Firefighter Joseph Ogren of Ladder 3 had a twin brother Lance, also in the fire department but off-duty on 9/11. They shared a 2-family home on Staten Island, living upstairs/downstairs from each other. “Jay” Ogren was engaged to be married in August 2002.
The brothers and father and son among the 343 are easy to find, but the cousins, of which there must be many, are not necessarily obvious. Timothy McSweeney, the “Gentle Giant,” a 6’3″ firefighter decorated six times for heroism in a 14-year career, was lost along with a firefighter cousin, Peter Freund in the WTC, leaving behind three children under five.
Firefighter John McAvoy of Ladder 3 coached hockey teams on Staten Island where he lived. Family members tell a story of one day when he was out on a jog, he pulled two elderly people out of a burning house, went back in and rescued the cat, then continued on to finish his run.
Son of a cop, grandson of a firefighter, Joseph Maloney was 45 years old on 9/11. His wife later found this note between their children’s birth certificates: “Honey, if I die and if on the FDNY, you will fare OK…. I love you, Joseph and Megan (his children). Sorry I had to leave you so early. Your father and husband, Joseph E. Maloney.”
When BETTER ANGELS was on tour with the NFFF in 2011, our third stop was in Cincinnati where we were invited to exhibit as part of the World Burn Congress by the Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors. This was a deeply humbling experience for me and my first introduction to the burn community. For 3 days there was a steady pilgrimage to find the face of Jeffrey Giordano on the wall because of all the work he had done for the burn community. Giordano had promised his father-in-law, dying of burns at New York Hospital, that he would become a firefighter. He did. And he then spent his 14-year highly-decorated career working to help burn survivors. New York Hospital named a children’s playroom in their Burn Center for him in 2002.
Gerard Dewan moved from Boston to New York because there weren’t any openings in the Boston Fire Department at the time. The son of a firefighter who was also the son of a firefighter, this 5-year FDNY veteran always planned to one day return to Boston.
James Raymond Coyle loved all things about being a firefighter, following in the footsteps of both his grandfathers. The last time his mother saw him was the morning of 9/11 when a local TV station was doing a cooking segment in the firehouse. Having finished the night shift, he was having a meal when the call came in. Joining the others, he was part of the “heavy” crew that day.
If none of the coffee cups had handles at Ladder 3, it was because Michael Carroll, 39, snapped them all off. It was “a habit that couldn’t be stopped.” This 16-year FDNY veteran was the chauffeur for Ladder 3 and was “an incredible teacher for the younger firemen.” He left behind a young son and daughter.
Lt. Kevin Donnelly was sworn in as an FDNY firefighter on his 21st birthday. 43 years later he would give his life doing that job at the WTC. His other love was apparently the beach, planning to one day become a lifeguard again as he was in his youth. His mother wrote that he was never without swim trunks, a towel and goggles in his car – just in case.
Ladder 3 lost all 11 men who rode in “heavy” on 9/11. First is Paddy Brown. I learned early about Captain Patrick Brown once “Better Angels” began its tour because, along with B.C. Ray Downey, he was the firefighter other firefighters knew best. His reputation preceded him. He had a baby grand in his apartment and tucked a yoga mat under his arm for his run to the firehouse. A decorated Marine sergeant in Vietnam, Guiliani called him “a legend in the life of the fire department” during his funeral mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, packed with thousands. Firefighters 3 to 4 deep lined block after block of Fifth Avenue to honor him. His stories are legion – but not mine to tell. “Men wanted to work for him because he lived his life so well,” is the last line in his NFFF biography.