Blog | Better Angels

Firefighter Dennis McHugh

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Dennis McHugh, 34, was the “good probie” at the FDNY Fire Academy says his friend, Chris Gainer, the “bad probie” of the class. He had a reputation in his family of being “about as perfect as you can get,” doing all the chores before his brothers got out of bed. Assigned to Ladder 13 for three years, McHugh had left a career in finance to join the FDNY. He ran the NYC marathon and played Gaelic football. On September 11th, he left behind a 5-year-old daughter and 10-month-old twins. The foundation his family established raised funds to build the Dennis McHugh Piermont Public Library in Piermont, within sight of the Tappan Zee bridge, on the banks of the Hudson River. Firefighter McHugh regularly took his young daughter to the library on their excursions together.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, Dennis McHugh, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, Ladder Co. 13, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Thomas Hetzel

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Firefighter Thomas Hetzel of Ladder 13 was a 5-year veteran of the FDNY and danced the polka. Proud of his German heritage, he also played German music, went to German festivals, and cooked German meals – both at home and at the firehouse.  At 18 he became a volunteer firefighter. In 1995 he was inducted into the FDNY, manifesting a dream he had had since he was a small boy.  Daddy to one 18-month-old daughter, Hetzel and his wife went to Colorado every year to ski the slopes of the Rockies.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, Ladder Co. 13, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Thomas Hetzel, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Capt. Walter Hynes

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Walter Hynes, the captain of Ladder 13, had 23 years with the FDNY. He graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and put himself through St. John’s University Law School by attending night classes. His extended family relied on him for everything, from fixing the plumbing to providing legal counsel.  As Ladder 13 left the firehouse, he called home and left this message: “I don’t know if we’ll make it out. I want to tell you that I love you and I love the kids.” The kids were his three daughters.  He and his men were evacuating the North Tower when they found about 50 civilians in distress whom they tried to help out. Not all of them made it.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, Ladder Co. 13, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Walter Hynes, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Martin McWilliams

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Martin McWilliams’ daughter, Sara, turned four months old that September. “I’m in love with her,” he would say.

McWilliams, 35, was known for being good with his hands and able to fix anything. He was also game for things like flying lessons and skydiving. He loved to ski especially – both on land and water.  In his family (and at Engine 22) he was famous for his Chicken Francese, and his inability to ever tell a joke. Apparently he would always blow the punchline.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, Engine Co. 22, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, Martin McWilliams, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Vincent Kane

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Vincent Kane, 37, broke the firefighter stereotype in many ways. A resident of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, he could walk to work at Engine 22. Apparently he spent hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue and he attended performances of the New York Philharmonic in Lincoln Center. “Most firefighters don’t even know what the Philharmonic is,” claimed his friend and fellow firefighter, Michael Ruddick. Vinnie first became a firefighter at 17 when he joined the Rockaway Point Volunteer Fire Department.  On East 80th where he lived he was nicknamed “The Mayor” by his neighbors who sometimes could hear guitar playing coming from his apartment late at night. He kept a second guitar in his locker at the firehouse.

He was found on Thanksgiving night, 2001, with fellow Engine 22 firefighter Michael Elferis.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, Engine Co. 22, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Vincent Kane, World Trade Center, WTC | 1 Comment

Firefighter Michael Elferis

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Michael Elferis, 27, was a 3-year veteran of the FDNY. Like many others, he came to the fire department through the NYPD where he had been an officer for two years. He wanted to become a firefighter ever since he was a little boy when “he liked to watch the engines go by on the street.”  One story places him last seen carrying a paraplegic down from the 21st floor of 1 WTC. He was found on Thanksgiving night, 2001, along with Vincent Kane, another firefighter from Engine 22.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, Engine Co. 22, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, Michael Elferis, NFFF, paintings, portraits, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Thomas Casoria

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Battalion 10 begins with Engine 22. Firefighter Thomas Casoria, 29, was due to be married on October 13th.  His father has reported that Casoria was last heard from when he radioed his Captain to say he and two other firefighters were helping a paraplegic evacuate from the 5th floor of 1 WTC. A little later he radioed again to say a firefighter was down.

In some of the survivor reports from “WTC: In Their Own Words,” there are references to firefighters with chest pains or needing oxygen. Don’t know if that was Casoria’s reference to a firefighter down. Don’t know if he was able to safely evacuate the paraplegic then go back in.

Casoria had been on the force for three years, although he waited almost five years between his exam and being called up. His brother, Carlo, was in the same class at the academy. “He was my go-to guy. He would be there for me,” he said.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, Battalion Ten, better angels, Dawn Siebel, Engine Co. 22, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Thomas Casoria, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter David Weiss

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

When a man careened off the FDR Drive and plunged into the East River, David Weiss stopped his car and dove into. He knew he was the man’s only hope and he saved him – even though the victim’s heart had already stopped. For this Weiss was awarded the Emily Trevor/Mary B. Warren medal and joined Rescue 1. In 1993 he was chosen for the Firefighter’s Quarterly Man of the Year.  On The Bravest Memorial’s page they write: “He stood 5’9″ and weighed 225 pounds. His biceps were as big as the thighs of a medium-build woman. He was bulldozer strong. He looked as tough as he sounded. His head was shaved and his body covered in tattoos. He drove Harleys.”

Weiss, 41, left behind two teenaged children.

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, better angels, David Weiss, Dawn Siebel, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Rescue One, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Brian Sweeney

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

Firefighter Brian Sweeney, 29, got his dream assignment to Rescue 1 in late July, 2001, after six years in the department. He was studying hard for the lieutenant’s exam he never got to take that October.  This son of a retired FDNY Captain loved outdoor activities – perhaps snowboarding most of all. “Just mention a trip and he’d be packing his bag, his mother wrote. “His big blue eyes and crooked smile will always be remembered to those who knew and loved him.”

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, better angels, Brian Sweeney, Dawn Siebel, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, portraits, Rescue One, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment

Firefighter Patrick O’Keefe

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Dawn Siebel

The O’Keefe Foundation was created to honor the memory of Firefighter Patrick O’Keefe of Rescue 1. Each September in the waters off the south shore of Long Island, they organize the Spirit Riders Regatta and the Memorial Paddle Out (for surfers) to honor all those lost on 9/11. Proceeds provide scholarships to high school seniors who are suddenly in the position of having to “start over.” http://i70157.wix.com/okeefefoundation

Posted in Better Angels Stories | Tagged 343, 9/11, better angels, Dawn Siebel, FDNY, firefighter, firefighters, firefighters of 9/11, LODD, Manhattan, memorial, NFFF, paintings, Patrick O'Keefe, portraits, Rescue One, World Trade Center, WTC | Leave a comment