Standing in the Line of Duty by Joe Kozak

Hero Acknowledgements & Referencing

MY UNSUNG HEROES My unsung hero is my Dad’s cousin, which would make him my cousin once removed, Geoff Hutchings. He was a Firefighter for Avon Fire and Rescue for 30 years and worked his way from an entry level Firefighter all the way up to being a station manager and press officer. His career spanning 3 decades is an illustrious one yet he has never really got any recognition for the work that he has done. He has always been very humble about the work that he’s done and never been one to except any praise for job that he did. This to me is an unsung hero and yes the Fire Department as a whole has been given recognition and many would call them heroes, but I want to look deeper into this word. I want to know how the Firefighters themselves respond to being called a hero and whether they would consider what they do to be heroic. Throughout this document I will explore the acts of heroism by the fire department and also get the opinions of actual Firefighters on the subject.

I’VE ALWAYS LOOKED UP TO THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THE FIRE SERVICE

Back to my starting point, Geoff, I can remember as a child, asking him about his job and drawing a fire truck for him. I always thought that Firefighters were, I wouldn’t say heroic back then, but cool. I guess I never really understood what the word heroic actually meant when I was younger, but I saw the job of a Firefighter as one to look up to. I loved the uniform, the idea of running into a fire and mostly I loved the fire engines. This admiration for the Fire service has stayed with me until now which is why I wanted to focus the project on them. I often feel that the work they have done is overlooked, we hear about Fires but very rarely do we actually hear about the men and women involved. The job of a Firefighter is a dangerous and I imagine, rewarding job, which is why I look up to them so highly.

When I was in primary school I was able to actually visit a Fire Station. I remember walking around the station and I was even lucky enough to go up the ladder. It was a great experience and as part of this project I’m planning on visiting the station again. To talk to the Firefighters to let their voice be heard and to see what they have to say about the work that they do. I’m hoping this project will make people see the Firefighters in a different light, as the humble and thoughtful person that I know personally. 2

GEOFF HUTCHINGS ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S A GREAT JOB I DID IT FOR THIRT Y YEARS

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A FIREFIGHTER? I did have an interest, my uncle was a station officer at the old Blyth Fire Station and I have vague memories of him when I was young. And I joined after friends had started joining the fire service and I followed them in. And that was probably the reason, I had a bit of background but friends started to join and said how great it was, what a good job it was. WHAT ROLES DID YOU HAVE? I worked my way up. You join as a fire fighter as it is now. Fireman then and over the years, my thirty year career, I used to drive the truck, the fire engine. Did all the breathing apparatus all the fire fighting things that you see. Fighting fires, wearing breathing apparatus, going into burning buildings, climbing over roofs and onto ships, on the occasion we had ship fires. And then I started promotion and I worked my way up through to where I was in charge of an appliance, in charge of a watch on the station. Then I was in charge of a station. I worked in the training department for two years. And then I was again, with promotion, moved on, moved to multi pump stations rather than single pumps. So I got experience with all of it. And then I did five years as press officer for the brigade and I eventually ended up, I did a job at headquarters, which was the premises coordinator. I was a uniformed member of it and I was promoted to assistant divisional officer which is now the equivalent of Station Manager and I left at that rank. At that role.

FIREFIGHTER WATCH MANAGER PRESS OFFICER STATION MANAGER

I think the brigades roughly a thousand people. Including all the administration staff and everything. And I was in the top 60 because that was the position I was in. I was near the top of the tree. But I suppose I was probably classed as middle management. The chief officer obviously, he’s got his team. Which are principal managers or principal officers. Now they’ve got a management board which is either civilian, don’t use the term civilian, non uniform. If we want to keep it politically correct. Non uniform and these are heads of department who uses that management board to discuss I suppose the day to day runnings of the brigade and issues that come along and the policy.

THE HAT WORN BY GEOFF HUTCHINGS DURING HIS TIME AS STATION MANAGER

Geoff worked his way up from the initial entrance level of a firefighter all the way to becoming within the top 60 of the fire brigade. Through dedication and hard work he was able to become one of the most important faces at Avon Fire and Rescue, something many people aspire to and very few are able to reach. The uniform pictured on the opposite page is his jacket which he wore when he became the Station Manager. The jacket is no longer worn on a day to day basis at the fire station but is still used for presentations and more formal meetings. Geoff is clearly very proud of all that he has achieved whilst working in the fire service and he has good reason to be. He has done a job which requires bravery and courage and has had to face difficult situations on a day to day basis. The clear sign that he is proud of what he has accomplished is that he has kept his old uniform as a memory of the time he spent in the fire service. The uniform has been kept in a pristine condition which shows me just how much the memories mean to him. It is refreshing to see someone not have a bad word to say about their job and have nothing but praise for the career and the people that are working within in, both then, and now.

When I spoke to Geoff, as well as getting the obvious sense of pride, he was very humble about everything that he had accomplished. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take what he has done for granted and is clear about the fact that it has taken hard work and dedication to achieve that. Even when he told me that he was within the top 60 of his brigade, he still backtracked, telling me he was probably more like middle management. The word I would use to describe him and the way he thinks and talks about his job role, is pride. The pride he has for the fire service comes across extremely clearly when talking to him and he seemed always more than happy to talk about what he has done during his time working for the fire service. I then went on to ask him about the word hero and whether this word should be used to describe those in the fire service.

THE BADGES REPRESENT THE DIFFERENT RANKS THAT A FIREMAN CAN ATTAIN.

GEOFF HUTCHINGS TALKING ABOUT A SUCCESSFUL RESCUE OF AN ELDERLY LADY FROM A FIRE ON WHITELADIES ROAD, BRISTOL.

THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Would you consider the role of the fire fighter to be that of a heroic one? I don’t think you go into it and, other people might have different opinions, I don’t think you go into it thinking it’s ‘heroic’. It’s a great job, I did it for 30 years, about one of the best things I ever did. I’d do it again and I think most people would. But I didn’t go into it thinking it’s heroic, it was just a job where on a day to day basis you met challenges, you didn’t have any idea what was going to happen on a day to day basis. And you went to work, you didn’t know what time you were going to come home realistically because you were on call until you were relieved at the end of the day. And you could go in and do very little because you didn’t have any calls. Or you could arrive and you could be out straight away, then you could be out all day, literally on one call, first call and out. And it was just, it was just, there was, it was great cause you didn’t know what to expect. And Helen, my daughter, she’s a police officer in Devon and she’s got the same. She was on response, going out with the blue lights. It was always the case, you didn’t know what you were going to, always something different. It’s not a 9-5 job and it’s not the case where you think ‘I’ll do this today or I’ll do that” because as soon as the bell goes, you’re out. And you go to whatever it is, whether that’s a road accident, a fire or something a little less routine. There’s always something different.

What’s the most heroic thing you’ve seen personally? It’s difficult to think back and sort of say “oh I’ve seen...”, I’ve seen rescues, I’ve carried out rescues. Carried people out of burning buildings. And I don’t think you think about it as heroic. You’re there to help people who may be trapped in fires or trapped in vehicles. And you go to it and you don’t consider the risk side of it. You go to, to get someone out of trouble and I suppose I’ve seen lots of people carry out rescues. Nothing I can actually turn around and say “ah yeah”, I don’t think so anyway.

YOU’RE THERE TO HELP PEOPLE What’s the first thing that goes through your mind the moment you hear that alarm? On the station. If you’re on the station and the system goes down as they call it. So that’s the bells goes, or the equivalent of the bells. And you look to see whose going cause if you’re on multi pump it’s not always everything that goes out. It may be a specific machine so you look to see what goes and out you go. If you’re out in the truck and you’re out then you usually get a call on the radio. That’s usually the way it works.

QUICKLY AND SAFELY 9

And when I was on call, when I was riding as a supervisory officer in my career then I had a pager. Called up on the pager. Or the call would come on the radio in the car. Do you get a buzz? Oh yeah there’s definitely an adrenaline rush, there’s no two ways about it. But you rose to it with training. But yeah an adrenaline rush but using that to get somewhere as quickly and safely as you can.

