Better Angels

Tag: Ladder Co. 132

  • Firefighter Sergio Villanueva

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    Sergio Villanueva, 33, was engaged to be married. A transplant from Argentina, Villanueva was an ardent soccer fan and a member of the FDNY’s soccer team. Friends said he would be hoarse for days after watching an Argentinian soccer match because he shouted so much.

    Villanueva spent eight years in the NYPD before the opportunity arose to join the FDNY.

    Raised in his father’s restaurant in Bayside, he was so good in the kitchen everyone at Ladder 132 was glad when he was in charge of dinner. He not only remembered all the recipes, (and cooked them well), he apparently also remembered the words to every Barry Manilow song ever recorded.

  • Firefighter John Vigiano II

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    John Vigiano II, 36, was from one of the four sets of FDNY brothers who lost his life on 9/11. His brother, two years younger and very close to him was an NYPD detective. They both responded to the attack at the WTC. Both lost their lives there. Their father, a retired FDNY captain, was one of the Band of FDNY Fathers who went to Ground Zero every day for months and months, hoping to help find their sons. Joseph responded to the North Tower and his remains were eventually found. John responded with Ladder 132 to the South Tower and was never found.

    John Vigiano had two young daughters, aged 6 & 3. He was the chauffeur for L132 and reportedly loved driving the truck. He was a great hockey player and would sometimes rent out the whole rink just for family & friends.

  • Firefighter Thomas Mingione

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    There were two expectant fathers in Ladder 132. The second was Thomas Mingione, 34, whose first child, a daughter, was born in December. He had been married less than 18 months.

    Mingione joined the NYPD when he was 20 in 1987. He joined the FDNY in 1992.

    In his family, his nickname was “Topshelf Tommy” because he liked the best of everything.

  • Firefighter Michael Kiefer

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    Michael Kiefer, 25, was still a probie on 9/11. He had joined the FDNY in December, 2000, after getting perfect scores on both the physical & written exams. Before that he had been an FDNY paramedic for 18 months.

    Kiefer started dressing as a firefighter at age 3 after his dad took him for his first firehouse visit. He wrote “FDNY” on all his schoolbooks. He used to listen to the police scanner to hear about fires, then race his bicycle to the scene to watch. When he was old enough he joined the local Junior Firefighters, and then volunteered with various Long Island companies, “always looking for more action.”

    He was also very religious. A priest once asked him if he had considered going into the priesthood (which he had). He answered: “You save the souls and I’ll save the bodies.”

    A lifeguard on Long Beach before he joined the FDNY, he was known for swimming 15 miles at a time and surfing all year round.

  • Firefighter Andrew Jordan

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    The youngest of Andrew Jordan’s four children was born on September 26th. He was working on 9/11 so he could have some extra time when his son was born. Jordan, 36, had always worked two jobs. He was also an electric lineman. Fellow firefighters described him as “a real fun-loving guy. A big fellow but a gentle giant.”

    He was inspired to join the FDNY during Hurricane Gloria in 1985. With the power out, a neighbor lit a kerosene lamp that somehow ignited the whole house. Jordan had the presence of mind to pull the neighbor’s car out of the garage so there wouldn’t be an even bigger catastrophe. Then he led a disabled woman to safety. In 1994 he joined the FDNY. He must have loved the job because he put up with a two-and-a-half hour commute to get to it.

  • B.C. Thomas Haskell Jr.

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    B.C. Thomas Haskell, Jr. became a Battalion Chief at 37. He joined the department during his senior year at college and finished his degree in night school. He moved quickly up through the ranks stationed in one after another of the busiest firehouses in the city, ending at ”The Eye of the Storm,” Ladder 132 in Brooklyn.

    Haskell loved football and played in high school, college and for the FDNY’s Bravest team. Later he switched to coaching. He even inserted a football stadium into the elaborate 3-train Christmas Village he created each year.

    Haskell married his high school sweetheart and they had three daughters. His younger brother, Timothy, was also a firefighter. Tommy led his crew into the South Tower and they all perished in the first collapse. His brother died in the collapse of the North Tower 30 minutes later.