As mark the 25-year remembrance of 9/11, FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito joins podcast hosts Lt. Aaron Zamzow, Jim Dudley and Rob Lawrence for a deeply personal conversation about 9/11, its enduring impact and the lessons that continue to shape fire, EMS and law enforcement. Esposito was a newly promoted FDNY lieutenant on Sept. 11, 2001. He recalls returning to the city after the towers fell, the collapse of command and communications, the desperate effort to account for missing members, and the realization that FDNY had suffered unimaginable losses.
The discussion also examines what emergency services learned: stronger accountability, controlling self-deployment, incident management teams, interoperable communications, interagency cooperation, intelligence sharing and peer support. Esposito reflects on the continuing toll of World Trade Center-related illness and explains why “never forget” must mean more than remembering 343 names. For him, it means remembering the decisions responders made, the conditions they faced and the thousands of lives their actions helped save. His challenge to today’s generation is simple: Know your job, keep learning, take care of your people and ask whether you are prepared to “measure up” to those who came before.
Key quotes from Chief Esposito
- “Never forget is not just their names and who they were, how they lived their lives, and most importantly, the decisions that they made that day and the actions that they took.”
- “They’re like, ‘No, we think we lost everybody.’ And that was when it started to sink in that no, this is gonna be as bad as it could be.”
- “If we never showed up and we had no losses that day, the loss of civilians is in the tens of thousands.”
- “This is your legacy. This is our legacy, this is what we do, and these are the people that did this before us.”
- “I believe that some of them knew that they were not going to make it home that night. And they still did their job.”
- “September 12th came, the doors of the firehouse went up, people got on fire trucks, and they went out and did their job.”
- “It was like an all-star team that we lost. Some of the best people to ever do this job we lost that day.”
- “I see my job here and our job in this building and headquarters is to take care of the people that take care of the city.”
- “We have no idea. We’re in a firehouse or an ambulance one second and in five minutes we could be in the worst situation we’ve ever been in.”
- “It’s our job to make sure that the people in the field are prepared and when they need something, it’s our job to get it for them.”
Thank you to our sponsor
This crossover episode of the Policing Matters, Better Every Shift and EMS One-Stop podcasts is sponsored by FirstNet — the only wireless network built with and for first responders. Twenty-five years ago, first responders faced an emergency unlike any other. They stepped forward to protect and care for others, demonstrating extraordinary courage and resolve. This September 11th, we remember and honor those who answered the call. The example they set endures through the values that continue to inspire the profession today. Learn more about FirstNet, Built with AT&T, at www.firstnet.com.
Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. You can also follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback.