Most people run away from a fire, what goes through your mind the firs time you see the fire, is there a sense of fear at all? No, you train to do that job so you’re assessing what the fire is and how best to deal with it and what resources you need. Looking at it from the point of an officer are you going to commit firefighters into a fire. You’re looking to see whether , well how great the risk is against what you’re going to achieve. So now they do a risk assessment where they’ll look at the fire and evaluate the balance between what they can achieve, ie a life that they can save against the potential of putting someone into a building where there is nobody in there and you’ve got the chance you could get firefighters injured or killed. There’s a balancing act.

SAVING A LIFE

DANGER TO LIFE

Do you think it’s good to be called a hero or do you think it adds more pressure to what they’re already doing? No I don’t think so. I think people across the services are heroes. They do extraordinary things above and beyond what you’d be expected to do and you get these TV programs that promote it, those people, and I think that’s a good and proper thing to do. They deserve the recognition for what they’ve done and when they’ve done something so extraordinary. What would you say makes a good firefighter? That’s a very interesting question. I think, what makes a good firefighter, I think you have to want to do the job. People join because they recognise it always was a career. And they join for that being part of the reason. You need to be physically fit, you need to be determined, you have to be prepared to accept discipline because when you’re being told to do things by someone else to go into a burning building, you have to trust their judgement. And that they’ve risk assessed it properly and you can count on them to make sure that what they’re sending you in to is right and proper.

Do you feel like you went beyond the call of duty on any occasion? Probably yes. But at the time all you’re trying to do is to deal with whatever incident it is you’re dealing with. All your trying to do is do that and the thought that you’ve gone above and beyond, or are going beyond is not something you consider or the risks that you may have taken. Until afterwards when you think “uhm yeah”. And I’ve been in positions where, many, many years ago I’ve been on roofs after a fire and you are in precarious positions but you just take it for what it is, you’re doing a job. You’ve got training, you’re always with somebody else working with you and so you’re making sure that you’re prepared for them, and they’re there to help you and so you know you work very much as a team. And that’s what the fire service is about, it’s about teamwork and you can’t do anything without being a team.

IT’S ABOUT TEAMWORK AND YOU CAN’T DO ANY THING WITHOUT BEING A TEAM

ARE THERE ANY MOMENTS IN YOUR CAREER THAT STAND OUT TO YOU? Years and years ago in Whiteladies Road I remember we turned out and we’re talking late 70’s early 80’s and we turned up to a smell of burning and we had a job to locate the fire. And eventually we realised there was smoke in a flat above a shop, we had to break in, we broke in and we went up to the floor. I was wearing breathing apparatus along with another guy and we went up another flight of stairs into the smoke and we started searching around because we didn’t know if anyone was in there.

The gas mask worn by the firefighters to allow them to go into situations where normally would be unenterable.

This was about six in the morning and we searched around and we went into a bedroom and the guy I was with located a woman on the bed and as it turned out there was a big hole in the floor where the fire had burnt up through the floor below which was a restaurant and he found her, I picked her up and I carried her out and she was like a rag doll. I carried her down the stairs and I thought I had a young girl with me, she was completely limp and we got her downstairs. And I passed her over and she was an old lady. As far as I’m aware she survived, we got her out of what was, for her, certainly life threatening. If she had stayed in there much longer than she would have most definitely died. Because it was really thick, really thick smoke. And it was a serious fire down below. It wasn’t obvious from the street when we turned up that we had such a serious fire. And why next doors smoke alarm was going off and there was nothing in there. It was obviously picking something up from somewhere, from next door. And you investigate and you check and you search until you found where it was. Dealt with the fire and we carried out a successful rescue.

LOCATE THE FIRE

ASSESS THE DANGER

SEARCH FOR PEOPLE INSIDE

REMOVE THE INJURED FROM THE SITUATION When people are rescued do you find out what happened afterwards? It always used to be, if there was a rescue of some sort then generally and I haven’t done it for years and years you used to make enquiries. Where you used to get information to find out that they survived which is always nice. Or if it was a road accident you generally had information from the people that were dealing with them . Once you cut them out the burning or more or less burning, someone trapped, you would get an indication that they would be okay or not. Because the ambulance and the doctors there were working on them and it was obviously always nice to rescue someone alive rather than just cut people out who were dead from a vehicle but that was the job and you did either. But ideally it was always nice to get to rescue or save somebody, where in a normal position you wouldn’t be able to get them out.

Geoff seemed to find it difficult to think of a particular moment that stood out to him during his career. And it’s no wonder why, he has had such a long and illustrious time with the fire service, so to pick one moment was a challenge. The story he did choose to tell me about was one which explored all the difficulties that the firefighters go through on a day to day basis. From tackling raging fires and thick smoke, to searching for people in poor conditions and rescuing them from the situation. In this particular circumstance I think it would be right to call Geoff and his colleague heroes. They went into a dangerous situation without really knowing the ins and outs of the fire that they were dealing with and didn’t leave until the people inside had been rescued. Whereas most people would get as far away from a fire as possible, they went in without a sense of fear, but determination to get the job done.

TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THE WORST INCIDENTS On the M4, late 70’s, I hadn’t been in the job too long. We went to a road accident, a really bad traffic accident. With fog, motorway was fog bound there’d been a multiple pile up with lorries, cars and it was carnage. There was a vehicle there, the front two passengers, the parents it had turned out were dead, had been killed with the impact of the lorry. And in the back seat was the daughter I believe. Their teenage daughter. One of the guys came in, talked to her, explained what we were doing and it took a long time to cut her out and free her.

THEY’RE ALL HORRENDOUS YOU KNOW IT IS A LOT FOR PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH

But there’s been, more recently, ones I haven’t attended. The one on the M5 which is 1 year old now. I speak to people I know who attended it, that particular incident and they’re all horrendous, same things, fog and multiple vehicles. People trapped and in that particular incident and even worse again because there was a fire. You know it is a lot for people to deal with on the ground when you first turn up to assess what you’ve got to deal with the fire as you’ve got to put it out quickly. To assess the people that are trapped, who needs to be rescued, who’s a priority, who’s more injured. There’s only so many of you until the cavalry arrives. When you’re waiting for people to turn up with the kit and as you’re working away you know you’re freeing people and getting people out. Which is why it makes it such a rewarding job. You get job satisfaction from it. Very few jobs give you that, at the end of the day you can say “we had a rescue today, we carried out, we saved someone from a car or saved someone from a burning building”. It’s just a great job.

34 VEHICLES 51 INJURED 7 DEAD

AVON FIRE AND RESCUE - BEDMINSTER FIRE STATION

A DAY AT THE STATION I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a day at Bedminster Fire Station. With the help of Geoff Hutchings, who I’ve spoken to at length previously, we had arranged to meet the Station Manager and his crew. However due to the horrendous weather of that day they had been called out five minutes into starting their shift. I hadn’t really associated the Fire Service with flooding but that’s what they were doing. Even bringing their boat out to save people who had found themselves stranded in high waters. When I first walked into the station there was a clear sense of community about it, with everyone more than happy to greet me and ask what I was doing. In the station there was a communal area for them to rest when they had the time and a chef who would cook their meals for them. This was something that they stressed was of high importance for them as they often don’t have the time to sit down and have anything to eat. So to have someone preparing it for them is more than helpful. One firefighter even went as far to say that the real unsung hero was the chef of the Fire Station. These firefighters clearly don’t see themselves as heroes, this to them is just their job. After just a few minutes of being there a group of firefighters walked into the communal area and were about to sit down and get something to eat. When the alarm sounded and they had to instantly turn around and get ready to get back on the truck. This sounds very hectic but in reality they were very calm and collected. They were able to get their uniforms on and be out of the station in what felt like much less than a minute. Speed is of such a high importance when it comes to answering a call as it can be the difference between quite literally life and death.

They told me how this was one of their most busy days they’ve had recently and all the calls regarded flooding. They were being called out to rescue people who had driven into water much too deep and were then stranded on the top of their cars. The Fire Service does a lot more than just putting out fires. They save people from difficult situations like flood water and being trapped in their cars. They arrive at car accidents to help people get out when it is not so straight forward and they also have the ability to remove flood water using the pump in their trucks. Avon Fire and Rescue are such an important part of society and I feel only without them do we realise just how much we need them.

