Students Honor Heroes In Remembrance Of September 11

By Larissa Lytwyn

September 11 marked the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The day is still fresh in the minds of Americans of all ages, including young students in Gary Wilkinson and Karen King’s fifth grade classes at Reed Intermediate School.

In the days preceding the tragic date, Ms King taught her class about the heroes of 9/11, from police and firefighters to dogs who helped identify the remains of loved ones among the rubble.

She used books and other forms of media to educate students.

As a culminating activity, Ms King and Mr Wilkinson invited firefighters from each of the town’s five, all-volunteer fire companies, as well as Nancy Kokoski, administrative assistant at the town’s fire marshal’s office, and Fire Prevention Officer Bob Nute, to visit.

“My son, Robert, is one of Ms King’s students this year,” explained Ms Kokoski.

The special visit, she continued, was considered “a great opportunity for students to ask questions about what firefighters actually do [in addition to fighting fires].”

Of course, she noted, the overriding theme of the day would be remembering September 11.

The visit was scheduled on September 10, just 24 hours shy of the nation’s Day of Remembrance.

When Chris Sadler of Botsford, Terry Cuomo of Dodgingtown, Mike McCarthy of Hook and Ladder, and Dave Jossick of Hawleyville arrived at Reed, handmade “welcome” signs crafted by Ms King and Mr Wilkinson’s students greeted them.

The students had prepared a series of questions to ask their local heroes, including identifying the most rewarding, and in turn, most challenging, aspects of their job, fondest memories — and how they had spent their day on September 11, 2001.

Mr Sadler, a professional firefighter in Greenwich, described his colleagues at Botsford as “a second family.” The firehouse, he said, was an environment in which family and friends were always welcome to visit.

Perhaps, suggested Ms King, this was why, like police officers, firefighters tended to run in families. “[As a family member], you have the opportunity to spend a lot of time [at the firehouse],” she said. “You can definitely learn things on the way.”

Among the men visiting that day, however, none had close family members who were also firefighters.

When asked why he decided to become a firefighter, Mr Nute gestured to his young audience and answered simply, “Because of all of you.”

“It’s like on September 11, when people from all over came to volunteer their time and help each other,” said Ms King. “They didn’t know the people they were helping, they were all strangers, but it didn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter,” echoed Mr Nute. “It never does.”

Volunteer firefighters, Ms Kokoski said, spend hundreds of hours worth of training to become certified, which is reinforced with continuous training once they actually begin duty.

While many volunteer firefighters maintain other jobs such as construction and plumbing, according to Mr Nute, each carries a special pager that is on at all times to alert them if a call is made.

Youngsters can begin training independently or through organizations like the Boy Scouts of America at approximately age 15.

Mr Jossick and Mr Sadler said September 11 inspired them to join the legions of volunteers descending on Ground Zero in the harsh, solemn days following the attacks.

When asked to describe the unforgettable scene, Mr Sadler said quietly, “Chaos. It was all just utter chaos.”

One student asked what it was like to go into a burning house.

“It isn’t easy!” laughed Mr Cuomo. “It’s kind of counter to what you would want to do — which, of course, would be to get out of a burning building as quickly as possible!”

He continued, “Every fire is different. It’s very hot, disorienting. The air is smoky and thick. You can’t see.”

The air mask the firefighter wears, he said, prevents their eyes, noses and lungs from feeling on fire, too.

“It’s like going into a house with your eyes closed,” added Mr Nute.

Every house is as unique as every fire, said Mr Cuomo. “Don’t forget — we’ve never been to your house before,” he said. “Now imagine it filled with [smoke].”

A tool developed in recent years, however, has made seeing in such harrowing conditions a little easier.

The firefighters use a thermal imaging camera, a $20,000 to $30,000 piece of equipment that forms images based on heat sensors instead of light.

Mr Cuomo demonstrated how the piece worked by slapping his hand against Ms King’s dry-erase board.

The image remained for several long seconds after Mr Cuomo had removed his palm.

The students were audibly impressed.

“Cool!” several gushed as Mr Cuomo walked in front of them with the camera, giving each an up-and-close-and-personal glimpse into cutting-edge technology.

Other fairly recent developments have included an alarm detector each firefighter wears that goes off when a firefighter, potentially overcome by smoke, stops moving.

The sound, a sharp, high-pitched whinny, alerts fellow firefighters to assist their fallen comrade.

Several of the firefighters said they had sustained minor and not-so-minor injuries while on duty.

Mr Sadler has had ongoing problems with his back, and Mr Murphy’s injuries have required stitches.

A student asked how the firefighters’ families felt about their fathers’ or husbands’ jobs.

“Sometimes I think they get a little scared,” said Mr Jossick, who said he had a school-aged daughter. “But I think they understand it.”

Though the actual act of putting out a fire is no doubt physically and emotionally taxing, the firefighters agreed that the most challenging part of their job was “cleanup.”

Several students laughed, apparently relating to such a chore.

“After we’ve used the equipment, we have to fill every tank [with water] for the hoses, wash our gear, things like that,” explained Mr Nute. “It can be very intensive and time-consuming.”

Ms Kokoski worked to resolve some misperceptions about what firefighters do.

In addition to fighting fires, she said, the volunteers are also on call when there is a car accident or other site of possible injury.

One thing firefighters do not do, she made clear, is rescue cats from trees — a stereotypical firefighter function.

“The fact of the matter is — [the cats] will come down!” she said with a wry smile.

Newtown’s Search and Rescue team, however, has rescued animals in years past, including a dog trapped in the center of a thinly iced pond last winter.

Mr Murphy also told students to remind their families to “immediately pull over to the right” whenever they heard the sirens of fire engines, police cars, and ambulances.

“After all, it is the law,” Mr Murphy said.

 When asked about the “worst” fires they have fought in recent memory, Mr Murphy noted this past June’s fire at legislator Julia Wasserman’s house.

Mr Nute recalled how the intense heat caused all five companies, including assisting departments from surrounding towns, to regularly shift teams.

“We were constantly putting in fresh men and relieving the ones that had [been fighting the fire for a while],” remembered Mr Nute. “It was not an easy fire to fight.”

After the question and answer period, Taylor Smith, a fifth grader in Mr Wilkinson’s class, shared a poem honoring her firefighter “heroes.”

Students then passed out cookies, pastries, and other treats to the firefighters in an honorary reception.

“I really liked the firefighters’ presentation,” said student Emily Cianci. “I was surprised to learn, however, that they didn’t ever rescue animals from trees!”

Another student, Andrew Kelley was surprised to learn that Newtown’s companies didn’t use search dogs on any of their missions.

“I know some [fire] companies use [dogs] and I was surprised to learn that [Newtown] didn’t,” he said.

The highlight of the visit for many of the students was their introduction to the thermal imaging camera.

“It was awesome,” said fifth grader Greg Frattaroli simply. “Just awesome.”

“I liked the camera, too,” said fellow student Tyler Simon. “And I liked learning how the firefighters see their [colleagues] as a second family.”