NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sal Argano got lucky. When the World Trade Center was struck by hijacked jets on Sept. 11, 2001, the New York City firefighter was in Brooklyn, on loan to another station, rather than at his usual post at the small Manhattan firehouse just across an intersection from the twin towers.<\/p>\n
He rushed downtown to find his firehouse badly damaged but still standing. Six of its members, he’d later learn, were among the 343 New York City firefighters killed in the World Trade Center’s collapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t sent out on rotation there would have been a good chance I would not be here today,\u201d Argano says. \u201cI think about that all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost 25 years later, Argano, now 65, is still on duty at the firehouse \u2014 the last of the firefighters assigned there in 2001 who still works there.<\/p>\n
Today, the crews at the firehouse respond to emergency calls but also serve as a de-facto part of the 9\/11 memorial, visited by crowds of tourists daily.<\/p>\n
Some visitors come specifically to see the large bronze relief along the side of the building listing the names of the firefighters killed on 9\/11.<\/p>\n
Others pause to take selfies as they pass by on their way to the National 9\/11 Memorial plaza across the street, drawn by the sight of Engine 10 and Ladder 10, the gleaming trucks sitting in the garage that give the station its nickname: Ten House.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is definitely one of those companies where if you don\u2019t want to ingratiate yourself to the public, it\u2019s definitely not the right place,\u201d said Capt. Terence Brody, who commands Ladder 10 and has worked at the station since 2016. \u201cPeople around the world know this firehouse. They\u2019re going to come by and say hello.\u201d <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTen House served key roles during and after 9\/11<\/p>\n
Brody, now 55, was still in the fire academy on 9\/11. Cadets grabbed their gear and were bused to ground zero. <\/p>\n
The debris hung so thickly in the air around the fallen towers that it looked like it was snowing, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a beautiful sunny Tuesday, and then you\u2019re in this kind of apocalyptic atmosphere,\u201d Brody said. \u201cIt was a little overwhelming, to say the least.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the days after the attack, Ten House served as both command center and safe space for weary first responders, he said. As the years passed, its crew had a front row seat to the area\u2019s rebirth.<\/p>\n
Robert Favata joined Ladder 10 in 2008, fresh out of the academy.<\/p>\n
In those early years, he worked beside a giant hole teeming with construction activity. Now 46, he looks out at a transformed landscape. <\/p>\n
A pair of waterfall pools sit in the footprint of the old towers, ringed by parapets etched with the names of nearly 3,000 victims. Below ground, the 9\/11 Museum houses mangled steel beams, a destroyed fire truck and other artifacts. New skyscrapers ring the memorial.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got here, there was nothing,\u201d Favata says. \u201cI never thought they were gonna finish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tToday, an endless stream of visitors stop at firehouse<\/p>\n
Argano can be found most days perched near the station’s open bay doors, patiently answering questions, shaking hands and posing for photos.<\/p>\n
He says Ten House firefighters have a unique charge: they\u2019re both living testimonials to the events of 9\/11 as well as public faces of the centuries-old FDNY.<\/p>\n
Argano says he tries to impress on younger firefighters — many increasingly not even born before the attacks — the importance of treating every visitor with respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not like any other firehouse,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have our fire duty, we have our responses, and then we have a responsibility toward the people outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
He acknowledges the task is not always easy. The packs of gawking tourists can be relentless. Their questions can sometimes come across too personal, too insincere or just simply too out there. <\/p>\n
Many of the younger firefighters tend to keep a lower profile for that reason, he said. <\/p>\n
After responding to an early morning call this particular day, most of the crew heads to the back of the station to stow their gear or upstairs to help prepare lunch.<\/p>\n
Argano meanwhile chats up a firefighter from France and his wife and then invites them into the station. <\/p>\n
He points to a wall of patches from fire departments across the world that have been gifted over the years, as well as the well-worn helmets hanging in the rafters.<\/p>\n
At another point, though, a lady asks — perhaps a bit too flippantly — what’s so special about Ten House. <\/p>\n
Argano shrugs: \u201cIt\u2019s just a fire station.\u201d After she departs, he says it simply wasn\u2019t worth the effort. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I need to explain to you all of that, then it\u2019s like, \u2018Pull up a seat\u2019,\u201d Argano said. \u201cLet me get another cigarette. It\u2019s gonna be a long one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTen House members reflect on 9\/11 milestone<\/p>\n
Favata considers the approaching 25th anniversary as likely one of his last before retirement. He worries, though, if he\u2019s done enough to keep the memories of Ten House alive. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got here, so many of the guys worked 9\/11 and they told me their stories of that day,\u201d Favata said, choking on tears. \u201cI just hope I can give like a percentage of what they\u2019ve told me to the younger guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brody, meanwhile, handed in his retirement papers Tuesday. His last day will be in October. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to think that my first day in the field was right across the street, and this is where I\u2019m gonna end my career,\u201d said Brody, who writes screenplays in his spare time and has already had two of them turned into Hallmark Channel movies. <\/p>\n
But Argano, who drives Engine 10, isn\u2019t quite ready to pack it in. He fears something will be lost when no one is there who still remembers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not done. I\u2019m gonna be here as long as I can,\u201d Argano said. \u201cI\u2019m going to keep telling them what I know, what I saw, what I\u2019ve been through. Telling them the history of this firehouse. Everything I can remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Follow Philip Marcelo at https:\/\/x.com\/philmarcelo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sal Argano got lucky. When the World Trade Center was struck by hijacked jets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18924,118,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-341437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-ap-u-s-news","tag-associated-press","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}