Remembering the 9/11 FDNY firefighters

FDNY rescue workers at Ground Zero. FEMA photo by Andrea Booher

FEMA photo by Bri Rodriguez

As a former blogger and proposal writer for an architecture firm specializing in fire stations, which designed 21st-century station renovations for Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Engine Companies 63, 217 and 235, I find it fitting to remember the 343 FDNY firefighters killed in the line of duty in their attempts to rescue World Trade Center attack victims on September 11, 2001, 25 years ago today.

Collapse of South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, 9:59 a.m., as
seen from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Photo by Paul Joffe.

Those brave, lost souls included three from EC 217 in Brooklyn, who perished in the South Tower's 9:59 a.m. collapse: Steven Coakley (age 36), Neil Joseph Leavey (34), and Lt. Kenneth J. Phelan, Sr. (41) "We were standing in a sea of body parts," surviving EC 217 Lt. (ret.) Thomas McGoff told the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. "Stevie Coakley and Neil Leavey were with me, and they saw people coming out of the South Tower. Meanwhile, they're standing in the collapse zone of jumpers [from the tower]. So Stevie says to me, 'I'm going to take Neil across the street and chase these people up the block. Be careful, stay together, and we'll meet you at the command post.' ... Without Stevie and Neil, we would have lost more civilians by getting hit and killed by jumpers."

"Lieutenant Kenneth Phelan embodied that spirit of selflessness," said New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin at the dedication of a red memorial street sign in Phelan's memory in his hometown of Maspeth, Queens, NY, on July 22, 2026. "On September 11th, he answered the call to serve at a neighboring firehouse that was short a member, giving his life after fourteen years of dedicated service to the FDNY."

Firefighter Steven Coakley.

Firefighter Neil Joseph Leavey.

Lt. Kenneth J. Phelan Sr.

Collapse of North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001,
10:28 a.m. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

The North Tower's 10:28 a.m. collapse vanquished the entire crew of EC 235, aka the "Monroe Six," at 206 Monroe St. in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood: Lt. Steven Bates (age 42), Nicholas Paul Chiofalo (39), Francis "Frankie" Esposito (32), Lee S. Fehling (28), Lawrence G. Veling (44), and Capt. Timothy "Timmy" Stackpole (42), along with Chief Dennis A. Cross (60), last seen entering the North Tower. "My dad was with Captain Timothy Stackpole...their bodies were found relatively close," Cross's youngest daughter, Denise Cross Feldman, told Dons Press. "On that ride to Bellevue [Morgue], the city was quiet, solemn, covered in dust, covered in debris, plastered with pictures of the missing, a slow motion movie that Hollywood can never replicate, never... 

"With every breath I took in, I felt strong like my dad. I felt special and proud that I had a dad who risked his own life each day to save the lives of others."

Chief Dennis A. Cross.

"On March 10, 2001, Timmy returned to his lieutenant's job – full duty," his widow, Tara Stackpole, told the National Fallen Firefighters Association (NFFF). "He was promoted to captain on September 6, 2001, and was in FDNY headquarters, off-duty, the morning of September 11. Of course, he responded... His remarkable story has inspired many and his love for the job has touched many firefighters across the country."

Capt. Timothy "Timmy" Stackpole.

Lt. Steven J. Bates.

Firefighter Nicholas Paul Chiofalo.

Firefighter Francis "Frankie" Esposito.

Firefighter Lee S. Fehling.

Firefighter Lawrence G. Veling.

World Trade Center firefighter requests ten more colleagues.
U.S. Navy photo by Journalist First Class Preston Keres.

Joan R. Daley of EC 63 in the Bronx died of cancer at age 55 on September 27, 2009, eight years after her part in the 9/11 rescue efforts. She was but one of the more than 600 firefighters who have passed away as a result of inhaling the many toxins the tower collapses unleashed into the air. These include asbestos, benzene, cement/drywall dust, crystalline silica, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury from office equipment and wiring.

Firefighter Joan R. Daley.

"Firefighter Daley was an amazing woman," reported the NFFF. "She was hired by the FDNY in 1982, as one of the first females in the department... She was not only a role model for women, she was a hero for those who felt they didn't belong... In 2001, when the Twin Towers fell, Firefighter Daley participated in the recovery efforts. Sadly, it was these long days that would cause her to become ill and ultimately pass away from cancer. In a career that is dominated by men, Daley broke ground until her retirement in 2009."

FDNY Firehouse Engine Company 10 on 9/11. Courtesy FDNY 10 House.

