Community Corner
Former FDNY Firefighter Joe Higgins Remembers 9/11
A lifelong New Yorker relocates to Branford after nearly a half-century working with the New York Fire Department.
Having just turned 66 last week, Joe Higgins can say with pride that he's spent nearly all his life as an employee of the New York City Fire Department. Retiring in 2006 as the Deputy Director of Dispatch Operations for all five boroughs of New York as well as the NYFD Fire Commissioner's Liaison, Higgins worked his way through the ranks to earn his title of prestige. However, nabbing the title of "A Real Class Act" — what he was called on an honorary retirement plaque, one of dozens that hang on the walls of his home — well, you'd have to know Higgins to understand how he earned that one.
Though a pretty funny guy now, Higgins has had his share of heartache following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, in which he lost dozens of fellow FDNY friends. He was at Ground Zero just after the first tower was hit, and he watched many of his most beloved friends leave their posts to meet untimely deaths.
Higgins shared a peek at his FDNY memorabilia collection with Branford Patch, including some remnants of the Twin Towers.
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Higgins is also preparing for several public-speaking engagements in the next two weeks where he will inform the public about his experience in dispatch operations for FDNY and share tales of that fateful day in late 2001 when every American's life changed forever. For more information about his upcoming engagement in Branford at St. Mary's Church on Sept. 14, click .
