How Has 9-11 affected you?

[3and2]

How has the Terror attacts on 9-11-01 affetced you as a firefighter in the time since then? Have you changed anything?

In know way is this ment to start any bashing or fueding I am working on a term paper and was just wanting some input from firefighters from all over. Also never forget what happened that day.

[38-3]

9-11 hasn't really affected me. I think the biggest change is that we in the emergency services are most closely watched by the public, but it's starting to die down slowly.

[aardvark]

What whatpierce ???

911 hasn't effected you ??? What's the matter...less and less kids at your annual parade ??? No fireman discount at Arby's anymore ??

Try picking a few of our brothers out of the rubble...pack alarms still going off...maybe THEN you would've been effected !!! I was there, and sure has left a bad taste in my mouth for a few f^&ckers for the rest of my life.

Instead of " hitting the hydrant ", maybe you should draft out of a septic tank and straight tip yourself.

Maybe 911 effected me............you think ??

[PimpOnDuty]

Whoa....calm down Aardvark. People deal with it differently.

I still get freaked out when I hear pack alarms. 9/11 was the worst 3 days of my life, and I spent them in Manhattan.

I lost a very dear friend and a large number of colleagues. But I also learned alot from it. The deaths of our brothers and sisters didn't go without teaching us all something.

Just don't get on him because he says he wasn't "affected". It's unfair for you to judge that way. I just hope you got someone to talk to about your apparent anger issue. Maybe to help you deal with it.

[aardvark]

I have an anger issue....

How can any firefighter who calls himself one, NOT be affected by 911.

Not affected means not giving a shit. Then again, what do I know.

Again, you didn't say....WHAT were you doing in Manhattan that day ??? Please tell me you were working at the site.

[PimpOnDuty]

I was working with the Office of Emergency Management. Helping negotiate EMS coverage for the rest of NYC while the event was going on. While I couldn't be in the blocks of ground zero digging, I was in the city doing my best to help out.

Not Affected means he or she is dealing with it in another way. Maybe they dealt with the issue and now they are able to move on. Just because they are not affected now, doesn't mean they weren't then. Sometimes people can work these things out.

I'm sure there are alot of people who are able to work thier issues out.

[38-3]

aardvark, I meant no harm here! I've had the same thoughts on firefighting ever since the first time that I've walked in my fire station. I feel the pain for my fellow brother firefighters, their families and friends. If I could change things from that day I would, I'd put myself in their shoes and do the same job that they did! I live in rural West Virginia, far from New York City, but in case you weren't aware, we were placed on standby for possible deployment to assist FDNY with recovery. If they would've needed it, and would've asked for it, I would've been the first to step up and go. As for saying that I'm not a real firefighter...you have no idea, you don't know anything about me, my training, or my firefighting history. I can't honestly say that I know where your coming from, because I've never been placed in that situation. Please don't take offense to this, I'm not trying to fued with anyone on here, just giving my opinion. Pimponduty, thanks for the defense!

[aardvark]

Whatpierce,

You're probably right. Sorry to come of as an asshole. I'm sorry for my insults. My frustration wasn't aimed against you. Just pissed about the whole thing........

[38-3]

It's ok, I can understand what you mean. I wasn't there, (wish I could've helped) so I can't speak from expierence of ground zero. Again no harm was intended there. We've been lucky here, to have no line-of-duty deaths in a very long time.

[alone on line]

9/11 has prompted me to return to the fire service as a volunteer. I'm a retired career batt chief who decided to give something back - so I joined my local VFD. This was after a 4 year hiatis(sp).

[aardvark]

Chief, great for coming back to the service. Do you ever get to PG County for the IAFF MDA softball tourny in Sept ?????

[Truck123]

9-11 has messed with me mentally, thinking of how hard it would have been to be there, and go through what the other firefighters went through, as well as the families, especially the children.

As far as going out the door on whatever piece is needed, I am the same me as I was in the past. 9-11 was a tragic day, and no one imagined the towers coming down the way they did. I stay aware of the surroundings, do my best at whatever needs to be done.

Only god knows when each and everyone of us will leave this evil place. If there is a heaven and a hell, I believe we are living hell right now....especially our troops who are giving their all to protect us from the evil of this planet.

God Bless all our men and women in uniform around the world as well as all the family of these men and women who have to worry day in and day out, and the children who can not spend the time they should be with their parents.

God Bless all of you, thank you and I hope for a safe and speedy return to the states.