Ground Zero also highlighted what matters most when we break ground on new or renovated fire stations, designing for those who constantly put their lives on the line for public safety. This design process extends beyond quickening response time, upgrading dispatch technology, and building hardening to provent structural disaster like what happened to FDNY Station 10, across the street from the World Trade Center, on 9/11. Post-9/11

FDNY Firehouse EC 10 after reconstruction. Photo by Michael DiNatale.

advancements in fire station design and construction also encompass decontamination systems with dedicated turnout gear rooms and state-of-the-art toxin-extractor equipment washing machines. These features divide the fire station into "hot," "warm" and "cold" zones.

Decontamination room in new fire station, North Acton, MA. Photo by Maia Kennedy.

The hot zone, or Red Zone, encompasses the apparatus bays that garage firetrucks and exterior equipment storage, that is, the area with the highest contamination. The warm zone, or Yellow Zone, incorporates decon rooms, dirt and toxin extractor washing machines, showers, and specialized Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) cleaning spaces, that is, the transition area between the fire station's dirtiest and cleanest realms. 

Fire station single sleeping quarters. Photo by FirePhoto.

The cold zone, or Green Zone, is the toxin-free living area: living quarters, bunk rooms, kitchens, dayrooms, break rooms, fitness rooms, offices. Cold-zone air pressure is often heightened to stop filtration of contaminants. 

Training room, Northbridge Fire Headquarters. Photo by Robbie Robinson.

New and renovated stations are also receiving single sleeping quarters, as opposed to group dormitories; larger break rooms and kitchens; larger and more apparatus bays with fortified bay doors and slab floors; backup power grids and substations; and more spacious high-tech training rooms for growing first-responder forces.

Cambridge Fire Headquarters, Cambridge, MA, in renovation. Photo by Todd Larson.

In the name of both environmental protection and firefighter health and safety, today's stations incorporate sustainable green technology, such as photovoltaic solar panels, LED lighting, and high-efficiency heating and cooling from geothermal wells. This has made some stations net-zero and fossil-fuel-free (left), reducing the carbon footprint.

My old firm practices all these new standards, and more, regularly in its public safety facility designs. The architect's post-9/11 commitment to these design principles earned him coveted admission to then New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's NYC Design and Construction Excellence Program in 2005. 

This honor enabled the architect to redesign the aging EC 217 and EC 235 in 2009 and EC 63 in 2013. All three of these revamped fire stations were cited as outstanding examples of public safety facility design in We Build the City: New York City's Design + Construction Excellence Program (ORO Editions, 2013).

Engine Company 217, Brooklyn, NY, built 1909, renovated 2009.

EC 217 and EC 235, built respectively in 1909 and 1895 as single-bay fire stations, each received a hardy new apparatus slab floor with drainage and firetruck maintenance systems. These met FDNY standards for supporting the 90,000-pound fire vehicle that hadn't been around in the days of the horse-drawn fire wagons these stations were built for, and was certainly needed for extreme emergencies like 9/11. EC 217 was reinforced with a new concrete truck apron for structural disaster hardening and containment of toxic fumes from the new bunkrooms, restrooms and offices on the upper floor, but its historic frontage was restored.

Engine Company 235, Brooklyn, NY, built 1895, renovated 2009.

As part of its own historic restoration and structural disaster hardening, EC 235 was tuck-pointed with new mortar and crowned with a new copper roof, ensuring it an additional century of service to its old neighborhood. The service of both stations was fortified with new housewatches and gear grids with the most advanced FDNY dispatch technology, allowing firefighters quicker response.

Engine Company 63, Bronx, NY, first organized 1896, renovated 2013.

EC 63 was expanded to house three fire vehicles – Batallion 15, Engine 63, and Ladder 39 – to expand its readiness for emergencies. Structural disaster hardening was supplied with an all-new structure and façade, faced in ash-gray with a terra cotta rainscreen and inset cement board panels, contrasted with fortified red bay doors and an American flag waving on a flagpole, in remembrance of 9/11 and other firefighter tragedies, and as an expression of fortitude in the face of danger. Toxic fume containment was fully taken care of with a decontamination area on the first floor, safely separated from the new bunkrooms, lockers, restrooms, fitness center, offices, and training/study rooms on the upper level.

Ladder 39 exits EC 63 in the evening.

We Build the City described EC 63's renewal as follows: "This expansion doubles the building's size and meets Fire Department of New York guidelines – giving firefighters the room they need to perform their duties safely and effectively." 