TEAMWORK THEY NEED to look after themselves and their crew and not put themselF in danger 19

One of the things that I asked the firefighters at Bedminster Fire Station was ‘What makes a good Firefighter?”. This proved to be quite a difficult question for them, but what I took from it was the importance of teamwork. When they spoke about the Fire Service they never spoke about it using the word ‘I’ it was always ‘we’. Firefighters work as a team to get the job done, they watch each others back and make sure that everyone is safe in what they’re doing. Although I wasn’t able to go out on a call with them to see the teamwork in action, just from being in the station for a few hours I was able to see the team spirit amongst them all. Walking into the station it didn’t feel like I was amongst a group of colleagues or workers but I was with a group of friends. They were helping each other into their uniforms, talking and laughing together and generally being friendly. I think it is this type of community spirit that is so important when working in this type of industry or profession. I can imagine that this sense of teamwork and friendship comes across when on a call out and is what bonds them together as a closely knit unit. By looking at each other as friends rather than colleagues I presume creates a closer more compassionate style of working as oppose to just doing your job because you have to. These people are doing what they do because they want to. They want to help people when they find themselves in trouble but they always want to make sure that their friends are kept safe when doing their job.

TR A INING One of the most important things that the firefighters need to do is keep fit. The job that they do involves wearing a heavy uniform, carrying large amounts of equipment and having to be fast in whatever they’re doing. In order to maintain this high level of fitness that is required they have a readily accessible gym which they can use when it gets a bit quieter. Even when they’re in the gym the firefighters need to always be prepared to stop what they’re doing and head to the trucks in order to get to where they need to be as quickly as possible. Each of the rooms is fitted with an alarm which will go off when a call comes through, once that alarm goes, everything stops and they go to their station. Whether they’re exercising, eating dinner or even relaxing after a hard job. There isn’t really a time where they can sit down and have a break. They needs to always be prepared for the next call out which could come a minute into their shift or it could be hours.

SPEED A common sight around the station is of the boots and trousers placed together with a helmet beside them. As a call out can come at any time it is important that there is nothing that can slow them down. So to have everything readily available for them is something which can make the difference between getting there in enough time or not. The speed in which they get ready as well is admirable, from witnessing it first hand, you can see just how determined they are to get out and do what they need to do in order to help somebody or put out a fire. The day that I visited was during some of the heaviest rainfall in the West country and at times they were being called out as soon as they got back from another job.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to look after each other and watch

WATCH MANAGER - sEAN HEIGHTON

each others backs very closely

This is arguably one of the most important pieces of kit that the Firefighter can have. It is an alarmed system that is based on a timer to let them know when they need to get out of the fire. Before setting off on the call out, depending on the situation, the Firefighter would collect their breathing apparatus which includes an alarm, an air tank, a breathing mask and a retractable wire. The piece pictured above is the alarm, the alarm is set once the Firefighter has gone into the fire.

When the conditions of the fire are more severe the firefighters will need to have an additional support of clean air to breath. This comes in the form of a heavy air tank which should give them enough air to go into the fire and get out safely. With fire comes smoke and that is what this breathing apparatus is battling against. Essentially giving the firefighters what they need for them to get the job done. Without this type of equipment there is no way that they would be able to get into the fire safely without endangering their own life because, referring to what was mentioned before, it is a balancing act between saving a life and endangering one.

The gas mask serves multiple functions in a rescue. First of all it acts as a way of preventing the severity of the fire from reaching the firefighters face. It also stops smoke getting into the mask which would be undoubtedly life threatening if that was to happen, yet it also lets air out as it would be as dangerous to keep breathing in your own air. Another important part of the rescue is being able to tell the person what you are doing so the mask also allows the firefighter to talk between breaths. It is an extremely important piece of kit that without it would make rescues near enough impossible.

This is an important and very basic piece of equipment that can save many, many lives. Once the firefighter has kitted up and armed their alarm, they put the tag into the allocated slot. The tag is assigned to the firefighter by a name and number, each firefighter goes into the fire as a pair for additional safety. Once the alarmed tag has been put into itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s slot, using the dial pictured above, the officer in charge can see how long they have in the fire before they need to get out.

These are hydraulic rescue tools, better known as the Jaws of Life, they are generally used in car accident situations. When there has been an incident that involves either one or multiple vehicles and it has been made apparent that the person inside is injured then the jaws of life will be used. As the person inside is injured it is imperative that they are not forcefully removed as this could add further damage to their body, so the jaws will cut away at the car and make extraction much easier.

STORIES FROM THE STATION 28

WATCH MANAGER SEAN HEIGHTON COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? My names Sean Heighton, I’m a watch manager for Avon fire and rescue and I’m based at Bedminster Station.

IT PROBABLY DOES ADD A BIT OF PRESSURE BUT IT’S A NICE PRESSURE TO HAVE

What made you decide to become a firefighter? I did it for a variety of reasons. I didn’t want to do an office job. I had been in offices for a few years and basically got bored of clocking in and clocking out. I thought I’d do something which had an active role in the early stages as a firefighter, lots of different skills, different areas and specialities to look into and then have the opportunity to work up into the career and end up you never know in the offices or the chief making all the big decisions hopefully. What would you say makes a good firefighter? Someone who’s willing, someone who’s able. Good to have a bit of physical ability in terms of little things like balance, tie knots like all those things but really someone who is safety aware to be able to look after themselves and their crew and not put themselves in danger. Someone who wants to help out, someone who’s willing to go that little bit further and do what they can for the people in need. 29

Would you consider the role of a firefighter to be that of a heroic one? Personally, I’d probably say no. Simply because it’s a very much team based thing and we all try and do our little bit to help out. Speaking to the general members of the public they do see us quite differently and do see it as a heroic thing. We see it more as what we signed up to do and what we chose to do. And get a level of enjoyment and satisfaction from that. So personally, I would say its not a heroic thing but I do know a lot of people that view it that way. It is nice to be thought of in those terms. Do you think being called a hero adds more pressure? Possibly yes, yeah at times. It does mean people think we can do a whole range of things and sometime we can’t. Whether we’re restricted by equipment we have, legislation, practice or things that are just out of our human possibility. So yeah it probably does add a bit of pressure but its a nice pressure to have.

SOMEONE WHO’S WILLING SOMEONE WHO’S ABLE

What goes through your mind the moment the alarm goes? It depends, first thing you think is whether your it’s your truck or not. Depending on the time of the day and what you’re doing. Sometimes its nice for the other truck to go out and not yourselves. But in reality its a whole range of things. We have to think about what it is, where it’s going to be, the logistics of getting there and you start to build up a concept of what the job might entail. We have to be a little bit careful not to prethink every incident because then we can actually sidetrack and take ourselves into predefined areas which could be the wrong ones but have a think through but yeah its based around excitement.

THERE’S A COUPLE OF INCIDENTS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE GONE ABOVE & BEYOND

Is there a single moment that stands out to you when it comes to an act of heroism amongst your crew? That’s a difficult one. There’s lots of individual elements where I’ve seen people do things which have helped massively and aren’t necessarily a big thing, it’s not so much the smashing down the doors, carrying two people out of a burning building looking all heroic like in the films. But there’s some small times where people have put themselves just beyond what might have been expected in terms of risk and by doing that they’ve made situations much better and stopped other people getting into risks. So it’s hard to pin point exactly one thing that would make for an interesting story but it goes on quite a bit. What’s the biggest act of heroism YOU’VE heard or seen in the fire service on a global scale? I think the big thing for us is, I still maintain, the old system of the family fire brigade. We’re here to look after each other and watch each other’s backs very closely. So there’s been a couple of incidents going back a few years ago now of people going into rescues comrades, some successfully some unsuccessfully but who have been in danger. They put themselves in exceptional risk and I suppose yeah, those are the big ones. I wouldn’t want to name names because I know the people that are involved themselves wouldn’t actually thank me for it because they see it as what they needed to do because it’s one of their people, their friends, their family , someone they know or work with, all that sort of stuff. There’s a couple of incidents where people have gone above and beyond anything that you’d expect. To put themselves at risk and to save others.

FIREFIGHTER JASON HILL COULD YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF? My names Jason Hill and I’m a firefighter here and I have been here for thirteen – fourteen years. What made you want to become a firefighter? Right okay, doing my previous job working at night driving down a quiet street in Bristol and I seen some flames in the distance and thought “what the hell is that” pulled up to try and help and it was a little house fire going. Managed to get a few people out, me and my colleague. And when the fire brigade turned up they looked so professional, they were amazing. They had everything under control and nobody was panicking, it was great and I thought wow, what an amazing job to do, I’d love to do that. And that was it really.

