Peter J. Ganci Jr.

Peter J. Ganci, Jr.

What is a hero? A hero is not just someone who saves your life. They can give you dignity or confidence. Most heroes are people who help others whether they’re people or animals. Most heroes help others by spending their time and money to help them. One hero, Lance Armstrong, overcame cancer and came up with a way to raise money for people. To me, that is what a true hero is. Most people consider the New York Fire Department to be a very dedicated fire crew. In fact, my hero is one of their former chiefs, Peter J. Ganci, Jr.

Peter was born in Massapequa, New York. Before Peter started on the New York Fire Department, he was a Marine for eleven years, but then resigned and decided to be a teacher of fire safety. He did this for many years and loved it. While he was teaching, he was also training to be a fire fighter. During this time, he couldn’t have been happier. He would travel to different states teaching children about fire safety. Then he received a call to become a New York City Firefighter.

At the New York Fire Department, he first became X-chief and then worked his way up and became chief. Peter served thirty-three years on the Fire Department. But on September 11, 2001, Peter and the crew received an urgent call. The World Trade Center was hit with an airplane, so they rushed out. When they got there, another plane hit, and it became a race to save lives.

Peter went a block down and started to wire a transmitter box that manually turned on the emergency lights to the World Trade Center. As soon as he got done, the power switched on and then the transmitter blew up. He died almost instantly and fell ten feet down from a ladder. Peter died at the age of fifty-five.

Years before he died, Peter said, “I know why the Lord put me here. He put me here to help and serve.” This shows us why he was heroic. His goal in life was to help others whether it be putting out a fire or teaching children.