[explorer305]

9/11 prompted me to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserves, sign up for an EMT class and started training to become a firefighter. I was in school when it happened, but it scared the hell out of me for weeks. The plane that crashed in Somerset was 80 miles away from Pittsburgh (where I live), I never really felt safe since.

[Sniper]

I think the attack affected me greatly. Sure as a ff, I think of the families that lost love ones. And I think of those that died so violently. Which still fills me with anger. I have also been political but this made me more so. I will not support anyone that will let our government sit idol and let the terrorists plan another attack. It probably wont matter, for our country is so open and free, that an attack will happen again. But at least if we are vigilant and keep our wits about us, we can limit the number of brothers that die.

[patf1engineer]

I found the days after 9-11 very frustrating both as an engineer and a firefighter because I wanted to do something to help but couldn't. 9-11 was directly responsible for me getting involved with the Urban Search and Rescue system a few months afterward, which has probably been the most rewarding thing I have done in 22 years of the fire and rescue service. It also gave me a kick in the ass to start doing more in the fire service, I had become somewhat complacent over the past couple of years.

[joefireman]

Who wasn't there? The second strike was on national television. Least thoughtful question I've ever heard in my life....."Is it some kind of massive electronics failure?" Who wasn't affected?
This would be the second time time I ever chain-smoked in my life.(The first was during Desert Storm) I was in Argentina on military maneuvers. We were at the barracks waiting to load up on the plane. I was hanging around waiting for the commander. I was going to tell him how grateful I was that he was going to get me home for my birthday(11 September). The First Sergeant came out asking if we knew that a plane had hit the WTC. I joked about a B-25 hitting the Empire State Building in 1947. He said that this was different. I think we were inside about 2 minutes before the second plane hit. If ever there was a time that something needed to be done but there was really nothing to do, this was it. I lost 343 brothers that day. The fog of anger that remains will not let me see how I've been affected, let alone say it.

[EMT/FF99]

Sept 11, 2001 has affected us all in one way or another, whether or not we realize it. I was a volly for Erie Co & working @ a Local Retail Store in the Electronics section when one of our Security (Undercovers) came in & asked why I didnt have the TVs on? All 55 of them were turned to the same channel, when the first tower was shown smoking, the next thing you know is the Electronics Dept is full of people all day (No one barely moved) Phones ringing & so forth.

Yes it did bother me, that 343 brothers were lost that day when the towers came down, but never realized how more it affected me until a few weeks back while working the job I do now. I work as an Office Furniture Installer for a Major Company. My Partners & I were working @ the Mellon Center in Pittsburgh. At some point during the course of the day, we had to do a complete office install on the 27th floor on one of the Mellon Towers, As we stepped off the service elevator, I started to look for emergency exits, stairwells & so forth. Every few moments, I was looking out a window, with my mind racing. One of my partners was in NYC that day, he lost 5 guys of his Install Crew there. He noticed me & the way I was looking at everything & told everything was ok.

A few years later, thinking that Sept 11th didnt really bother me (to a point) but yet it has, and never really realized it until that day a few weeks back. That was the first time in 4 years I have ever been in a High Rise Building above the 3rd floor.

Do I still think about that day & what happened? Yes I do, and always will.
Has it affected me in my job performance as an Installer? I truely beleive it has & will for a long time to come.
Do I think about the 343 that lost their lives that day, the families that lost their 343 that day? yes and always will.

So I feel even though we may say "Sept 11th doesnt affect me at all or very little" it does affect everyone, but we all have our ways that it affects us.

[burning85]

i remember exactly where and what i was doing that morning....i was in 3rd period 11th grade algebra...a kid came in and told us a plane hit the wtc...we had no tv in our room, so everyone kinda just thought a plane was too low and hit something on top of the tower...no one had any idea the magnatude until a bit later...i went to vo-tech for part of the day...as soon as 3rd period was over we loaded up the bus to head over to our vo-tech by then everyone was talking about what happened...we got into our class room, mine being protective services...the tv was on and we all just stood there in silence and watched...by then the first tower fell...and in disbelief we stared in witness to the second falling....and the one thing i remember drilled into my memory, was the awful expression that just took over my teacher's face, we all just witnessed a massive loss of lives and horror and the intensity of just seeing it live was awful and to actually be there just going about your daily business, just showing up to work, with no idea that later in the morning the world would be changed for ever, i cant even imagine.... as time goes on the memory of it may start to fade, but i'll never forget.

[Fireduck]

I beleive 9-11-01 has affected us all in one way or another.