09/13/2026
When the towers fell on September 11, 2001, much of the world saw devastation.
The rescuers saw a place where someone might still be alive.
In the minutes, hours, and days that followed, firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, construction workers, medical teams, and volunteers entered an environment almost beyond comprehension. Mountains of twisted steel and concrete covered the site. Fires burned throughout the debris.
Still, they searched.
Among the remarkable stories to emerge from Ground Zero was that of Port Authority Police Officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno. Both were trapped beneath the rubble after entering the World Trade Center complex to help with the evacuation. Hours later, rescuers heard Jimeno calling from beneath the debris.
The effort to reach them lasted through the night.
Jimeno was eventually freed after roughly 13 hours. McLoughlin, buried even deeper, was rescued after approximately 22 hours.
And the searching continued.
FDNY Firefighter Genelle Guzman-McMillan, a civilian employee of the Port Authority, was trapped beneath the ruins of the North Tower. She remained buried for approximately 27 hours before rescuers found her alive.
She became the final survivor pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
These rescues happened while the responders themselves were grieving.
The FDNY lost 343 members on September 11. The NYPD and Port Authority Police Department also suffered devastating losses. Yet firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, ironworkers, construction crews, and volunteers continued climbing onto the pile.
They dug with tools.
They dug with buckets.
At times, they dug with their hands.
When someone thought they heard a sound, work around that area could become quiet as rescuers listened for a voice from beneath the debris.
They searched because there was always the possibility that somewhere underneath the destruction, someone was waiting for them.
Eventually, the mission changed from rescue to recovery.
But the commitment never did.
And for many responders, the sacrifice did not end when they left Ground Zero. In the years that followed, thousands of responders and survivors developed illnesses associated with exposure to the toxic environment at the World Trade Center site.
September 11 reminds the fire service what the words service, sacrifice, courage, and brotherhood truly mean.
When everyone else was trying to get out, they went in.
When the buildings came down, they went back.
When hope seemed impossible, they kept searching.
We remember those who were lost.
We honor those who answered the call.
We remember those who were rescued.
And we will never forget those who kept searching.
