For a logical reason, September will always be a somber month in the fire service. In this month we lost thousands of people, including hundreds of firefighters, in one of the United States’ worst tragedies. Virtually all of us were deeply affected by the loss of a loved one, family member, friend, or mentor that day–me included. But I won’t go into the backstory of my personal loss and attachment to that day because it surely parallels yours, and my 9/11 backstory is no more significant than any other American’s. But 14 years later, I wanted to share some thoughts with you on something I’ve seen in the fire service since that fateful day: resilience.
You may have glanced at this month’s cover and not given any thought to what’s really going on in the photo. I’m not referring to the obvious visual of a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) special operations unit on a rather innocuous response depicting a firefighter throwing his handlight strap over his bunker coat before heading into the street. Rather, I’m referring to what we saw at FireRescue when a young New York City film student, who just happened to be strolling around Manhattan with a camera, sent us the photo to consider for our magazine. As soon as any of us saw it, we knew what message it conveyed in the same millisecond it took to take this photo: The FDNY and the collective fire service are showing its resilience after historical tragedies–every day.
If you look closer at the photo, you will see a moniker on the left side of the door that reads “Spirit of Oklahoma” and across the door on the right a statement: “We Will Never Forget.” The apparatus is designated “Rescue 6” in the FDNY’s fleet, and it’s used as an additional rescue company during major events in New York City as well as a spare rescue apparatus when needed. The significance of this unit, however, is that the apparatus is almost 14 years old and was originally donated to the FDNY by the citizens of Oklahoma City–a city that also faced a horrific national tragedy during the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing–after the FDNY lost most of its rescue units.
After the bombing in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, the FDNY immediately responded to assist the Oklahoma City Fire Department with search, recovery, and expertise. As a show of gratitude and support, these same citizens donated the rescue apparatus as a show of their reciprocated support for the FDNY and that they never did forget–and never will. And nothing is as great an identifier of resilience then an iconic apparatus still in operation, 14 years later, doing what it was built for: rebuilding the FDNY so that it can recover, respond, and demonstrate resiliency for its citizens and the fire service; so that we can all recover from that terrible day in history.
Resilience is essentially defined as the ability to adapt to adversity. Adversity comes in many forms, from personal stress to disasters on a national scale that upend one’s life forever. Regardless, it can always be overcome, especially when it affects everyone and affects the collective fire service. The fire service also sees adversity in many forms. Whether it’s socioeconomics that result in closed firehouses or something as tragic as the loss of our own, we are never short on adversity. But if you sit back for a second and reflect on your own career, you’ll realize that you’ve always recovered, and so has your organization. Whether it’s something like a terrible boss you’ve worked for in your company or the loss of someone in the line of duty or to a premature illness, your organization and community have always been there for you–and always will be–in the form of a sympathetic ear, a fellow brother or sister, or even a supportive politician. That’s because the community (citizens and organization) wants the fire department to succeed, and it’s up to all of us to accept this help and pay it back and forward when it’s someone else or another organization that needs the same help.
I’d like to dedicate this month’s issue to all of the firefighters, fire departments, and communities that have stepped up to help the fire service recover from tremendous adversity. Every effort, big or small, has made a difference in the continuing recovery of the fire service. That support is shown through stopping by the firehouse to pay homage and respects, donating to family memorial funds, and showing support for what we always want to do for our communities. We couldn’t have done it without you, and we’ll always be there for you, too.
