09/11/2026
Twenty Five Years Ago, September 11, 2001. A day that changed everything. We remember the 2,977 lives lost. We remember the 344 FDNY & New York Fire Patrol, the NYPD, PAPD, and federal agents, EMS personnel, the Department of Defense employees, and ordinary citizens who were lost that fateful day. We remember those lost to 9/11 related illnesses and those still battling those illnesses.
In 2012, Ladder 1 is seen here pictured with FDNY Rescue 5, one of New York City’s 5 elite rescue units. Rescue 5 serves Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn alongside Engine 160 and the 8th Division. When a 5th alarm, 10-60 (major emergency) was transmitted by FDNY chiefs for the North Tower, four of the five rescue companies were assigned to the “box.” Rescue 5 then relocated to cover Rescue 1 in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan. When the south tower was struck, FDNY chiefs automatically transmitted a 5th alarm for that tower, assigning Rescue 5 to the “box” and to the towers they went. Due to the call coming in at shift change, Rescue 5 rode heavy with 11 members. Rescue 5 lost 11 members that day, FDNYs elite rescue companies were one the hardest hit amongst the fallen 343. The Rescue 5 rig pictured below has since been retired from service and now travels the country as a rolling museum to honor their fallen brothers and sisters. Rescue 5 members who made the ultimate sacrifice:
* Battalion Chief Louis Modafferi
* Lieutenant Harvey Harrell
* Fire Marshal Andre Fletcher
* Firefighter Allan Tarasiewicz
* Firefighter Nicholas Rossomando
* Firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo
* Firefighter Douglas Miller
* Firefighter Joseph Mascali
* Firefighter Michael Fiore
* Firefighter Carl Bini
* Firefighter John Bergin
