ORLANDO, Fla. — Every year on Sept. 11, people all over the United States remember the nearly 3,000 people who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Of that number, 343 were firefighters who lost their lives serving their community. Orlando Fire Department Lt. Felix Marquez spent seven years responding to calls in the Bronx with FDNY and was with the department during the Sept. 11.

He said when he drove a firetruck to the World Trade Center that day, he thought it would be a routine call for assistance. What he found when he arrived was not something he could have ever expected.

“Sept. 11, 25 years ago, changed my life,” Marquez said. “As we are pulling up, we hear a rumble …you hear bodies falling, you hear debris falling … it was so chaotic, screaming, yelling, people running. It was so loud — it was so crazy.”

He spent nearly 20 hours trapped by rubble inside a building. After he was rescued, he went home to clean up, told his family he was alive and went back to work.

“I spent hours, hours, if I spent 80 hours downtown in a week, that was minimum,” Marquez said.

For weeks, all he did was search the piles of rubble.

“I remember a gentleman, while we were in the rubble taking a break come over and snapped a picture, and we were so angry that this guy took a picture during this horrible time,” Marquez said.

That picture was featured in the Marvel comic book released just after 9/11, and Marquez said his perspective changed after that.

“Thank God for that guy and those people who had the bravery and the courage to pull out a camera take pictures and take videos,” Marquez said.

Moments documented on the pages and other memories are found in Felix’s attic, like the uniform he wore on 9/11.

“It reminds me of the days that I worked up there and what took place that day,” Marquez said.

He also received watches and a ribbon to recognize his service.

“No, we are not the heroes,” Marquez said. “The heroes are the guys who sacrificed out there. I got lucky.”

He said survivor’s guilt led him to move to Florida in 2003 to start over. For years, he never shared his story or talked about what he had been through. But he said that he now knows how important it is for the young firefighters around him to hear it.

“9/11 to them is history,” Marquez said. “But 9/11 to me is a memory, and I think about that a lot.” 

 “On somebody’s worst day when they call 911, they expect us to be ready and they expect us to preform,” he added. “That will never change and that is why that matters.”

This year marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, and Marquez is still behind the wheel and said he never forgets to check the mirrors to see how far he has come since he drove the firetruck on that horrific day.

“Don’t look at me only as a survivor of 9/11 who moved to Orlando,” Marquez said. “I want the story to be that I am a survivor of 9/11, but 25 years later, I continue to serve my department.” 

Marquez said he still goes back to New York every year for his annual wellness check. It’s a necessary step as many of the first responders have died from illnesses linked to 9/11. Marquez is the only surviving member of his crew, everyone else has died of cancer.

Marquez said he is happy to report that he is still healthy and will be going back for his annual check next month.