Remembering the Real 9/11
We can’t forget that day’s images, emotions & lessons
By Brian A. Crawford

Over the last 9 years, countless tributes—books, songs, films—have been made about the events of 9/11; each September, these tributes are revived as the nation collectively mourns.

As first responders, we have a responsibility to remember not only the events of the day, but the emotions: horror and humility, pain and pride, sorrow and sacrifice. Emotion is what draws us to action, to go beyond simply remembering, to prepare, plan and develop response tactics. It ensures that we’re ready in the event of future man-made disasters—and that the sacrifice of our fellow firefighters wasn’t in vain.

Remember Pride Amidst Pain
Remember the pride you felt when witnessing the acts of true heroism by the New York, Arlington and other area firefighters and police officers as well as the military responders, performing in the most extreme and adverse conditions imaginable.

Remember back to the immeasurable suffering the victims went through that day. Remember the sick feeling that overcame you as as the twin towers collapsed into a pile of ash and rubble and you began to realize the sheer magnitude of the senseless loss of citizens and firefighters. How, you wondered, could this be happening? When would it end? Would there be more?

Remember how the unconquerable American spirit rose in you when you heard the details of the United Flight 93 passengers’ valiant attempt to retake the plane, saving possibly hundreds or thousands of other innocent victims even as they knew they would die.

Remember back to that Tuesday evening as you drove home from work listening to radio, straining for any new piece of information that would make any sense of what had happened. Remember thinking—really thinking, for the first time—about how you didn’t have total control over the safety and future of your family, about how living in America no longer meant immunity from this type of apoplectic event and its associated fear.

As darkness began to fall, we felt an overwhelming sense of humanity and a deeper sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves. Photos of those lost amid the rubble began appearing on makeshift bulletin boards along streets adjacent to Ground Zero. Images of prayer and candlelight vigils began appearing from across the globe. A European neighbor lent words of comfort, saying, “Today, we are all Americans.”

Remembering in Our Own Way
Nine years later, the images are still clear—but the emotions of that day have begun to fade. We cannot let that happen. For those who gave their lives 9 years ago simply because they were firefighters, law enforcement officers, servicemen—or Americans— the very least we can do is honor their memory and sacrifice.

But as first responders, we can do more as well. We can scrutinize ourselves, our crews, our departments and our communities to ensure that we are living the lessons of 9/11 every day. Whatever your rank or fire service role at the time of the 9/11 attacks, today, as a company or chief officer, you have a responsibility to revisit that day with your crew and ask:

• What have we learned, as firefighters, from 9/11?
• Are we prepared individually, as a crew, a department and a community for a terrorist event?
• Do our disaster preparedness plans reflect heightened awareness?
• Are we serving as examples in the community by ensuring our families are prepared for disaster?
• Do we make the appropriate risk-management decisions today based on the lessons learned from 9/11?
• Are we taking an active role in cooperating with other local, state and federal organizations and supporting legislation to strengthen multi-agency command and interoperability?
• Do we have functional employee assistance programs in place for firefighters and their families following a catastrophic event?

Hopefully, this article has brought back some of the real emotion of 9/11, even if just for a few minutes. There are those who would like to forget 9/11 and act as though it never happened. But for this firefighter, not a chance—never.

Brian A. Crawford is the fire chief for and a 25-year veteran of the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department. He is a National Fire Academy (NFA) resident instructor, a NFA Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO) graduate and an IAEM Certified Emergency Manager and Commissioner. He also holds the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation and is a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers. Crawford serves as chair for the Program Planning Committee of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He holds a master’s degree in industrial psychology.

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