Lessons Learned from 9/11

By Pete Gorman
President, UFOA Local 854

As we approach the five-year anniversary of 9/11, it is important to reflect on that tragic day, and now we have a fitting memorial to ensure that we never forget.

Just as importantly, though, we focus on the lessons learned from 9/11, in order to serve our nation’s fire fighters in the aftermath.

I vividly remember standing at an FDNY Command Post at the corner of Chambers and West Streets at about 3 a.m. on the morning of September 12th, 2001. I knew that I needed to get some sleep, but I couldn’t comprehend walking away knowing that hundreds of fire fighters lay in their graves along with thousands of other Americans. I remember my greatest fear was what I would do the next day to serve our devastated membership.

I didn’t have to think about that too long. On the morning of September 12th, General President Harold Schaitberger, Secretary-Treasurer Vinny Bollon, and a contingent of IAFF staff arrived in New York City. Before the day was through the foundation had been laid to establish the 9/11 Firefighters Disaster Relief Fund, and a plan to mobilize peer counselors was already underway.

The weeks and months that followed found all of us at either multiple daily funerals or just digging through rubble at Ground Zero, shoulder-to-shoulder with fire fighters from across North America.

On November 2, 2001, fire fighters, joined by the families of our fallen brothers, marched on Ground Zero to call attention to the drastic reduction of recovery efforts. A vindictive mayor wanted to bring the recovery effort to an end and essentially move to a scoop and dump operation.

The Mayor told the press that nothing remained to recover and everything was pulverized, but fire fighters knew better. Together with the families, we had labored for almost two months and had recovered hundreds of human remains and removed them with dignity and respect.

So, we planned a respectful march to Ground Zero. We were going to recite the Lord’s Prayer and leave. For our efforts, the Mayor had fire fighters, including union officials from Locals 94 and 854, arrested. The press was quick to buy the Mayor’s spin and demonize the fire fighters. But very quietly, the Mayor met with our families and realized his mistake and restored fire fighters to the site. For the next seven months, over 1,000 bodies were respectfully recovered, giving closure to so many families.

The rescue and recovery effort ended in June 2002 when the site was officially closed. Little did we know then that the problems for New York City fire fighters were just beginning. Despite the efforts of Locals 94 and 854, Mayor Bloomberg ordered the closing of six engine companies in May 2003 in order to save $8 million dollars of a total $1.3 billion dollar operating budget for the FDNY. The closing of firehouses in New York City was more symbolic than financial, and it certainly got the attention of the nation, underscoring New York’s fiscal difficulties.

While all that was happening, we began the uphill battle to insure that we provided benefits to those who carry on. We knew that our members were exposed to many unknown toxins on that pile, and that the onset of symptoms could be delayed for years. So, we crafted legislation that would protect our members as well as all municipal workers who worked at Ground Zero.

We called our bill the “9/11 Presumptive Bill.” Once again, we found out how quickly some politicians wanted to forget 9/11. For two years in a row, our bill was vetoed, including 2004 when the Republican National Convention came to New York. Finally, after three years of hard work and many changes to our bill, Governor Pataki signed our bill over the repeated objections of Mayor Bloomberg.

We hope nothing like the World Trade Center disaster ever occurs again, but if tragedy strikes your city, you may want to review the legislation we were able to win that protects our members and their families in the event of future health-related problems.

Perhaps the most important lesson we learned after 9/11 is that in times of tragedy you can turn to your family for help. We turned to our families, the 275,000 members of the IAFF. Thank you, again, to President Schaitberger, Secretary-Treasurer Bollon, the IAFF Executive Board and staff. And thank you to each and every member for your support.

And if you are in New York City and wish to view the new memorial at Engine 10/Ladder 10, stop by our office for a cup of coffee and say hello. Ground Zero is just a few blocks away. It's the least we can do after all you did for us.