Monthly Archives: November 2014

Firefighter Stanley Smagala, Jr.

  On 9/11, there were 52 women pregnant with children fathered by men who died that day. I do not know how many were the wives of firefighters. One was married to Firefighter Stanley Smagala Jr., 36. and their baby … Continue reading

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Firefighter Brian McAleese

Brian McAleese, 36, was one of five siblings in a tight Irish-American family. One of his brothers also became a firefighter like their dad. Another became an NYPD detective. Based with Engine 226, McAleese joined the FDNY in 1994, and … Continue reading

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Firefighter David DeRubbio

David DeRubbio, 38, was the fifth of seven children born and raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Three of his four brothers became firefighters. One was a Battalion Chief, two more were based with engine companies in Bed-Stuy. Dave finished his … Continue reading

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Firefighter Kevin Reilly

The third and final member of Engine 207 was Kevin Reilly, 28. Normally stationed with Ladder 40 in the Bronx – the same firehouse that had been his father’s – he was on rotation into Engine 207 on 9/11. Reilly … Continue reading

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Firefighter Shawn Powell

Shawn Powell, 32, was an artist and a woodcarver. He sometimes made props for local theatre productions. He was studying architecture. 
Powell married his high school sweetheart in 1989, joined the army and was stationed mainly in Germany for his … Continue reading

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Firefighter Karl Joseph

Firefighter Karl Joseph, 25, was still a probie. He’d joined the FDNY less than a year earlier, in October 2010. He was assigned to Engine 207 in Fort Green, Brooklyn. Born in Haiti, as a child Joseph came to the … Continue reading

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Lt. Glenn Wilkinson

Lt. Glenn Wilkinson was a 46-year-old father of three. He had been studying for his Captain’s test in the months before 9/11, and was happy to tell anyone who would listen that he planned to retire as a Chief. 

On … Continue reading

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Capt. Timothy Stackpole

On June 5th, 1998, believing a woman was trapped inside a raging rowhouse fire in Brooklyn, Timothy Stackpole and others ran in to rescue her. The floor unexpectedly collapsed beneath them, trapping them in place for thirty minutes while 34 … Continue reading

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another tale…

Since Lt. Geoffrey Guja was the last posted, here I will share a story from “WTC: In Their Own Words” told by Lt. Keith Ruby. Like Guja, he came from HQ in Brooklyn, only Ruby had crammed into an FDNY … Continue reading

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Lt. Geoffrey Guja

Lt. Geoffrey Guja, 47, had worked with Long Island Lighting for 15 tears before he joined the FDNY. By 2001, 13 years into being a firefighter, he was also a registered nurse who worked part time at Mercy Hospital. On … Continue reading

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