Recently, I was asked to review the book We’re Not Leaving: 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal  by Dr. Benjamin J. Luft.  The book is a collection of stories from responders to the terrorist attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001.  Broken into five parts from more than thirty unique points of view, the book starts with the story of responders on the day of the attacks from the viewpoint of the police, EMTs, and firefighters.  The second section of the book deals with the days that followed the attacks and those who participated int he search for survivors.  Part three continues to deal with those who participated in the recovery efforts in the weeks and months following September 11th.  Part four was one of the most difficult for me to read.  It discussed the services, both mental and physical provided both at the site and away from it.  While their contributions were vital, I can only imagine the damage, heartache, and despair that they experienced and witnessed.  In the book’s final section, Renewal, talks about organizations established and contributions made for the long term benefit of the responders who participated throughout the ordeal. We’re Not Leaving is a well written, easy to read first person narrative account of the experiences of a number of different people connected to the 9/11 attacks.  Some powerful words and stories were shared, the most moving for me were some of the statements made by “Marvin” a paramedic who survived both collapses.  In my opinion, he sums up the struggles experienced by the EMS responders who participated that day: “And one of the things that I do resent with this whole 9/11 thing is – and no disrespect to the cops or firefighters, but just so we can make a point – everything was about the cops and the firefighters, and they act like the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) people were all on a fishing trip that day.  And I did not her anybody screaming for a cop or a fireman.  All I heard people screaming for were medics.  And even the cops and firefighters were screaming for medics.  But yet, the way the media...

After a busy September 10th I was looking forward to sleeping in on the 11th.  During my fourteen hour shift, my partner and I responded to nineteen calls.  It was an incredibly busy shift, and coupled with a few drinks afterwards at our favorite local establishment, I was ready for a morning off.  I was living in downtown Springfield in my nice little one bedroom apartment that I had occupied since graduating college earlier that year.  While I had my cell phone, I still had an apartment phone at that point, and its ringing woke me up just before 9am. I had no intention of getting out of bed so I let my answering machine pick it up.  After the greeting played and the beep sounded, my mother’s voice filled the room: “Hey, are you up?  If so, I’m sure you’re watching TV.  If not, I suggest you go turn the news on.  Call me.”  I rubbed my eyes and made my way into my living room, flopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote.  When I turned on the TV, I saw that one of the towers was on fire with reports of a plane having crashed into it.  “Must have been an airline accident” I thought.  Minutes later though, my worst fears were confirmed: as I sat on my couch, I watched United Airlines Flight 175 strike the second tower. We were under attack. I sat on my couch for the next couple of hours and watched history unfold before my eyes.  I was joined by a few friends for a couple of hours before it was time for me to head off to my Tuesday 3-11 shift.  When I went into work, I found that my partner and I were split up and I’d be working with an EMT for the day instead of my usual paramedic partner.  He was on a truck that had been deployed down into Connecticut with the anticipation that casualties from the attacks in New York City would be sent north due to overflow in the New York hospitals.  Those patients never arrived.  Everyone feared and prepared for the worst.  No one knew what to...

Many first responders risked their lives and some lost them on the day of September 11, 2001, but that does not appear to matter anymore.  In a recent article at Firehouse.com it was reported that emergency responders would not be included in this year’s 10th anniversary remembrance ceremony.  A city official cited space issues as the reason. While many fled from the scene at ground zero that day, the emergency workers from the FDNY, NYPD, the Port Authority, and other private and non-profit services ran into the fray with the intention of helping with little regard for their own safety.  While many of us are asked to potentially put our lives on the line every day, there has not been an incident of this magnitude on US soil since Pearl Harbor, and no loss of life of emergency responders has ever been seen before. In the days that followed, search efforts were on going.  People worked 24, 36, 48 hour shifts in search of not only of their friends and coworkers but also complete strangers who were counting on them Some responders from 9/11 are still “giving” to this day.  Many suffered great psychological trauma that still effects them 10 years later, and I don’t blame them.  An incident like that will change a person forever.  These sacrifices are often forgotten and need to be recognized and remembered.  If it was not for them the loss of life that day could have been even more significant. It is a travesty that these individuals, no, these heroes are not being recognized at Ground Zero as part of the ceremony.  The emergency responders on the front lines that day have consistently gotten the short end of the stick from the government, and this was a great chance for them to take a step towards making it up to them, but once again they have let not only me down, but also the more than ninety thousand emergency personnel who responded on 9/11 and the days after it. I urge every politician who is attending that day to give up their seat to allow a firefighter, an EMT, a paramedic or a police officer to attend.  That...

For this edition of EMS in the New Decade, I’ve asked my father, Peter Kier to share with us his experience related to the events of September 11th, 2001. My father is an 18 year EMT and has over 20 years experience as a Prehospital Provider in New Jersey. A few days after September 11th, he was able to participate in the recovery efforts at Ground Zero. These are his thoughts and reflections on those events nine years later. As we approach the anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy, I can’t help but think back to the trip we took to New York on September 15th. When the attack happened, I had this compelling need to go and help. With all of the training and experience I had I was sure I could be useful. But, I also felt the need to be there, to experience first hand what I was seeing on TV night after night. Our First Aid Squad finally got a chance to participate when we became part of a convoy of 21 squads and Paramedic units assigned to help assist FDNY EMS units and other volunteer squads that were already in the city. With a stop in Newark to get a briefing, pick up supplies and eat, we ventured into New York by way of the Holland Tunnel, which had been closed to public traffic since the attack. It was an eerie trip into the city, being the only vehicles on the normally crowded highways, almost like a Sci-Fi movie about being the last people on earth. Once on the other side, the reception from the crowds that lined the streets was something to behold. In an article I wrote for our town paper, I likened it to being treated as a rock star. Nine years later I can still visualize the people, hear them cheering and I continue to wonder why. This was 4 days after the attack, but they were still out there, giving us food and water at every intersection. To this day I will never understand that. Maybe they had the same need as I did, to be there, to help and participate in whatever...