FDNY

Our hero that we chose to acknowledge from the September 11th tragedy is FDNY (Fire Department of New York). Firefighting began in New York as early as 1648. It wasn't until 84 years later that firefighting units were established. Two hand-drawn pumps were brought from London and were the first fire engines to be used in the early colonies. All citizens that were able were required to respond to fires and perform duty under the supervision of the Aldermen. An alderman is a person governing a kingdom or district. After the Revolutionary War the Fire department was reorganized and was named the Fire Department of the City of New York.

September 11th was probably one of the worst days in memory for both the New York Fire Department and the citizens of America. So many lives were lost. Over 3,000 civilian lives were lost, and over 300 firefighters were lost due to cruel terrorist acts. And so many firefighters were lost because of their bravery. They knew that they were heading into a dangerous situation, but that's what they were trained to handle. So all it was in their eyes was another fire. But they didn't know that they would lose so many lives.

There are two reasons why the New York Firefighters are truly heroes in my eyes. First is their strength to carry on after the attacks. They didn't give in to the terrorists' cruel actions. They just kept on doing what they do. I honestly wouldn't have resigned from being a firefighter if I was a firefighter and I lived through that day. I can’t imagine what was going through their heads as the came up to the Twin Towers and saw them on fire. I would really like to know if they were scared when they saw this, or if they were just focusing on getting in, rescuing people, and getting out.

Another reason is because of their ongoing determination to save lives. And that's why I think that they are the ultimate lifesavers in the world. Because I don’t know one person that would go into a burning building just for the sake of saving as many people as they possibly could, with the risk of them not coming back out. To me that is just truly heroic.

The reason why I chose the New York Firefighters as my heroes is because despite the danger that they faced on September 11th, they didn't hold back. They continued to enter into the towers to attempt to save as many people as possible. And that's about as non-selfish as a person can get. For them to risk, and lose their own lives just to make sure that others are safe. The New York Fire Department showed me on September 11th how brave they were. They saved all the lives that they could at the cost of some of their own. That's why I can say the members of the New York Fire Department are my heroes.