Irvington News

Irvington Firefighter Recalls Experiences at Ground Zero

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September 12, 2024

By Jeff Wilson—

They didn’t forget.

The Village of Irvington held its annual 9/11 ceremony on the appointed day at 8:30 a.m. in Scenic Hudson Park, commemorating the tragic day 23 years ago when 2,997 people perished in the infamous terror attacks.

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In addition to spectators, a row of firefighters, police and Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps (IVAC) members in dress uniform stood at attention. Mayor Jon Siegel opened the proceedings, pointing out that a large percentage of Americans were born after 9/11 and didn’t live through the catastrophe themselves. They need to learn three things, according to Siegel.

“First, honor the innocent victims who were taken that day. Second, remember the courage of the first responders and the others who risked everything to help, and in hundreds of cases gave their lives. Third, remember the world’s reaction,” Siegel said.

“If 9/11 does nothing else, it reminds us that we must remain committed to self-sacrifice, bravery, and to peaceful coexistence,” the mayor added.

Following a prayer by Reverend Robert Ashman, the first of three ministers in attendance, was keynote speaker Kevin Gallagher, an Irvington firefighter who recounted his gritty – and at times grisly – experiences as a New York City police

officer performing rescue and cleanup at Ground Zero in the days and weeks after 9/11.

Gallagher opened with some sobering statistics of fatalities. Firefighters’ death toll on 9/11: 343; death toll from 9/11-related illnesses since that day: 375.

Police fatalities on 9/11: 72; post-9/11: 317. Eight EMT’s also died.

The firefighter went on to praise Irvington’s first responders for the important roles each played at Ground Zero. The fire department was dispatched in three different teams to various locations downtown. The police department sent eight officers to Ground Zero over several days to assist the NYPD and Port Authority Police, while IVAC members, who’d set up for triage at the train station, were told to prepare for injured persons brought up from Ground Zero by train. Gallagher’s first assignments involved assisting the U.S. Coast Guard with evacuations and “later to enforce a security zone in the Hudson River,” he said. (These maritime duties were right up Gallagher’s alley, having spent nine years in the Coast Guard Reserve.) He would end up working seven days straight before going home.

Gallagher related vivid memories of the nearly two months he spent working 12-hour days at the oven-hot, malodorous pile that was Ground Zero. Trudging on the thick layer of dust covering the streets, he said, felt like “walking on a mattress. I was struck by the incredible destruction,” he mused. “I don’t recall seeing one intact chair, desk, phone, or computer. Just …. pulverized rubble, chunks of steel and concrete. Pockets of fire and smoke stretched as far as the eye could see,” he went on.

On the first day, with the collapse only hours old, the concern was digging for survivors. “We pulled the bodies of several victims buried in the rubble,” Gallagher said.

He spoke of encountering a fellow officer “dazed, dirt-covered” – the firefighter choked up and paused for a full 10 seconds – “and bleeding with a large piece of glass sticking out of her head.” A glimmer of joy punctuated this grim narrative as Gallagher recalled the recovery and happy ending for his injured colleague.

“By the way, she’s still working, and she recently celebrated her 41st year with the NYPD,” he announced.

When human remains were unearthed, Gallagher explained, they would be put in a plastic bag and brought to the morgue command post. “Unfortunately, the remains were often barely recognizable,” he lamented, “but you felt a sense of hope that once identified, the family of the victim had something to mourn over and bury with dignity.”

If there was any upside, it was the camaraderie. “Police, firefighters, paramedics, military, construction, heavy equipment operators worked together with a singular focus and purpose,” said Gallagher.

Workers’ morale was lifted by the cheering, flag-waving civilians lining the West Side Highway each day.

“Twenty-three years on, I still pause and render a salute whenever I pass the site,” Gallagher shared as he wrapped up his talk.

He urged the public to visit the 9/11 Museum, and ended with high praise for his colleagues. “Your Irvington first responders answered the call of duty that day. It’s important to make that response part of our village history. When you hear the horn blow on top of Town Hall, rest assured that help is on the way.”

Another prayer followed, this one by Reverend Blaine Crawford. After a moment of silence came the placing of the wreaths by Fire Chief James Ruffler. He was joined by Captain Ellen Levit of IVAC and Police Chief Frank Pignatelli.

Next, a particularly soulful rendition of TAPS. The ceremony wrapped up with a benediction by Reverend Gareth Evans.

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