Wakefield Firefighters Recall Sept. 11 Memories

For two Wakefield firefighters, remembering the events of September 11 ten years ago means remembering a trip to Ground Zero to honor the victims of the attacks and the rescue personnel who died that day.

Honoring the Fallen
Gene Doucette, a lifelong firefighter who first served in the role as a member of the Air Force before joining the Wakefield department, took a trip to New York in February of 2002 to support Captain Lou Guzzo, a close friend of his.

On September 9, 2001, Captain Guzzo had been promoted from a fire engine in New York City to become the captain of a fire boat. His former engine, Engine 292, responded to the Twin Towers, and several members of his former team died in the wreckage. Doucette's trip was to attend several of the men's funerals with Captain Guzzo.

"It stays with all of us here," he said. "It hit home to every firefighter. You could have something devastating happen at any time. It was tough."

But on the upside, Doucette said the magnitude of honor he received from New Yorkers was unlike any other he's experienced in his 40 years as a firefighter.

"People were stopping us in the streets, thanking us," he said. "We went to get on the subway and my whole family - my wife, two of my daughters, two of my sons, my son's girlfriend, we were a troop - and they just threw open the gates and let the whole family through."

And the most emotional moment for Doucette was visiting a viewing station of Ground Zero, where there was a board of memorabilia upon which people had left flowers, handwritten notes, and other small tokens honor firefighters.

"My youngest son took my badge off my chest and put my badge on the board," he said. "It was overwhelming."

Another Take
Former Wakefield firefighter Dellarciprete, who was on the Wakefield department on 9/11, also took a trip down to Ground Zero to honor fallen firefighters. Accompanied by 11 other Wakefield firefighters, the group attended several funerals of firefighters they didn't actually know.

"It was a very proud moment of time, to still be able to smell all the smoke, and having it be so devastating in terms of what we were seeing, but also having the feeling of coming together," he said.

"People were applauding us as we were walking by, and there was a group of kids that were giving out lifesavers to firefighters with little notes to express their appreciation to us," he said. "I was a firefighter for 29 years and hadn't had that feeling until that day."