Written by Eva Olinek and Abigail Neber <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Wayne Friedman was not even supposed to be working as he was a firefighter paramedic at the Tully Fire District at the time. He and a friend had stopped at Royal Auto on Route 281 in Cortland NY to drop off a vehicle, when they noticed a TV showing smoke coming from one of the World Trade Center towers. No one understood what they were seeing yet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few minutes later, the two walked into the Cortland Fire Department where they volunteered and by the time they stepped inside, news had broken that a second plane had hit. \u201cEverybody realized it was not an accident. It was an attack,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From that moment on, the day took on a heaviness that firefighters everywhere felt, even in small communities like Cortland. As updates rolled in, the shock deepened and the sense of responsibility grew. When federal authorities grounded all aircraft, a strange silence settled over the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt like maybe we were getting ahead of it, unless there was a flight no one had eyes on,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He explained how different things were back then. Terrorism on American ground was not something people thought about daily. Families could walk straight to the airport gate to watch planes take off. \u201cThe system just was not built for that kind of intent,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Cortland Fire Department, crews stayed ready even though they were not called to New York City, and ambulance crews prepared for possible mobilization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friedman had not personally lost anyone he knew that day, but he had trained with FDNY firefighters and built strong friendships with men from Brooklyn and the Bronx. Their stories helped him understand theenormity of the loss. \u201cThe biggest and best fire department in the world had the carpet pulled out fromunder it, and firefighters did not hesitate, they went in,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He talked about Battalion Chief Joseph Pfeifer, the first FDNY officer on scene who immediately sensed how serious the situation was as hundreds of firefighters poured into the towers, unaware that they were minutes from collapsing. \u201cWhen the collapses came, we lost so many senior members at once,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visiting the 9\/11 Memorial still overwhelms him. \u201cYou see the broken rigs, the radios, the air packschirping. For firefighters, that PASS alarm sound means someone is down. It gets you,\u201d Friedman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attacks changed the fire service nationwide. Accountability systems had to be redesigned because on 9\/11, two full crew members were on scene and no one knew exactly who was inside, there was essentially no accountability once the collapses happened. It was a shift change. Now every firefighter at every call istracked. Information such as where they are, who they are with, and how to reach them instantly if something goes wrong is now shared among all of them. Friedman calls this a hard-won improvement thatcame out of the loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attacks also changed how first responders think about everyday threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe plan differently now,\u201d Friedman said, pointing to incidents like the 2012 ambush in West Webster, NY, where firefighters were killed responding to a house fire. \u201c9\/11 forced us to examine how we train, how we protect ourselves, and how we account for our people, without losing the willingness to go in when it counts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firefighters now train alongside police and EMS under unified command structures for domestic terrorism, school shootings, and suspicious explosions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than two decades later, the losses continue as thousands of firefighters and emergency workers have died from cancers and illnesses related to Ground Zero exposure. \u201cThe number who have died since hassurpassed the deaths from that day, and it is still climbing,\u201d said Friedman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each September, the Cortland Fire Department joins communities across the country in remembering the victims and honoring those still suffering. Even younger firefighters who were not alive in 2001 learn from the stories, the ceremonies, and the reminders of how the tragedy reshaped the fire service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the 25th anniversary approaches, Friedman believes the memory of that day continues to guide the profession. \u201cIt is about honoring those who went before us. They showed us what it means to do the job.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Cortland to New York City, the lessons of 9\/11 survive, tied together by courage, sacrifice, and an unbreakable bond among firefighters everywhere. <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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