Real-Life American Heroes - 9/11 Fireman

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21 COSERANS Milfaly REAL-LIFE AMERICAN HEROES YORK JUN 7 2002 10199 NY FIRST-CLASS HEROES 2001 FIRST DAY OF ISSUE PASS

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Heetwood FIREMAN The first fire company in New York City (then called New Amsterdam) was established in 1658. Buckets remained the only means of deliv- ering water to a fire in New York until 1731, when the city imported its first two fire engines from England. In 1830, a central fire bell for New York City was erected in the cupola of City Hall. Soon the city was divided into eight fire districts, each with its own watch tower and alarm bell. Today, the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) is comprised of over 11,000 expert firefighters and almost 3,000 paramedics and EMTs. It protects more than eight million people and countless billions of dollars in property over a sprawling area of 320 square miles. On the nightmarish morning of September 11, 2001, as the world watched, the immeasurable heroism and extraordinary courage of the firefighter was displayed in a way more powerful and more tragic than most people had ever imagined. Even as the furi- ously burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were desper- ately being evacuated, hundreds of FDNY firefighters - in amazingly selfless defiance of every natural human instinct for survival - were racing into the doomed buildings, determinedly climbing the endless flights of stairs on their way to battle the incredible raging infernos above. With total disregard for their own personal safety, and without the slightest hesitation, they rushed bravely into unparalleled dangers and unimaginable terror, each one knowing that he faced almost certain death. In the end, 343 firefighters perished on that utterly terrible day, giving up their lives for the slightest chance to save the lives of others. In all of human history, true heroism has rarely been so clearly defined.