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Manhattan, New York City June 27, 2008

It was a quiet summer night in the city, a brother firefighter from New Jersey and I had decided to drive into the city for the evening. A perfect night to take in the sights and sounds of Manhattan, maybe catch the FDNY out on a run. About midnight we found ourselves walking down Mulberry Street in the heart of Little Italy, the restaurants and café’s were just starting to quiet down for the night and the barriers were just coming down opening up the street to traffic once again. We stepped into Ferrara’s and grabbed a pastry for the walk. After turning a corner around midnight we arrived at Engine Co. 55 on Broome Street. A classic, turn of the century FDNY firehouse in the neighborhood. Most of the city firehouses were open all night but at this late hour they were starting to lock up for the night. The house was quiet, the firemen sound asleep. Engine 55, bunker gear carefully set around the rig awaited another run. The rig is surrounded by reminders, monuments and mementos of a fateful day not so long ago.

On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, New York firefighters, Lieutenant Peter Freund, Steve Russell, Bobby Lane, and Chris Mozzillo, pulled out of the Broome Street firehouse responding to a reported gas leak. Just another typical run in their area. Engine 55 and Battalion 4, two ladder companies responded. A second pumper, Engine 7 also was heading to the scene. Riding on Engine 7 that day was a French film filming a documentary about a rookie, or as the FDNY calls them, a "proby" from Engine 7. As the firefighters were in the process of investigating the gas leak that morning, they heard the sound of a low jet. The aircraft was flying so low over the buildings, everyone at the call, including the cameraman, stopped what they were doing to view this unusual sight. As if a surreal dream the plane crashed into the side the World Trade Center only a few blocks away. The men of Engine 55 were the first eyewitnesses to the attack on America that day. (Documentary footage captured that moment became the CBS TV show titled "9-11").

Without hesitation Lt. Pete Freund ordered his crew back to Engine 55, firefighters Faustino Apostol, Stephen Russell, Robert Lane and Christopher Mozzillo returned to the rig and responded directly to the World Trade Center. After arriving on the scene, one of the first companies to do so, Lt. Freund led his crew into the mayhem and confusion of WTC Tower One. The chauffeur, a 22 year veteran of Engine Company 55, Faustino Apostal, realized that his brother firefighters were entering the tower itself, he grabbed his gear and joined them. As terror and horror rained down around Engine 55, they were hard at assisting in the rescue of over 25,000 people that day, as people swarmed out of the burning tower, the firefighters kept climbing until the very end assisting people down the stairwells to safety. With abandon for their own lives, the men of Engine 55 helped save thousands of people until 10:29 that morning. In 10 seconds all fell silent, Tower One collapsed to the ground. Lt. Freund, 46, and the other members of his crew, firefighters Faustino Apostol, 56, Stephen Russell, 38, Robert Lane, 30, and Christopher Mozzillo, 27, all perished at that moment.

Engine 55 along with its men disappeared that morning; searches in the rubble would uncover SCBA air packs from all but one of the firefighters. But no sign of Engine 55 was found. The company's missing Rig was still buried somewhere deep within the wreckage at Ground Zero. Engine 55 had been staged next to the north tower before the crew rushed in to help rescue the people inside, when WTC Tower One collapsed it apparently sucked the rig down with it. They were one of the first two companies there. That's probably why the fire truck was buried so deep" witnesses said.
Months later Engine 55 was uncovered, to look at the buried fire truck deep in “The pit” all the recovery personnel could say is that it was "unrecognizable.” Today small pieces of Engine 55 have returned to the firehouse and are displayed at the firehouse in Little Italy. Some may have looked at the photos and say, it’s just a quiet little firehouse. Now you know there’s a lot more to the story, I was walking near the location Engine 55 parked less than 12 hours after America was attacked. It’s a day I will never forget, reminders of it lurk around every corner, even when you just stroll along a quiet street on a summer night.

Lt. Todd Hollritt (and 1RBN Correspondent) is a firefighter with the West Paterson Fire Department in New Jersey.