Firefighters are NYC's heroes

by Kevin A. Schneider

One American flag, sticking out from the fire engine's passenger window, whipped in the wind. Another red, white and blue banner hanging from the back of the engine swayed gently.

This fire engine zoomed down Richland Avenue Saturday afternoon. A van and some other cars donning the American symbols followed behind.

\It wasn't planned. But the fire truck – maybe on the way back to a station – seemed to be leading a congregation of other patriotic vehicles.

In the same manner, firefighters have led the rescue effort at the former site of the World Trade Center in New York since fiery ashes, rubble and – yes, even people – began falling from the sky. About 300 New York firefighters are believed dead.

 Accounts have established firefighters were some of the first on scene. Many entered the twin towers to save others, probably knowing the fate they faced.

Since Sept. 11, television viewers have watched footage of New York firefighters dig through mangled rubble, trying to find more than 5,400 missing people. They've seen President George W. Bush, arm around a soot-faced veteran firefighter, proclaim how rescuers are making America proud.

They've seen numerous interviews with firefighters who express horror at the destruction before gulping down water and re-entering the hell that used to be the World Trade Center complex.

Yet these firefighters, dealing with inhumane conditions and the loss of 300 comrades, keep hope. And they helped keep it alive for the world when they erected a makeshift memorial, stringing an American flag up a crooked pole protruding from rubble.

While Athens area residents have pitched in as other Americans have by giving blood and donating money to various funds, Athens Fire Department members have collected more than $25,000 for the grieving families of New York firefighters, AFD Chief Bob Troxel said.

"With firefighting, it's kind of like a second family," said Brian Tulodzieski, one of 25 full-time Athens firefighters. "It just hits a lot closer to home."

Those moved by the rescue efforts in New York have been tossing money into firefighters' boots Uptown or visiting one of the city's two stations to deliver them personally.

"The community has been extremely grateful," said Tulodzieski, an Albany resident. "It makes you feel good when the world looks grim."

Tulodzieski, 26, has a friend who was but a few blocks from the twin towers when the planes struck, but she was not hurt.

"Personally, I was thinking I wanted to be there," said Tulodzieski, who has worked for the AFD for four years.

This attitude is emanating from many rescue workers in New York interviewed recently.

It takes a special brand of person be a firefighter. Perhaps AFD firefighter Todd Spires put it best when he described a fire scene.

"Usually, you've got all the smart people running this way, and we're running the other," joked Spires, motioning with his hand.

Spires, 36, spoke from an armchair in the Columbus Road station lounge Sunday afternoon. He was in the early stages of a 24-hour shift that started at 7 a.m. After a full day, the firefighters receive two days off before starting the cycle again.

"You miss things – you miss school plays, you miss family functions," Spires said.

Only a short hallway lies between the lounge and a sleeping chamber, where Spires said firefighters nap at night. At any moment, a blaring alarm could beckon them to a scene – one that could involve a life-threatening situation or just a frustrating false alarm.

"It (Sept. 11) just proves that being a firefighter anywhere, you really never know what you're getting into when you go on a call," Tulodzieski said.

And that blaring alarm might extend to the homes of other department firefighters, who wear beepers. They never really are off-duty.

Still, Spires revels in his time at home. The Plains resident has been married for 18 years to Stacy Spires, a nurse at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster. The couple has three children.

"I don't want to spook them," said firefighter Spires, an eight-year AFD member. "I don't want to tell them I almost died again today."

While dodging flames and saving citizens draws the glory, much of the firefighters' time is spent training, flushing hydrants, maintaining the station and equipment, as well as educating. AFD members will visit area schools in October, Fire Safety Month.

Spires says his job approach hasn't changed since Sept. 11, and people must move on. Meanwhile, community support for firefighters spreads.

Tulodzieski said, "It's a shame it takes a catastrophe to really bring it out."

Residents can donate to the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund through Friday by stopping at the fire station on Columbus Road.

– Schneider can be reached at ks322898@ohiou.edu.