Would you consider the role of the firefighter to be that of a heroic one? No, I wouldn’t and I’ll tell you why. The way I would see the heroes is somebody that without any prior knowledge or warning would do something that requires and immense amount of bravery. I know what I might have to see or face when I come to work that day. To me it’s not brave. People that make snap decisions to do brave things, that to me is well I take my hat off to them . People that aren’t trained and run into house fires and save people, that to me is apart from being incredibly stupid can also be very brave. But no I signed up for it . I’ve already made the decision to do what I do.

I KNOW WHAT I MIGHT HAVE TO SEE OR FACE WHEN I COME TO WORK

Do you think being called a hero adds more pressure? In my eyes probably not because it partly comes with the job, you know people are just going to call you a hero. If you ask my family members or people that know me they’ll all probably call me a hero. Would I ever call myself that? Absolutely not. Does it come with pressure, I wouldn’t have said so. Not to me, but for other people it could do.

TO ME IT’S NOT BRAVE

What makes a good firefighter? Somebody who’s thoughtful. Shows compassion. Also can see the bigger picture, doesn’t panic, doesn’t see just one little problem and gets blinkered. They need to look at the whole fire ground, they need to look at everything. That for me is quite important. Yeah, compassion. As soon as the alarm goes, what goes through your mind? It depends what I’m doing, if I’m driving, where the hell is it? And what are we off to? Because obviously what type of call it is depends on how you proceed. And if its person reported then you take a few more risks than if it just an alarm. But that’s normally what is going through my head. MOST PEOPLE RUN AWAY FROM A FIRE, WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU FIRST ARRIVE AT THE SCENE? I wouldn’t call it fear, you have to stay sharp, there’s a little bit of...your adrenaline is pumping but you need to try and stay calm. You’re in a conflict with yourself. And what I do is try and think, take a deep breath, have a good look around and it may seem like your taking ages but there fractions of a second really. And all you do is take in as much information as you can, look at the signs. Take the building in and read it. Just by the colour of the smoke, the thickness or the temperature of the front door you’re, generally, you can use your experience. What am I thinking about? Probably as little as possible ‘cause you don’t wanna confuse yourself.

THE MOST HEROIC THING YOU’VE SEEN What’s the most heroic act you’ve witnessed personally? Very difficult over years and years. Watching some of the guys I work with. Also members of the public , they’ve been thrust into a situation, we’re used to dealing with high pressure situations. So we can put our emotions not feelings, emotions to one side and deal with the problem at hand. They’re not trained to do that. I think fair play to them, it must be very hard. AND WHAT ABOUT ON A GLOBAL SCALE? Wow, not off the top of my head if I’ll be honest with you. Obviously everybody thinks of 9/11 you know what the poor guys had to do that day. Yeah they knew what they were going into, they knew the chances of them getting out was pretty remote. Yet they kept on. Going back to what I said earlier, you know, is that heroic? I’m not too sure to be honest. They knew what they were doing. They made the choice and that’s for other people to say really.

THEY KNEW THE CHANCES OF THEM GETTING OUT WAS PRETT Y REMOTE

Does it put your job into perspective, like the dangers THAT YOU COULD FACE? Yeah I suppose so, in 2001, I’d only been in a couple of years. So I was fairly new, I hadn’t seen everything I hadn’t done everything and yes, still a lot to experience. And seeing that I thought ‘crikey’ those poor, poor guys, you know we’re a little bit older, a little bit greyer. I still think what they did on that day was amazing and would we do the same today? Probably. There’s no difference, nothing’s changed. We still go in to help the people we can help and that’s all we can do. SO THE REASON FOR THE EVENT FIRE WAS IRRELEVANT, IT’S THE PEOPLE THAT’S IMPORTANT? Yeah exactly, that’s it. If there’s a fire you put it out and you rescue people.

I was working at the time, I was a press officer at the time and we had a TV and we all piled into the room and watched it unfold. And by this time it was already way on it’s way, I’m not sure if the second plane had already hit the second tower. But it was just, I couldn’t believe it.

IS THERE A MOMENT WHERE THE FIRE SERVICE STOOD OUT TO YOU ON A GLOBAL SCALE? There’s lots. 9/11 because of what happened in New York but things like Kings Cross, which is 25 years on now, the fire in the underground. Lots of fires, especially in London, major fires and lots of major incidents around the country where there’s been some extraordinary work done by people involved. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT IT? Yes, I was on duty and we were on a meeting and it was with a chief officer, which was a bit strange. And he came into the room and said I think we’ll cancel the meeting, there’s something extraordinary going on and I suggest you have a look at the TV. We all went into a room where

Do things like this affect fire fighters regarding the dangers involved? I don’t think so. I don’t think firefighters in general think about the danger. You know, like I said, you are driven by your training and your wish to make sure you can help. And you don’t go into a situation thinking ‘Oh this is going to be a bit too big’. You’ll still go and still deal with it. So I suppose there will be the occasion where there’s a little bit of trepidation because of the type of thing you’re dealing with. When it’s a really serious incident and you’re wondering what you’re letting yourself in for because as you said earlier, we’re running in whilst everyone else is running away. So you’ve got to have some type of trepidation but in the main, again, you’re just driven by that need to do a job and deal with whatever it is and help people, rescue people, put out fires and stop it getting worse.

08 : 20 American Airlines flight 77 departed from Washington Dulles International Airport en route to Los Angeles

08 : 14 United Airlines flight 175 departed from Bostonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Logan Airport, en route to Los Angeles

08 : 46 Hijacked American Airlines flight 11 is flown into the north tower killing all on board

07 : 59 American Airlines flight 11 departed from Bostonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Logan Airport en route to Los Angeles

08 : 42 United Airlines Flight 93 departed from Lewark International Airport en route to San Fransisco

10 : 29 Just 30 minutes after the first tower collapsed. The North tower also collapsed bringing the death toll to nearly 3,000 09 : 03 Hijacked United Airlines 174 is flown into the South Tower killing all on board 10 : 03 Hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought against the hijackers

09 : 59 Due to the intense heat of the fire the South Tower collapses Killing all those still trapped inside.

09 : 37 Hijacked American Airlines 77 is flown into the Pentagon killing all on board and 123 inside

SENDING IN THE TROOPS

WHO ARE THE REAL HEROES? The events of 9/11, as well as affecting all of those involved, had a long last affect on everybody that witnessed it. And no other group of people were affected by it more than the fire service, they risked their lives to save those in need. They knew that the chances of them getting out were slim but their duty was to save and rescue and that came before the dangers. After speaking to the Firefighters closer to home it was so clear just how important the saving of people was to them. This is why they do the job that they do, because they want to make a difference, and they do it without any need for recognition. The same thing goes for those Firefighters at 9/11, they didn’t rush in to a clearly precarious and dangerous situation to be recognised as heroes, this was the job they signed up to do and it’s in their nature to get people out. As we know, along with thousands of others, hundreds of Firefighters unfortunately loss their lives as the Towers collapsed. These Firefighters were than praised for their heroic acts, with plaques being put up on every Fire Station and a special memorial set up on ground zero to commemorate their bravery. But what about the Firefighters that went into 9/11 and carried out rescues and survived the disaster? How have they been recognised and is being recognised actually a good thing for them? After talking to Firefighters about the pressures that come from being called a hero, a number of them seemed to think that it does bring added pressure to a role which is already filled with such responsibility. And although the day of 9/11 is something which stood out to nearly every Firefighter that I spoke to, a number of them didn’t necessarily consider the role they played to be heroic. They stood by the fact that, yes it was admirable to go into the situation, but this was their role and the dangers were evident. So to call them heroic seemed to be an uncomfortable talking point. I felt as though the Firefighters I spoke to were proud of the job they do but they didn’t do it for the fame or to one day be called a hero, they did it to help people.

REAL HEROES ARE PEOPLE THAT SHOW COURAGE AND BRAVERY FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS NICK SENIOR

For the rest of this book I want to explore the survivors of this particular situation and then look at whether the title of hero is not actually a good thing due to the added pressure of the word.