Awards the renovation of EC 63 received include the Bronze Place 2013 National Station Style Design Award for Renovated Fire Station Design from Penton's Fire Chief Magazine, in addition to the 2014 Fire Station Design Excellence Award from the Fire Industry Education Resource Organization (F.I.E.R.O.).

FDNY rescue workers at Ground Zero. FEMA photo by Andrea Booher.

As we remember 9/11's fallen FDNY firefighters, as well as the 72 lost NYPD law enforcement officers and the 2,977 civilian victims all those brave souls endeavored to rescue, let us move forward with the most advanced fire station design and construction possible to more fully equip our first responders for earth-shaking calamities such as this.

Never Forget.

Sources:

Bailey, Matthew, "Dons recall personal experiences 15 years after 9/11," Dons Press, September 26, 2016, https://elcidonline.com/student-news/campus-features/2016/09/26/dons-recall-personal-experiences-15-years-after-911/

Burney, David J., FAIA, and New York City Department of Design + Construction, We Build the City: NYC's Design + Construction Excellence Program, foreword by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York: ORO Editions, 2013, https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781941806166/page/n3/mode/2up

"Dennis A. Cross," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/dennis-a-cross/

"Engine 217," Tunnel to Towers Foundation, https://t2t.org/9-11-never-forget/engine-217/

"FDNY Engine Company 63: Keeping the Bronx Safe," The Galante Architecture Studio, 2013, https://galantearchitecture.com/portfolio/fdny-engine-company-63/

"FDNY Engine Company 217," The Galante Architecture Studio, 2008, https://galantearchitecture.com/portfolio/fdny-engine-company-217/

"FDNY Engine Company 235," The Galante Architecture Studio, 2009, https://galantearchitecture.com/portfolio/fdny-engine-company-235/

"Frankie Esposito," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2022, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/frankie-esposito/

"Joan Daley," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2022, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/joan-daley/

"Lee S. Fehling," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/lee-s-fehling/

"Neil Joseph Leavey," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/neil-joseph-leavy/

"Nicholas P. Chiofalo," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/nicholas-p-chiofalo/

Phelan, Patricia, "Kenneth J. Phelan Sr.," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/kenneth-j-phelan-sr/

"Speaker Julie Menin, Council Member Phil Wong, FDNY and Phelan Family Unveil New Red Memorial Street Sign Honoring 9/11 Hero Lt. Kenneth J. Phelan Sr.," New York City Council, July 22, 2026, https://council.nyc.gov/press/2026/07/22/3194/

Stackpole, Tara, "Timothy M. Stackpole," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/timothy-m-stackpole/

"Steven Coakley," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/steven-coakley/

"Steven J. Bates," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/steven-j-bates/

Veling, Diane J., "Lawrence G. Veling," National Fallen Firefighters Association Role of Honor, 2002, https://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/lawrence-g-veling/

Twenty (and fifty) years after

Attack of the World Trade Center, New York City, September 11, 2001. Photo by Evan Giniger.

Remains of 6, 7, and 1 WTC on September 17, 2001. 
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Eric J. Tilford.

On this 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 devastation of New York's World Trade Center by terrorist-hijacked airplanes, I'm sure the minds of all who were around back then and not too young to remember that cataclysm that claimed 2,606 lives (plus 125 in the Pentagon attack and 44 in the diverted plane crash in Shanksville, Pa.) still explode with stories that would fill all the gigabytes in all the digital archives in the world.

September 11, 2001. Photo by WalkingGeek (CC BY 2.0).

September 11, 2001, taken from a rooftop in Brooklyn and from the Brooklyn
waterfront. Photo by Andrew Lynch (CC BY 2.0).

Many (myself included)  remember just where they were and what they were doing when the news hit them by TV, car radio, phone, Internet, word of mouth, etc. Which is not surprising; due to the advanced communication and information technology we were fortunate to have by then (and without which the passengers of Flight 93 wouldn't have been able to prevent their hijackers from doing more damage), the impact of this "shot heard [or seen or felt] 'round the world" was far more far-reaching, time-halting and panic-inducing than the others throughout history, including John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, the 1883 volcanic eruption on Krakatoa heard 3,000 miles away, and, of course, the initial musket-fire of the 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord that gave rise to that locution in "Concord Hymn," Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1837 tribute to that historic start of the Revolutionary War.

