Kevin E. Gallagher, President of The Uniformed Firefighters Association was in the thick of things when the Giuliani administration made the decision to remove firefighters from recovery duty at the World Trade Center site, when so many of their brother firefighters and thousands of civilians were still missing. Infuriated firefighters and family members of the missing joined … [Read more...] about Kevin E. Gallagher: Union Man
9/11
Joseph Dunne: First Deputy Police Commissioner
Joseph Dunne, the First Deputy Police Commissioner at the time of the terrorist attacks, got to the World Trade Center as the second plane crashed into the South Tower. Dunne's objective was to get to the Office of Emergency Management on Vesey Street. However, that building was being evacuated because of its proximity to the twin towers so Dunne went to the corner of Vesey and … [Read more...] about Joseph Dunne: First Deputy Police Commissioner
The Final Note
Practicing "taps" prior to firefighter Michael Lynch's memorial service. "What kind of guy was Michael Lynch?" "I'll tell you what he was," said one of his firefighter coworkers. "There are two different kinds of guys that get on the Department. Those that got on the job, and those that get into the job. He was a guy that got into his work." Lynch was just 33 years old, … [Read more...] about The Final Note
Denis Leary Honors New York’s Heroes
It's an unseasonably balmy October night a little ever a month since the tragedy of September 11 and a well-heeled crowd has gathered at the trendy Park restaurant in Manhattan for a benefit organized by Denis Leary's Firefighter's Foundation to raise money for the families of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on that terrible day. To the backdrop of Celtic tunes … [Read more...] about Denis Leary Honors New York’s Heroes
The First Word: Love Lights Up The Darkness
"We want to tell the people of Afghanistan that we don't hold them responsible for the actions of a few terrorists.... As Americans, we're bigger than Sept. 11." – Emergency Service Unit Detective Thomas McDonald The New Year is approaching fast as I write this in late December. Looking back on what started out as such a hopeful year, it is hard to see back past the darkness of … [Read more...] about The First Word: Love Lights Up The Darkness