FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Broward Sheriff’s Office fire station hosted a memorial for the first responders who lost their lives in the September 11th attacks.
Fire Station 32 in Fort Lauderdale, home to BSO Fire Rescue’s Technical Rescue Team, has restored a 1974 fire engine operated by the Fire Department of New York Retirees of Southeast Florida as a traveling 9/11 memorial.
The truck was restored as a tribute to the 343 FDNY firefighter who lost their lives in the attacks.
7News cameras captured hundreds of small photos and names of those who died to keep their memory alive during a special event on Wednesday.
“I will never forget that day, it’s made an indelible mark on my soul. We made a commitment, many of you made a commitment, many of you remember hearing never forget. We promised we would never forget,” said Broward Fire Rescue Chief Timothy Keefe.
Some of the lives that were honored at the memorial included Frank Palombo from ladder company 105, who left behind 10 children, father and son Joseph J. Angelini Sr, and Joseph J. Angelini Jr, Raymond R. York from engine 285, and Daniel Suhr from engine 216.
Suhr’s colleagues say he saved their lives after they came to his aid when he was struck by someone jumping from the towers. The first aid operation delayed his colleagues from going inside.
“It’s important to look at those pictures, they had families, they had children,” said retired firefighter David Fischler.
Some retired firefighters at the event shared the losses that they faced from the fateful day.
“And I lost like 32 close friends that day. We went out for four days, no sleep, trying to find our loved ones,” said retired firefighter Don Gander.
“I dug for 8 days, everybody was dead. I went to 200 funerals, I couldn’t go to funerals anymore so I moved down here,” said retired firefighter Sal D’Angelo.
Paul Iannizzotto, who escaped the north tower of the World Trade Center before it collapsed, said he still feels survivors guilt.
“Every day, every single day, It’s never easy. Of the 343 firefighters, I knew 108 personally,” he said.
The Fire Department of New York Retirees Southeast Florida chapter will use the engine to remind people of all that was lost in the attacks, and to educate people about the health issues that many face after exposure to toxic dust and debris at Ground Zero.
“Time heals all wounds. Time hasn’t healed this one. We still think about it, and we took a hard gut punch that day, and you never really get over it,” said BSFR Division Chief Mike Nugent.
The chapter has also raised money for many law enforcement K9 units to honor Sirius, the Port Authority bomb detection dog who died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Officials from the chapter said that they want to bring attention to the tens of thousands of people who receive assistance from the World Trade Center Health Program due to the exposure from dust and debris on September 11, and said that it is an ongoing issue.
They also said they will bring the memorial fire engine to several September 11th events and plan to bring it to an event in Margate on Friday.
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