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Recalling the heroism of FDNY firefighters at ground zero on 9/11 | 60 Minutes Archive

60 MinutesSeptember 5, 202640m
Topics30
Firehouses and Memorials to the Fallen0:02The Attack Begins0:31Documenting the Response2:00Chief Peter Gansy Leads3:03Search and Evacuate Strategy4:30Second Plane Hits South Tower6:02Gansy's Background and Leadership7:32Collapse Warnings and Orio Palmer's Mission10:31Palmer's Ascent and Final Moments12:33Building Collapse and Immediate Aftermath16:01North Tower Evacuation and Father Judge19:05Second Collapse and Rescue Operations20:30North Tower Collapse22:00Survival Stories from Engine 3923:00The Scale of Loss24:30Final Moments of the Fallen26:32Moment of Silence and Survival Reflection28:00FDNY History and Family Legacy29:31Gansy Family30:01Josephine Smith and the Palumbo Brothers32:00FDNY Family Support After 9/1134:16Michael Florio's Story34:30Children of 9/11 Firefighters Joining FDNY35:00Pride in the Next Generation35:31Career Progressions of 9/11 FDNY Leaders36:02Reflections on Bravery and Sadness36:30Father's Choice to Stay37:01Today's Recruits and Memorial38:00Preserving the Story38:31Scale of Loss and Survival39:01
In a Nutshell

On 9/11, FDNY firefighters climbed into the burning towers knowing they might not come home, saving 17,000 lives while 343 of their own perished. Chief Peter Gansy, Orio Palmer, and others led the response with extraordinary courage, refusing to abandon trapped civilians and fellow firefighters even as collapse warnings came. Two decades later, more than 60 children of the fallen have joined the department, carrying forward their fathers' legacy of selfless service.

AI-Generated Notes

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In the neighborhoods of New York, there are 217 firehouses. Each holds a memorial to firefighters who answered the call 20 years ago and never returned. 343 members of the fire department of the city of New York perished on 9/11 in the greatest act of gallantry ever bestowed on an American city.

A plane raced past Battalion Chief Joe Feifer along the Hudson River at such a low altitude that he could read American on the fuselage. At 8:46 that morning, Feifer was blocks away searching for a routine gas leak when he saw the plane aim and crash into the north tower of the World Trade Center. From that moment, the firefighters of the FDNY would have about an hour and a half to save 17,000 lives.

They knew that they might not come home, but they knew there were people trapped. That's our job.

There's no way we were going to stand back and say, "We're not going in."

Our aim was to get above that fire and get those poor people out that were calling us.

We're on the floor and we can't breathe and it's very very very hot.

And all the dispatcher could say is um we're coming for you. So we like to keep our promises. You know, we told them we're coming.

Filmmakers Jules and Gideon Node were making a documentary about the FDNY. Engine 69, Engine 6, Engine 10, Engine 211, Ladder 11, Engine 44, Engine 22, Engine 53 all responded. Dispatch launched an armada: 121 engines, 62 ladder companies, 100 ambulances, 750 members of the FDNY.

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