The Firefighters that went into 9/11 and sadly lost their lives were immediately called heroes for the bravery and courage that they showed on that day. Without actually knowing the circumstances of the actions of the Firefighters they were branded as heroes. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as if being dead is enough to be called a hero. Which I believe is where the term, fallen heroes, comes from. On the day of 9/11 343 Firefighters from a number of different stations died, most when the towers collapsed. But I want to look into the survivors and their stories. Are they heroes or not? After the events of 9/11 we heard all about those that died but very little of the survivors.

PEOPLE DIED ON SEPTEMBER 1 1TH

OF THOSE WERE FIREFIGHTERS

WHAT ABOUT THE SURVIVORS?

B AT TA L I O N 0 1

C a p t . W i l l i a m O ’ Ke e f e , 4 8

ENGINE 54

Chief Matthew Ryan, 54 Lt. Paul Mitchell, 46

ENGINE 01 Lt. Andrew Desperito, 43 M i c h a e l T. We i n b e r g , 3 4

Paul John Gill, 34 J o s e G u a d a l u p e , 37 Christopher Santora, 23

ENGINE 04

ENGINE 55

E N G I N E 27 9

C a l i x t o A n a y a , J r, 3 5 James C. Riches, 29 T h o m a s G . S c h o a l e s , 27 P a u l A . Te g t m e i e r, 4 1

L t . P e t e r L . Fr e u n d , 4 5 Rober t Lane, 28 C h r i s t o p h e r M o z z i l l o , 27 S t e p h e n P. R u s s e l l , 4 0

Ronnie Lee Henderson, 52 Anthony Rodriguez, 36

B AT TA L I O N 0 6

ENGINE 05

ENGINE 58

Chief John Williamson, 46

M a n u e l D e l Va l l e , J r, 3 2

Lt. Rober t B. Nagel, 55

B AT TA L I O N 07

ENGINE 06

E N G I N E 74

C h i e f O r i o P a l m e r, 4 5 Lt. Stephen G. Harrell, 44 Lt. Philip Scott Petti, 43

P a u l B e y e r, 37 Thomas Holohan, 36 William R. Johnston, 31

Ruben D. Correa, 44

B AT TA L I O N 0 8

ENGINE 08

Chief Thomas DeAngelis, 51 Thomas McCann, 45

Rober t Parro, 35

B AT TA L I O N 0 9

Lt. Gregg Arthur Atlas, 44 Jeffrey James Olsen, 31

ENGINE 205

Lt. John A. Crisci, 48 D e n n i s M . C a r e y, 5 1 M a r t i n N . D e M e o , 47 T h o m a s G a r d n e r, 3 9 Jonathan R. Hohmann, 48 Dennis Scauso, 46 Ke v i n J o s e p h S m i t h , 47

L t . R o b e r t Wa l l a c e , 4 3

LADDER 02

ENGINE 21

E N G I N E 2 07

C a p t . W i l l i a m B u r k e , J r. , 4 6

Karl Henry Joseph, 25 Shawn Edward Powell, 32 Ke v i n O . R e i l l y, 2 8

C a p t . Fr e d e r i c k I l l , J r, 4 9 M i c h a e l J . C l a r k e , 27 George DiPasquale, 33 D e n i s P. G e r m a i n , 3 3 Daniel Edward Harlin, 41 Carl Molinaro, 32 Dennis Mulligan, 32

B AT TA L I O N 0 2 Chief William McGovern, 49 C h i e f R i c h a r d P r u n t y, 57 Fa u s t i n o A p o s t o l , J r. , 5 5 B AT TA L I O N 0 4 Lt. Thomas O’Hagan, 43

Chief Dennis Devlin, 51 C h i e f E d w a r d G e r a g h t y, 4 5 Lt. Charles Garbarini, 44 Carl Asaro, 39 A l a n D . Fe i n b e r g , 4 8

ENGINE 22

B AT TA L I O N 1 2

Thomas Anthony Casoria, 29 M i c h a e l J . E l f e r i s , 27 V i n c e n t D . K a n e , 37 Martin E. McWilliams, 35

C h i e f Fr e d e r i c k S c h e f f o l d , 57

ENGINE 23

B AT TA L I O N 2 2

Rober t McPadden, 30 James Pappageorge, 29 H e c t o r L u i s T i r a d o , J r. , 3 0 M a r k P. W h i t f o r d , 3 1

B AT TA L I O N 1 1 Chief John M. Paolillo, 51

L t . P a u l R i c h a r d M a r t i n i , 37 G r e g o r y J o s e p h B u c k , 37 Christopher Pickford, 32 John Albert Schardt, 34

ENGINE 214 Lt. Carl John Bedigian, 35 John Joseph Florio, 33 Michael Edward Rober ts, 31 Ke n n e t h T h o m a s Wa t s o n , 3 9

ENGINE 238 Lt. Glenn E. Wilkenson, 46

ENGINE 285 R a y m o n d R . Yo r k , 4 5 ENGINE 320 Capt. James J. Corrigan, 60 H A Z - M AT 0 1

LADDER 03

ENGINE 29

L t . Ke n n e t h P h e l a n , 4 1 S t e v e n C o a k l e y, 3 6 P h i l i p T. H a y e s , 6 7 N e i l J o s e p h L e a v y, 3 4

Michael Ragusa, 29

ENGINE 219

ENGINE 33

John Chipura, 39

Capt. Patrick Brown, 48 L t . Ke v i n W. D o n n e l l y, 4 3 Michael Carroll, 39 James Raymond Coyle, 26 Gerard Dewan, 35 Jeffrey John Giordano, 45 J o s e p h M a l o n e y, 4 5 J o h n Ke v i n M c A v o y, 47 T i m o t h y M c S w e e n e y, 37 Joseph J. Ogren, 30 Steven John Olson, 38

L t . Ke v i n P f e i f e r, 4 2 David Arce, 36 M i c h a e l B o y l e , 37 Rober t Evans, 36 Ke i t h r o y M a y n a r d , 3 0

ENGINE 226

LADDER 04

Brian McAleese, 36 David Paul De Rubbio, 38 S t a n l e y S . S m a g a l a , J r. , 3 6

Chief Dennis Cross, 60 C h i e f J o s e p h M a r c h b a n k s , 47

E N G I N E 37

DIVISION 01

ENGINE 40

Lt. Brian G. Ahearn, 43 Fr a n k B o n o m o , 4 2 Michael Scott Carlo, 34 Jeffrey Stark , 30 Eugene Whelan, 31 Edward James White III, 30

C a p t . D a v i d Wo o l e y, 5 4 L t . Dan i e l O ’ Cal l ag han , 4 2 J o s e p h A n g e l i n i , J r, 3 8 Peter Brennan, 30 M i c h a e l E . B r e n n a n , 27 Michael Haub, 34 M i c h a e l F. Ly n c h , 3 3 Samuel Oitice, 45 John James Tipping II, 33

Lt. Charles Margiotta, 44 B AT TA L I O N 4 3 Lt. Geoffrey E. Guja, 49 B AT TA L I O N 47 Lt. Anthony Jovic, 39 B AT TA L I O N 4 8 Chief Joseph Grzelak, 52 Michael Bocchino, 45 B AT TA L I O N 4 9 Chief John Moran, 42 B AT TA L I O N 5 0 C h i e f L a w r e n c e T. S t a c k , 5 8 B AT TA L I O N 5 0

C a p t . J o s e p h D . Fa r r e l l y, 47 C a p t . T h o m a s M o o d y, 4 5 DIVISION 11 Capt. Timothy Stackpole, 42 DIVISION 15 C h i e f T h o m a s H a s k e l l , J r. , 37 C a p t . M a r t i n J . E g a n , J r. , 3 6

ENGINE 10

ENGINE 201

L e e S . Fe h l i n g , 2 8 L a w r e n c e G . Ve l i n g , 4 4

ENGINE 26 C a p t . T h o m a s Fa r i n o , 37 Dana R Hannon, 29

J o h n G i o r d a n o , 47 L t . J o h n F. G i n l e y, 37 Ke v i n B r a c k e n , 37 Michael D. D’Auria, 25 B r u c e G a r y, 5 1 Steven Mercado, 38 ENGINE 50 R o b e r t W. S p e a r, J r. , 3 0