My history with the World Trade Center goes back a good 50 years when I lived in New York and was first learning, to my chagrin, that a new skyscraper project was going to cop the "World's Tallest" title from a building that made me proud to be a New Yorker as I gazed in awe at my bronze souvenir model of it. My treasure was emblazoned in bold block lettering on each side of its base as follows: on one side, "1,472 FEET"; on another, "WORLD'S TALLEST"; and on another, "EMPIRE STATE BUILDING." In fact, that year (1971) my father decided to take my mother and me to visit this prized icon of Superman single-bounding and King Kong climbing and gawk at its cityscape views before it lost its Royal Highness crown to the new World Trade Center the city was all abuzz about.

Empire State Building, New York, looking up from its
5th Avenue entrance. Photo by Danny Thomas.

This low-angle view of the Empire State Building was my first close-up glimpse of it, from the way-down-there perspective of a small 9-year-old. And yet I could spot the tip of the top high in the sky from there. Which showed how well architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon were blending their gentle giant into its neighborhood, with a base at a height that was level with its neighbors so it wouldn't seem so overwhelming, and that gave it a firm grounding against toppling in the wind (or from King Kong's ascent). 

It also showed how well the architects were following New York's 1916 Zoning Resolution mandating massing setbacks for upper levels of skyscrapers so they would not cast cavernous shadows on the streetscape – a law the World Trade Center boldly defied in the first straight-up, shadow-casting Twin Towers since the 1915 Equitable Building in Lower Manhattan (below) that provoked that law. 

Equitable Building, New York (1915, Ernest P. Graham). Photo by Yottabytedev.

Empire State Building, New York, 86th-floor observation deck. Photo: Daniel Penfield.

Below is a sense of the jaw-dropping, eye-popping panorama of the New York skyline I experienced in swoops and soars from the Empire State Building's 86th-floor observation deck. It was chilling, thrilling and fulfilling to spot familiar landmarks, neighborhoods, parks, streets, rivers, and distant views of New Jersey and Connecticut from sky-high.

World Trade Center topping-off, 1973. Courtesy of Facebook.

Our family outing (or upping) to the Empire's apogee was, of course, one of the last times anyone could experience the breathtaking, bird-swooping, skydiving city vistas of the Empire State Building as the World's Tallest, before the topping-off of Minoru Yamasaki's World Trade Center in 1973 enabled those newborn twins to stake their claim to that title (until Chicago's Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, surpassed them the following year, at 1,451 feet, as opposed to 1 WTC's 1,368 and 2 WTC's 1,362).

Perhaps I moved to Boston at the right time (1972) so I wouldn't have to witness the beheading of the sky-crown of my prized Empire landmark – which, technically, was still the tallest including its antenna and spire, at 1,454 feet, beaten out only by One World Trade Center, at 1,776 feet, in 2014 (see below).

Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on World Trade Center. US Park Police photo by Eugene Kuziw. 

But luckily, my move out of New York shielded me from firsthand experience of the 9/11/01 destruction of the Twin Towers (though the attackers' takeoff from Boston's Logan Airport put me not far away from where it all began – scary). I saw the calamity live on TV, from the planes to the plunges, while working at Community Newspaper Company in Needham, Massachusetts.

Collapse of South Tower, 9/11, before and after. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

All work stopped cold as all eyes fixated on our office TV screens and all news reporting priorities abruptly shifted to the unfathomable event that had just exploded before our eyes. The world suddenly turned to quiet fear, terror and shock as each of us wondered and worried if we'd be "next."

FDNY firefighter eyes a remnant of a WTC tower. U.S. Navy photo by Jim Watson.

Thus the iconic twosome soar of the Twin Towers that had monumentally anchored the tip of Lower Manhattan and the entry point of New York Harbor for 28 years was instantly replaced in the public eye by the iconic Gothic ruins of their sharded, smoky remains.

These in-your-face images of wanton destruction predominated the media for years as the body-search, site cleanup, War on Terror, memorial speculations and contests, and nasty politicking over how the hell to redevelop a prominent site of world trade that was gone in a flash went on and on.

One World Trade Center, New York (2014, David Childs). Photo: Praneeth Thalla.

Fast-forward 13 years to the dedication of the new victor ludorum of "New York's Tallest" prestige, One World Trade Center, nobly marking the gravesite of its parents, which are memorialized by two well-fountains framing their footprints with waterfalls cascading down into simulacra of Ground Zero and bearing the names of the fallen around their perimeters. 

Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1 WTC boldly articulates the "United We Stand" aphorism the disaster gave rise to, by uniting ghosts of the Twin Towers in a geometric solid of elongated triangles tapering both ways between the square base and the square roofline rotated a 45-degree angle from the base. At this point the antenna takes over the soar to the patriotic height of 1,776 feet, an apt expression of fortitude in the face of adversity.

Never Forget.