Local fire crews remember fallen NYFD firefighters in 9/11 ceremony
Local fire crews came together with the community in Palm Springs to remember 9/11. A special tribute was put on at an early morning ceremony honoring the 343 firefighters that died in New York City.
“I hear it in my sleep, I hear it all the time. It’s ingrained in my head.”
Hearing radio traffic is nothing new for retired Palm Springs firefighter Roland Cook, after responding to countless fires in his career. But hearing this chatter affects him differently, bringing back vivid moments.
“You get the memories…and the dreams, nightmares…smells all coming back,” he said.
Cook was deployed in the search and rescue efforts after the World Trade Center collapse in the aftermath of 9/11. The radio chatter played the last moments of a few New York City firefighters conducting rescues before the south tower collapsed.
“The courage of the firefighters is immeasurable, it’s endless. You see photographs and radio traffic of guys going up the stairs,” Cook said.
It’s courage that’s being highlighted at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony in Palm Springs, where firefighters and community members came together to pay their respects.
“It makes you remember all the bravery that was involved that day,” Bob Lyle of Palm Springs, said.
“It’s very moving because my brother was a firemen. He’s retired now. My nephew is an active fireman, and my grandfather was a fireman and he was actually killed in the line of duty when my father was really young,” Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon said.
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The radio traffic was added as a new element to the annual remembrance ceremony at the fire station.
“In years past we’ve shown the faces of the fallen and this year, we’re having us listen to the voices, so it’s a different way of experiencing it,” PSFD Captain Greg Lyle said.
An experience that will continue to live with cook.
“When you as close to it as we are here, it will never be forgotten.”
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