The City of Good Neighbors recently found out how it earned its nickname. Residents of the city and people across America witnessed the heroism of the Buffalo Fire Department as two of its finest made the ultimate sacrifice during a building fire.
This loss only serves as a reflection and reminder of what the entire world went through eight years ago when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, taking the lives of over 3,000 people.
'We think it's important to remember those who made that sacrifice,' said William MacKay, chief of the Niagara Falls Fire Department.
MacKay was one of many firefighters who responded to the attack on the Pentagon while stationed in Fairfax, Va.
The images of that day will not soon fade, nor will the memories of those who are now gone. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, co-workers and neighbors were lost in the attack. Among the many departed were more than 400 emergency workers, with the Fire Department of New York suffering the worst casualties, reporting over 343 firefighters lost during the rescue efforts.
Sept. 11 and the recent deaths of Buffalo firefighters remind us of the dangers rescue workers face on a daily basis, along with the brotherhood and camaraderie firefighters have toward one another.
John Buttino, fire chief of Eggertsville Volunteer Fire Company, says that the strong bonds firefighters share arise from the multiple stages of training, the adrenaline and intense atmosphere of the job.
'Fire service is unique to any other profession in the entire world,' MacKay said. 'I know that as a firefighter I can stop at any fire station across the world and know that if I'm hungry, I'll get a meal, if I'm tired I'll get a bed, that if my wife or any of my family need directions or assistance that my brother firefighters across the globe will be more than happy to assist.'
MacKay also serviced at Ground Zero the day after the attacks as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency team sent from Virginia. MacKay, who grew up around Manhattan, was in awe when he saw two 110-story buildings reduced to a pile of rubble, entombing thousands of people.
Memorial services commemorating the lives of firefighters lost in the line of duty, such as the ones after 9/11 and the recent deaths in Buffalo, draw in firefighters from across the country and around the world. Buttino spoke with a firefighter from Alaska during the services for Lt. Charles 'Chip' McCarthy and firefighter Jonathan Croom. MacKay also noted that he spoke with an officer from Australia.
'If one of us loses our life, whether it be in Ohio, California or Australia, the brother- and sisterhood of the fire departments will be there to support them,' MacKay said.
Both Eggertsville Fire Company and Niagara Falls Fire Company will be hosting memorial services for those lost during the Sept. 11 attacks. MacKay feels that as a country, the U.S. should always remember what happened that day, but is not sure whether the country should make the day into a national holiday or day of remembrance.
'I have mixed emotions and I also wear two hats,' MacKay said. 'I wear the hat of a firefighter and I wear the hat of an American. As an American you show that you're never going to let these people defeat us - we're never going to let them change our way of life.'
MacKay also said that as a firefighter, he knows that 343 of his brothers went to work on Sept. 11 and didn't come home, but somehow we need to honor and remember them in a respectful way, in addition to all the other people who lost their lives.
'We can never forget what 9/11 meant to us as a country,' MacKay said, speaking about the future and strength of America. 'We're Americans, we will rebound from this and come out of this stronger and cannot change our way of life because of one day.'
E-mail: spectrum-features@buffalo.edu
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