ENGINE 214 D a n i e l S u h r, 37 E N G I N E 2 17

ENGINE 230

ENGINE 235 Lt. Steven Bates, 42 Nicholas Paul Chiofalo, 39 Fr a n c i s E s p o s i t o , 3 2

LADDER 05 Lt. Vincent Giammona, 40 L t . M i c h a e l Wa r c h o l a , 5 1 Louis Arena, 32 Andrew Brunn, 28

Thomas Hannafin, 36 P a u l H a n l o n Ke a t i n g , 3 8 John A. Santore, 49 Gregor y Saucedo, 31

Rober t Linnane, 33 Rober t McMahon, 35

P e t e r A n t h o n y Ve g a , 3 6

LADDER 21

Christian Regenhard, 28

Jeffrey Matthew Palazzo, 33 N i c h o l a s P. R o s s o m a n d o , 3 5 A l l a n Ta r a s i e w i c z , 4 5

G e r a l d T. A t w o o d , 3 8 G e r a r d D u f f y, 5 3 Ke i t h G l a s c o e , 3 8 J o s e p h H e n r y, 2 5 William Krukowski, 36 Benjamin Suarez, 34

LADDER 132

S P E C I A L O P E R AT I O N S

Andrew Jordan, 36 M i c h a e l K i e f e r, 2 5 Thomas Mingione, 34 J o h n T. V i g i a n o I I , 3 6 Sergio Villanueva, 33

C h i e f M a t h e w D o w n e y, 6 3 C a p t . P a t r i c k J . Wa t e r s , 4 4 Lt. Timothy Higgins, 43 L t . M i c h a e l R u s s o , S r, 4 4

LADDER 24

LADDER 136

LADDER 08

Capt. Daniel Brethel, 43 Stephen Belson, 51

M i c h a e l J o s e p h C a w l e y, 3 2

Lt. Vincent Halloran, 43

LADDER 25

LADDER 09

L t . G l e n n C . P e r r y, 4 1 M a t t h e w B a r n e s , 37 John Michael Collins, 42 Ke n n e t h Ku m p e l , 4 2 Rober t Minara, 54 Joseph Rivelli, 43 Paul G. Ruback, 50

Capt. James M. Amato, 43 Lt. Edward A . D’Atri, 38 Lt. Michael Esposito, 41 L t . M i c h a e l N . Fo d o r, 5 3 B r i a n B i l c h e r, 37 T h o m a s M . B u t l e r, 37 Peter Carroll, 42 Rober t Cordice, 28 D a v i d J . Fo n t a n a , 37 M a t t h e w D a v i d G a r v e y, 37 S t e p h e n G e r a r d S i l l e r, 3 4

L A D D E R 07 C a p t . Ve r n o n R i c h a r d , 5 3 George Cain, 35 R o b e r t J o s e p h Fo t i , 4 2 R i c h a r d M u l d o w n e y J r, 4 0 Charles Mendez, 38 Vincent Princiotta, 39

Gerard Baptiste, 35 J o h n P. T i e r n e y, 27 J e f f r e y P. Wa l z , 37 LADDER 10 S e a n Ta l l o n , 2 6 LADDER 11 L t . M i c h a e l Q u i l t y, 4 2 Michael Cammarata, 22 E d w a r d J a m e s D a y, 4 5 J o h n F. H e f f e r n a n , 37 R i c h a r d Ke l l y, J r, 5 0 R o b e r t K i n g , J r, 3 6 M a t t h e w R o g a n , 37

L A D D E R 27 John Marshall, 35 LADDER 35 C a p t . Fr a n k C a l l a h a n , 5 1 James Giberson, 43 Vincent S. Morello, 34 Michael Otten, 42 Michael Rober ts, 30

LADDER 131

LADDER 166 William X. Wren, 61 RESCUE 01 C a p t . Te r e n c e H a t t o n , 4 1 Lt. Dennis Mojica, 50 J o s e p h A n g e l i n i , S r. , 6 3 Gary Geidel, 44 W i l l i a m H e n r y, 4 9 Ke n n e t h J o s e p h M a r i n o , 4 0 G e r a r d Te r e n c e N e v i n s , 4 6 P a t r i c k J . O ’ Ke e f e , 4 4 B r i a n E d w a r d S w e e n e y, 2 9 D a v i d M . We i s s , 4 1 RESCUE 02

A n g e l L . J u a r b e , J r, 3 5 Michael D. Mullan, 34

LADDER 38

LADDER 13

LADDER 42

C a p t . Wa l t e r H y n e s , 4 6 Thomas Hetzel, 33 Dennis McHugh, 34 Thomas E. Sabella, 44 Gregory Stajk, 46

Peter Alexander Bielfeld, 44

Lt. Peter C. Mar tin, 43 William David Lake, 44 D a n i e l F. L i b r e t t i , 4 3 John Napolitano, 32 Ke v i n O ’ R o u r k e , 4 4 Lincoln Quappe, 38 Edward Rall, 44

LADDER 101

RESCUE 03

L t . J o s e p h G u l l i c k s o n , 37 Patrick Byrne, 39 Salvatore B. Calabro, 38 Brian Cannizzaro, 30 T h o m a s J . Ke n n e d y, 3 6 Joseph Maffeo, 31 Te r e n c e A . M c S h a n e , 37

Christopher Blackwell, 42 T h o m a s Fo l e y, 3 2 Thomas Gambino, 48 R a y m o n d M e i s e n h e i m e r, 4 6 D o n a l d J . R e g a n , 47 Gerard Schrang, 45

LADDER 105 Capt. Vincent Brunton, 43 T h o m a s R i c h a r d Ke l l y, 3 9 H e n r y A l f r e d M i l l e r, J r, 5 1 Dennis O’Berg, 28 Fr a n k A n t h o n y P a l o m b o , 4 6

C a p t . B r i a n H i c k e y, 47 L t . Ke v i n D o w d e l l , 4 6 Te r r e n c e P a t r i c k Fa r r e l l , 4 5 W i l l i a m J . M a h o n e y, 37 Peter Allen Nelson, 42 D u r r e l l V. P e a r s a l l , 3 4

L t . R a y m o n d M u r p h y, 4 6 Rober t Curatolo, 31

LADDER 111

RESCUE 05

Lt. Christopher Sullivan, 39

LADDER 20

LADDER 118

C a p t . J o h n F i s c h e r, 4 6 John Burnside, 36 J a m e s M i c h a e l G r a y, 3 4 S e a n S . H a n l e y, 3 5 David Laforge, 50

Lt. Rober t M. Regan, 48 Joseph Agnello, 35 Ve r n o n P a u l C h e r r y, 4 9 Scott Matthew Davidson, 33 L e o n S m i t h , J r. , 4 8

pt. Louis Modafferi, 45 Lt. Har vey Harrell, 49 J o h n P. B e r g i n , 3 9 Carl Vincent Bini, 44 Michael Curtis Fiore, 46 A n d r e G . F l e t c h e r, 37 D o u g l a s C h a r l e s M i l l e r, 3 4

LADDER 12

LADDER 15 L t . J o s e p h L e a v e y, 4 5 Richard Lanard Allen, 30 A r t h u r B a r r y, 3 5 T h o m a s W. Ke l l y, 5 0 S c o t t Ko p y t k o , 3 2 Scott Larsen, 35 D o u g l a s O e l s c h l a g e r, 3 6 E r i c T. O l s e n , 4 1 LADDER 16

J o s e p h S p o r, J r. , 3 5

RESCUE 04

SQUAD 01

SQUAD 18 Lt. William E. McGinn, 43 Eric Allen, 44 A n d r e w Fr e d r i c k s , 4 0 David Halderman, 40 Timothy Haskell, 34 M a n u e l M o j i c a , 37 Lawrence Virgilio, 38 SQUAD 41 L t . M i c h a e l H e a l e y, 4 2 Thomas Cullen III, 31 Rober t Hamilton, 43 M i c h a e l J . Ly o n s , 3 2 G r e g o r y S i k o r s k y, 3 4 R i c h a r d Va n H i n e , 4 8 SQUAD 252 Ta r e l C o l e m a n , 3 2 T h o m a s Ku v e i k i s , 4 8 Peter J. Langone, 41 P a t r i c k Ly o n s , 3 4 Ke v i n P r i o r, 2 8 SQUAD 288 L t . R o n a l d T. Ke r w i n , 4 2 Ronnie E. Gies, 43 J o s e p h H u n t e r, 3 1 Jonathan Lee Ielpi, 29 Adam David Rand, 30 T i m o t h y We l t y, 3 4 E M S B ATA L I O N 4 9 M e d i c C a r l o s L i l l o , 37 E M S B ATA L I O N 57 Medic Ricardo Quinn, 40

