Rescue 001

[Kevin]

The following brothers from Rescue 1 in Manhattan made the supreme sacrifice on September 11th, 2001 at the World Trade Center.


RESCUE 1

CPT. Terence Hatton
LT. Dennis Mojica
FF. Brian Sweeney
FF. Gary Geidel
FF. Gerard Nevins
FF. Michael Montesi
FF. Kenneth Marino
FF. David Weiss
FF. William Henry
FF. Joseph Angelini, Sr.
FF. Patrick O'Keefe


Rescue 1
530 W. 43rd St.
Manhattan


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Codes: R001 Manhattan

[patries]

Rescue 1

[SeaBreeze]

A Company Of Heroes

Dec. 14, 2001

(CBS) The men in New York Fire Department's elite Rescue 1 unit are specialists, called in to fight the unusual fires, free trapped firefighters, and save lives.

Since Sept. 11, America has looked at firefighters – especially New York City firefighters – with awe. To most of us, their actions that day were heroic. But to hear the guys from Rescue 1 tell it, while they’re grateful for the recognition, we might be missing the point.

"One of the things about firefighters is they're not heroes because they died. They're heroes because of what they do every day," says Rescue 1 member Paul Hashhagen.

Over a week last summer, a television show called "The Bravest" shot almost 100 hours of tape, capturing everyday acts of courage by the 26 men of Rescue 1. "Lots of heroic deeds are done here. Lots of heroic stuff that’s never said. More heroic than anything you can imagine," said Rescue 1 member Dave Weiss on one of those tapes.

Over the course of that week, Rescue 1, which was the first rescue company established in the entire United States, fought fires underground, pried people from high-rise elevators and pulled them from burning buildings. Their response area extends more than 100 Manhattan blocks, Bill Lagattuta reports.

"It's the only fire company I ever wanted to be in, and I'll end my career here I hope," says Gary Geidel.

Among those captured on tape were Joe Angelini, at 63 the oldest fireman in New York. There's Dan Duddy, who knew almost as much about linguine with clams as he did about firefighting.

And there's Dave Weiss who may have loved the job more than any of them: "I was born for firefighting. I’m a legend. Ever since I was a kid, I knew what I wanted to do. Organized chaos is a fire situation and you can’t beat the action in Manhattan. The emergency work. The fires. The buildings. You don’t find this anywhere in the world."

In charge of it all is Captain Terry Hatton. At 41, he was the department’s rising star, son of an assistant fire chief and personal friend of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Like all the men of Rescue 1, Hatton just wanted to be in the thick of things.

"Here we are, the last line of defense in the world's greatest cityAnd it's a tremendous responsibility. But it's the challenge of it," says Hashagen.

One minute, they’re inside a high-rent high rise that’s spewing scalding steam onto Wall Street. The next, they’re racing uptown to a help a homeless man living under a bridge who has been hit by a train. Rescue 1 saved his life.

And late one night later that week, Rescue 1 raced uptown to save someone who had driven a car into the East River. To find the car, they had to don SCUBA gear and dive in. The river is so murky that the only way to find the car was to feel it. The water was also littered with sharp objects.

"In firefighting we don't have a choice. If you have to go in, you go in. The choice was made the day you took your oath," says Duddy.

As the sun begins to rise, the divers find the car and the victim, who was unconscious. Paramedics tried unsuccessfully to revive the 36-year-old woman. It is a bitter disappointment.

"Unfortunately in a city this size, we go into the water fairly frequently. People jump off bridges, drive cars into water, not a good thing," says Hashagen.



http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/...in321382.shtml

[SeaBreeze]

Rescue 1 Heads To The Towers

Dec. 14, 2001

(CBS)On Sept. 11, Lt. Dennis Mojica had just run the overnight shift with five of the men. Because of an injury, Joe Angelini was on light duty at another firehouse. Weiss, Geidel, Kenny Marino and four others were about to start the day shift, under the command of Captain Terry Hatton.

On that morning, Katrina Marino stopped by to switch cars with her husband, Kenny. She was with their two children and arrived just before 9 a.m. He was happy to see them. As she was leaving, she felt something.

"He went to each car door and instead of just leaning over and kissing Tyler, he went around, opened the door, gave him a big hug and a kiss and same with Kristen and then same with me."

Driving away, the former flight attendant heard something. "A big airplane went overhead. And I said, 'Look at the airplane, Tyler.'" It was low and loud.

It took less than two minutes for the alarm to sound. Had this been in the middle of a shift, six men would have responded, but since the shift had just changed everyone, all 10 members present piled on the truck and sped off to the World Trade Center.

Fireman Tim Brown, from another unit, is Terry Hatton's best friend. He was in the lobby of Tower One when Hatton arrived. It seems clear now the commander of Rescue 1 knew what he and his men would soon be in for. Says Brown: "I went over to him. And he wrapped his arms around me with his tool and gave me a kiss on the cheek. And said, 'Love you, brother, don't know if I'll see you again.'" And he went off into the stairwell to do his job."

As they were trained to do, Capt. Hatton and his men, each lugging some 60 pounds of oxygen tanks and tools, started climbing the stairs up Tower One.

Joe Angelini also heard the call. On light duty elsewhere that morning, he grabbed some gear, hopped on a truck and headed downtown. Joe's oldest son, Joey, with whom he was very close, was also a fireman. He was also working that day. He was also killed.

When the towers collapsed Capt. Hatton, Lt. Dennis Mohica and nine firefighters from Rescue 1 were killed.

"They and the vast majority of the rest of the New York City fire department were trapped in two largest building collapses that ever happened. They were doing what we do," says Hashagen.

That day, 343 New York City firefighters died doing their job.

"To me, it felt like the world as I had known, it had come to an end," says Duddy.

Those who died left behind mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, seven wives, 16 children.

The body of Katrina Marino's husband, Kenny, has not been found. His son Tyler is 1; their daughter Kristen is 4.

The other heroes lost that day were firefighters Michael Montessi, Gary Geidel, Brian Sweeney, Patrick O'Keefe, Dave Weiss, Lt. Dennis Mojica, Gerry Nevins and Bill Henry and Joe Angelini.

When Angelini started fighting fires, John F. Kennedy was president. Add his years on the job to the others on Rescue 1, who died Sept. 11, and the total is ore than 200 years of firefighting experience lost. Then there was Capt. Hatton, who loved the city so much and knew it so well that his men nicknamed him Captain Manhattan.

A few days after Sept. 11, Hatton’s wife found out she was pregnant. The baby will be called Terry whether it's a girl or a boy.




http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/...in321386.shtml

[Neil]

RESCUE 1 Remember 911

[Neil]

PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS

[Neil]

WORN WITH PRIDE FOR OUR BROTHERS