a day of tragedy, but as a lasting call to serve, protect, and stand together.