Rick Rescorla was a British Born American Citizen who worked in the World Trade Centres up until the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Rick Rescorla has been said to be a hero as he helped 2,700 people to evacuate from the South Tower as well as a reported additional 1,500 people from a different office to his own. After the evacuation was complete, Rescorla went back into the tower to make sure that there was nobody left inside. Unfortunately when he went back in, the tower collapsed with him inside, killing him after he had saved so many. Rescorla had already lived what many would describe as a heroic life. Enlisting in the British Army in 1957 and then emigrating to America and joining the U.S army in 1963. While serving in Vietnam he received one of the highest honours including the silver star, the bronze star, a purple heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. The reason I mention him is due to something he said. After receiving a book on the 43

Vietnam War which had a photograph of him on the front. When he saw the book he put it aside and told his wife ‘The real heroes are dead’. This strong statement would follow him to his grave but I would challenge this statement. Surely if he hadn’t returned to the South Tower then he would still be a hero to many for the thousands that he saved. This statement would mean that the Firefighters that came out of 9/11 alive were not heroes. Which I feel is wrong. The act of actually risking your life to save others to me is enough to be called a hero. If you’ve saved somebody from a difficult situation then I don’t believe you need to die to be called a hero. This idea of heroes needing to be dead seems to be something which is accepted, as we have heard all about the firefighters that loss their lives on 9/11 but little when it comes to those who survived. I want to look at the survivors of 9/11 and to see whether they share the same feelings as Rescorla did regarding the title of hero and his fallen comrades.

“with the amount of fire in that building, every fireman knew that it was going to be a major operation” STEVEN SALZANO

“I realised that I probably was not going to live. But I was afraid my body would never be found or identified” JOE TORRILLO

“His rescue truck was the one that was crushed under that north pedestrian bridge. And then you know. he did his job and didn’t come out ” CAPTAIN HINES

“I saw the plane crash into the tower

and I said, Alright, I have to go to work” WILLIAM EISENGREIN

To me, the survivors of 9/11 are just as important as those that died as the towers collapsed. I don’t feel that because you didn’t die in the buildings, makes you any less of a hero than those that died. Each of the Firefighters that went into the building went in with what I would imagine to be the same intention. The intention of rescuing and saving as many people as possible from the disaster. The quotes that I have selected from some of the survivors, to me, show just how determined they were to do as much as they could. These men didn’t go in hoping to come out as heroes, nor did I they go in expecting to die. Yes there was probably something in the back of their minds that told them that this was a fire or incident that they knew would be more complex than more day to day call outs. But their main aim was to do what they had signed up to do and that was to help people.

Eisengrein says ‘I saw the plane crash into the tower, and I said ‘“Alright, I have to go to work”, to me that is the mind set of a hero. Eisengrein saw what had happened but his first instinct was that he had to go to work. This was what he had trained to do and for his initial thought to be to go into the fire whilst everyone else was trying to get out, that’s a true hero. And yes he survived but that doesn’t make him any less than those that sadly died. So to say that ‘the real heroes are dead’ is a statement that doesn’t really carry any weight. These men that survived this horrendous ordeal have still had to deal with the trauma of what they have seen as well as having to deal with the loss of their comrades. And the aftermath of becoming a ‘hero’ is something which I will be discussing later in this piece.

The single quote that really stands out to me and I believe they are the signs of a true hero, somebody who puts aside the dangers and the potential consequences of what might happen, yet still goes on. When William 46

FIREFIGHTER MIKE KEHOE

I saved one person that day, and that was me And it was by running for my life

One of the most recognised faces of the Fire department was Mike Kehoe. When his photograph was taken as he ran up the stairs of the World Trade Centre he became the face of heroism. The idea that this man was running up the stairs as people were coming down gave people some hope to hang on to and believe in. They wanted to see that something good could come out from such a terrible disaster and tragedy. After the events occurred the photograph appeared in newspapers all around the world. However the whereabouts and fate of Mike Kehoe remained unknown. Most people had presumed that he died rescuing people inside the towers.

As well as himself surviving, the rest of his crew all survived, however the other crew from his station failed to get out. Mike Kehoe believes that those that survived resent the hero worship that he received because so many others had lost their lives to no publicity. The pressure of the photograph got so bad that a senior officer had to pull the men aside and tell them to stop treating him badly. !6 years earlier a photograph was taken of another firefighter who would go on to receive the hero reputation like Mike Kehoe did. That firefighter would then go on to commit suicide due to the pressure that was put on him for years after.

The truth of the photo would later come out, as it turned out that after Kehoe had his photograph taken by a worker running from the tower, he turned around and ran back down as well. Mike Kehoe was looking to save his own life as he knew it wasn’t safe inside. He would survive the collapse of the towers but the fame of the photograph would live to haunt him. Three months after the photo was taken, Kehoe said that he wished the photo was never released.

Mike Kehoe feels bad that he doesn’t feel as guilty he survived. He said ‘I feel guilty, like I should be having nightmares, or I should be feeling more. I mean, how come I’m happy about surviving?’. And it is this exact feeling that can bring men to take such drastic actions such as killing themselves or forcing themselves to feel guilty. Mike is said to be embarrassed to have been singled out as a symbol for the bravery and heroism that hundreds of his colleagues exhibited that day. He said ‘Even thought it was just me in the picture, it represents the whole New York City Fire Department...it’s not just about me, we were all there - I hope people understand’.

Kehoe found himself ‘overwhelmed by the stress of his fame and plagued by guilt that he survived when thousands died’. His colleagues in the fire department have shunned him due to his newly found fame and his wife had been over run with questions from people presuming that she is a widow. He is also told by many women and mothers that he is a role model and hero to their children. Kehoe has claimed to be embarrassed that he has been hailed as a hero when his former colleagues had died trying to save people. The fact his fallen colleagues remain unknown has haunted him since the photo was taken.

I feel that this story really brings home the dangers of being called a ‘hero’. For Mike Kehoe he has felt that the pressure of the word hero has changed his life, and not for the better. In a way he agrees with Rick Rescorla’s statement that ‘the real heroes are dead’. Maybe that’s true but maybe it’s because the word hero adds too much for the survivors to cope with.

THE

MIKE KEHOE 28TH FLOOR

9.11

FACE

TAKEN BY JOHN LABRIOLA

OF 48

THE REAL HERO IS NOT IN THAT PICTURE 49

HERO TO ZERO I believe that the pressures of being called a hero can sometimes be too much for somebody to handle. Yes the term hero has positive connotations which can be applied to people who have shown acts of extreme bravery and courage, but the term also carries negative meanings. Most times that the word hero is used to describe someone is when they have died, which is what has added pressure to people that have been called heroes. Like the story of Mike Kehoe shows, being called a hero can lead to a feeling of guilt that you survived when others died. This story in particular shows just how quickly somebody can go from hero to zero. After talking to the firefighters at the station it became apparent that a lot of them felt as though the word hero should not be applied to them regarding the work they do. They believe that as this is their job they do not feel the need to have any other recognition. They seemed content with knowing that they have helped people and that the word hero was not really suitable to what they were doing. The term hero has been used to describe soldiers and people in the emergency services on many occasions but what I felt was so captivating when I spoke to the firefighters was there opinion on the word hero. One in particular told me how he felt as though the real heroes are people who are untrained and have had no experience in what they have put themselves into. He told me that someone who runs into a fire with no prior knowledge is far more heroic than someone who has had years of practice. Which is why I feel calling these people who have had training and put themselves at risk heroes is still justified, although maybe the effect it has on the individual people can be a negative one. The term ‘survivor’s guilt’ is something that really stands out to me as I feel it connects directly to the phrase ‘the real heroes are dead’, meaning that the people who survived the attacks or other acts of danger where others have died are not the real heroes. Real heroes are people who have given their life for something or someone. I’m not sure I agree with this.

