Better Angels

Tag: Squad Co. 288

  • Firefighter Timothy Welty

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    Timothy Welty, 34, joined the FDNY in 1993.

    Very athletic, Welty was strong enough to do two-finger pull-ups or pushups, or raise a heavy maul off the floor with a straight arm. He enjoyed bungee-jumping, parachuting, mountain climbing, hockey, ski- and motorcycle-racing. Welty traveled internationally to compete as a member of the FDNY’s volleyball team. On the job he was known for his energy and aggressive firefighting.

    Welty had two children. The youngest, his daughter, was just one-month old. It was not unusual for his four-year-old son to join his father at the firehouse and play in the kitchen while the men ate breakfast. He already had his own pair of hockey skates and practiced with his dad near their home in Yonkers.

  • Firefighter Adam Rand

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    Adam Rand, 30, grew up wanting to be a firefighter, and joined the FDNY in 1995. Rand was a volunteer firefighter in Bellmore, Long Island, in charge of training. Fighting fires was his calling. On August 25th, he had become engaged to his longtime girlfriend, with plans to be married in January.

    His remains were found on December 7th.

  • Firefighter Jonathan Ielpi

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    Jonathan Ielpi, 29, was a very talented hockey player who gave it up completely when he joined the FDNY just so he would never injure himself and impair his work as a firefighter. That’s how much he loved the job. He came by the job “honestly” – his brother’s a firefighter as was his father – well-decorated and five years retired on 9/11. Ielpi was a six-year veteran of the FDNY but had been a firefighter for twice that, joining the Great Neck Vigilant Volunteer Fire Department on Long Island when he was just 17. By 9/11 he was their Chief. This son of a firefighter had two sons of his own, aged 3 and 9. Jonathan called his father that morning. “Turn on the TV,” he said, “we’re going to the World Trade Center.” “OK, buddy. Be careful.” his father answered.

     

    Lee Ielpi – Jonathan’s father – arrived at the WTC about 20 minutes after the second collapse. He was there every day for the next nine months, bonding with other firefighter fathers looking for their sons. Jonathan’s body was found intact in a fragment of a stairwell in the South Tower on December 11th, three months to the day after the disaster. Lee stayed on the job looking for other sons for six more months.

    In time, Lee was one of the founders of the September 11th Families Association which created the Tribute Center next to Ten House down at Ground Zero. Jonathan Ielpi’s turnout coat and helmet are on display there: www.tributewtc.org.

  • Firefighter Joseph Hunter

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    Joseph Hunter, 32, was 6’2” and a “stunningly handsome” bachelor. He loved fire trucks from when he was a little boy and would race his Big Wheel to the corner to watch every time he heard the siren wail. Later he would follow them as far as he could on his bicycle.

    At 18 he joined the South Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department where he was the hydrant man extraordinaire for the “Rascals” in the annual drill races. “Joe was referred to as the best hydrant man in Nassau County, which meant he could get off the truck, get the hose on the hydrant and turn on the water in fractions of a second.” This is something he had practiced as a kid, setting up his own drill team in his backyard, practicing with neighborhood kids using his dad’s ladder, the little red wagon and the garden hose. He had always been serious about firefighting.

    Hunter had six years in the FDNY, the last two in Squad 288. There’s a short video clip that has had wide play of Hunter and two others from Squad 288, in gear, walking towards the South Tower.

  • Firefighter Ronnie Gies

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    Ronnie Gies, 43, graduated Probie School in 1988 and by 1990 had moved into Special Operations with Squad 288 in Queens. For 25 years, Gies had also been a volunteer firefighter in Merrick, Long Island where he lived. He was Chief of Department there twice. When his own house burned down in 1999, the hardest thing for Gies was to be the recipient of favors and the charity of his neighbors and friends. He was much more comfortable with and used to being the one who helped others.

    Thankfully he had a lot of carpentry skills and he built his family a new home, including a large finished basement for his three sons, “the boys,” aged 19, 17, and 14. “They were what he lived for.”

    His promotion to Lieutenant was made September 10th, but he never knew. It was awarded to him posthumously later that fall.

  • Lt. Ronald Kerwin

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    Lt. Ronnie Kerwin, 42, was “the fun parent” according to his wife, always suggesting family outings. Some of these were spontaneous, some were planned. All were fun.

    Appointed in 1981, Kerwin was a 20-year veteran with the FDNY and a 16-year veteran of the Levittown Volunteer Fire Department, their chief for the last eight years. He was made a Fire Marshall in 1993 and a Lieutenant in 1997. Accepted into Special Operation Command in 1999, Kerwin was hand-picked to join the newly formed Squad 288 in Queens.

    Kerwin was a graduate of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the father of three: 12-, 9- and 6-years-old.