One of Our Own

Firemen and others who serve don’t seek the limelight. Nor, do they wish to be recognized for their heroic feats that cause the rest of us to pause and view them as superheroes for their unbridled bravery and unselfish acts. Not to mention, the exemplary loyalty to each other that they poses regardless of city, town or state lines. When the events of 9/11 unfolded, every fireman became part of the New York Fire Department as members of their own suffered loss after loss to help save those who needed it most. Bob Norton of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company in Connecticut recounts their 9/11 story. “One of our own was, and still is, a Firefighter in the FDNY.  There were several tense hours that morning when there was no word if he was working, if he had responded to his station, if he had gone to the towers, if he was in the towers as they fell.  He had recently transferred from a station that was located across the street from the South Street Seaport, in lower Manhattan. That house suffered significant losses.  When early afternoon came and word was spreading among us that the kid who had been in the Haddam Junior Volunteer Fire Co. and then as a full Firefighter, who’s father was and still is an active Firefighter, was safe, many of us breathed a great sigh of relief.  That joy was met with a dull pain in knowing the numbers of Firefighters that had no doubt perished.”