I should be happy and then you feel guilty about surviving. PASQUALLE BUZZELLI

Survivor, survivor’s, or survivors guilt or syndrome is a mental condition that occurs when a person perceives themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event when others did not. It may be found among survivors of combat, natural disasters, epidemics, among the friends and family of those who have committed suicide, and in non-mortal situations such as among those whose colleagues are laid off. The experience and manifestation of survivor’s guilt will depend on an individual’s psychological profile. When the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) was published, survivor guilt was removed as a recognized specific diagnosis, and redefined as a significant symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder.

BRENDAn CAWLEY Brendan Cawley was a firefighter who was at 9/11, his brother Michael was also a firefighter but tragically died on that day. Cawley has sad that the survivors and the widows share a common bond - grief, guilt, doubt and anger. Although many of the firefighters had not returned to work after the events, Cawley had returned, trying to look past the emotional issues and the fact that he admits he is more scared about his job now. He found that talking to widows and their families has helped with dealing with the survivors guilt he had been feeling. He said ‘I can relate to their losses because I went through it, losing my brother.... these poor kids, losing their dad, that’s hard. And it was so avoidable’. Many of the men who have been affected by working on the day of 9/11 have shared the same feelings as Brendan did. The guilt that comes with being branded as a hero in the face of death and destruction can overwhelm some and force them to lock themselves away from doing their work or even living a normal life.

PASQUALE BUZZELI Pasquale Buzzeli became a legend of 9/11 after somehow surviving the collapse of the towers. He claims that he had reached the 22nd floor when the building collapsed beneath him and he was carried down through to the seventh floor. After surviving the fall of the building, he suffered from survivor’s guilt for many years afterwards. Mr Buzzeli has said that ‘time heals all wounds and you start to experience joy’. He decided to stop thinking about the guilt and negativity that came from the situation and try to look at the positives. He said ‘I’ve realised that the best way to honour those that didn’t make it, is to be the best person that I can be’. Although Pasquale wasn’t necessarily considered a hero, the fact that he was called a ‘legend’ for surviving the fall made him depressed and guilty. Due to the mass numbers of people that died and weren’t as lucky as him, he began to ask the question, ‘why me?’.

DAN COLLINS Dan Collins was a soldier who survived his tour in Afghanistan which killed two of his best friends. Two years after returning home, Lance Sergeant Collins was found hanged in a quarry near his home. Dan was said to have felt guilty ever since returning home from his duty and it was said that he kept telling people that ‘it should have been him that died”. It is this guilt that took over Dan’s life, the pressures of survival and being called a war hero made him feel bad about not dying. He was said to be ‘a very sensitive man who couldn’t get past the guilt’. On one particular occasion he was in a supermarket and the sound of the cages rattling reminded him of gun fire and actually caused him to drop to the ground and scream ‘man down’. Dan was previously shot whilst on duty but his army took the bullet and saved his life. When he got home from his time on duty he was provided with counselling for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which had affected him since seeing his two best friends die. Unfortunately this type of guilt felt by Dan Collins is not uncommon, witnessing friends or colleagues die can be extremely traumatic and with the addition of being called a hero, the stress can become too much to handle. Collins didn’t understand how he could be a hero when he had survived when his friends had died.

Throughout this process I have discovered a lot about the people behind the fire service. We always see firefighters as a group of people rather than individuals and to be able to speak to them on a personal level allowed me to find out more than I expected. The main thing that I took from speaking to them was that they would never consider what they do to be heroic. They look at is as something that they signed up to do, to them it’s a job, not an act of bravery or heroism. I found this modesty to be admirable considering that what they do on a day to day basis can be extremely dangerous. So would I call them heroes? Yes, I think I would. To me a hero is someone who puts themselves in danger in order to help other people in their time of need. Firefighters certainly do put themselves in danger in order to help people but this isn’t without risk assessments. Something that each of them stressed was that they need to get a balancing act between putting themselves in danger and saving someone from danger. Essentially there is no need putting another life in inevitable danger when there is little or no chance of saving someone. One of the firefighters that I spoke to spoke about this need to risk assess and said that because they have equipment and training, what they do is not heroic. I understood where he was coming from but I still feel that it takes a lot to even sign up to become a firefighter. Jason Hill told me that he believes the real heroes are those ‘normal’ people who put themselves at risk without any prior knowledge to the dangers of going into a fire. Another aspect of this study which became a focal point was whether or not we should call them heroes. I believe that yes what they do is heroic but from looking at the pressures that come with being called a hero, that maybe we shouldn’t call them one. Speaking with Sean Heighton, the Watch Manager at Bedminster Fire Station, he told me that being called a hero can make people expect too much sometimes. And with people expecting more of someone, it can add additional pressure to them, regarding what they can do with equipment or physical ability. Being perceived as a hero can make people feel that they are being let down if they can’t live up to their expectations, which for the firefighter themselves can add too much pressure. I don’t feel that they need this type of pressure when working in such a difficult situation. My final opinion on the topic of heroism and the fire service is that what they do is indeed brave and courageous and their want to save others is nothing short of heroic. I don’t think anyone can deny what they do is heroic, to even sign up to a job knowing the dangers that it entails is more than many people would even consider. But what I do think is that the term hero can be used too lightly without any consideration for what the word can mean to those called it. Although the word hero does have predominantly positive connotations, it can bring up negative aspects of such a demanding role. The phrase, ‘the real heroes are dead’, is something that can affect many people that are called heroes. The guilt of surviving whilst others didn’t is often too much to handle. So think of them as heroes, admire their bravery and look up to them as individuals. But maybe that’s all you should do and maybe they should just remain our unsung heroes. Standing in the line of duty without the need for recognition and fame and just the knowledge that they know they are making a difference to people’s lives.

MAYBE THEY SHOULD JUST REMAIN OUR UNSUNG HEROES.

DESIGNED AND WRITTEN BY Joseph Kozak CONTACT hello@joe-kozak.com

Copyright ÂŠ 2012 Joseph kozak No part of this issue may be used or reproduced in any manner without written consent from the designer.

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of imagery and text used.

Type Foundry - American Type Founders Standing in the line of duty PHOTOGRAPHY Canon d6000 slr IMAGES USED All images taken myself other than the ones referenced below. Contents Page - www.wrightproofs.com pg 33 - www.natgeotv.com pg 35 - www.friedphilosophy.com pg 37 - www.clker.com pg 39 - (1) www.zoomermag.com (2) www. engineersotherlife.com (3) www.army.mil pg 40 - www.boston.com pg 41 - www.history pg 43 - (1) www.boston.com (2) www.staugustine.com pg 45 - (1) www.unfiloperlitalia.blogspot.com (2) www.medpedia.com (3) www.westerhold.blogspot.com pg 48 - (1) www.cleveland.com (2) www.letsrollforums.com pg 52 - (1) www.newsday.com (2) www.jackbrummet.blogspot.com (3) www.walesonline.com

Many thanks to the Firefighters at Bedminster Fire Station for allowing me to visit their station and for giving up their time to talk to me about my project.

TEXT All text has been written by myself

Additional thanks to Geoff Hutchings for providing me with so much information and also

EDITING

for gaining me access to the Fire

All image editing has been produced using

Station. Without this access and

adobe cs5.5 software

their help this project would have not been at all possible.

PRINTING The Newspaper Club

The Fire Service have always been a group of people who I have looked up to, the bravery and courage that they show on a daily basis is both admirable and heroic. During this project I have been able to talk to the people behind the Fire Service and let their voices be heard on the subject of heroism. The newspaper begins on a local scale by speaking to the firefighters of Bedminster Fire Station in Bristol and then takes the term hero on a global scale by talking about arguably the biggest act of heroism the world has seen, 9/11. Some would say that the Fire Service has already recieved the recognition of

being heroes but the aim of this document is to ask the question, should they? I already have my own opinion on whether they should be called heroes or not, so I wanted to find out whether they feel the word hero applies to their job or not. The word hero can add a lot of pressure to a situation and role that already holds a lot of responsibility. Another aspect of this study is to see whether being called a hero, a word which generally holds positive connotations, can bring a negative outcome or whether it gives those in the Fire Service a sense of pride that they wholly deserve.