By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — When Joseph Angelini III, whose hero father and grandfather both died responding to the 9/11 terror attack, received the email welcoming him to the FDNY’s next academy class, he noticed when the message had been sent — 9:11 a.m.
He took it as a sign.
“Being a firefighter is a big thing in my family,” Angelini, 26, told the Daily News as he prepared for his graduation Wednesday. “It’s a tradition. And now I can bring new life to a tragic event.”
Angelini’s grandfather, Joseph Angelini Sr., and father, Joseph Angelini Jr., were among the 343 FDNY members killed in the World Trade Center collapse.
At 63, with four decades in the department, Joseph Angelini Sr., part of the FDNY’s Rescue 1 in Manhattan, was the oldest and longest-serving city firefighter at the time, officials said.
That September, the elder Angelini had been assigned to light duty, which restricted him from fighting fires. But when he heard that his 38-year-old son’s company, Ladder Co. 4, was in the World Trade Center, he left his post and plowed into the collapsing building, friends said at the time.
Probie Angelini was a toddler when word came that his father and grandfather had been lost in the Twin Towers collapse.
“I remember my mom crying hysterically [that day],” Angelini remembered. “That was my core memory. It stuck with me because I didn’t realize what was going on and what was going through her head.”
But for every memory of that horrific day, and the terrible days and weeks that followed, the Lindenhurst, L.I., native has many, many more fond memories of gardening with his dad, looking through car magazines together or working on his father’s cherished 1964 Corvette, which he still owns and has fully restored.
He also remembers his extended FDNY family — his father and grandfather’s colleagues, who would always check in to see if he, his mother, Donna, and his two sisters needed anything.
“I had so many different dads because of the Fire Department,” he said. “They stepped up to be a part of my life and that made it a lot easier. If I ever needed anything or needed someone to talk to, I could turn to them.”
Angelini always wanted to be a firefighter. He took the test as soon as he could but had to wait eight years before an FDNY Fire Academy class was formed.
“I was a welder for a bit — custom-fab stuff — and I got into real estate,” Angelini recalled. But he would check his email every day, looking for the nod from the FDNY.
Angelini was having breakfast with his friends when the FDNY email popped into his inbox, welcoming him to the next academy class. He’s one of 326 probies to graduate on Wednesday. About 50% of the class, which includes six women, are people of color.
“Public service is among the most noble careers, and these probationary firefighters are among an elite and incredible group who choose to put their lives at risk in service of others,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said. “The FDNY is a family — and so it comes as no surprise that those who have already given so much will continue to honor their family legacy and continue to serve our city.”
Angelini called his academy class “a blessing.”
“We all talk about how lucky we are to get the call,” he said. “I came in with high spirits and a smile on my face every day.”
Angelini’s mom wasn’t too fond of him following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps for obvious reasons, but soon learned how important the decision was for her son.
“She got overwhelmed about it, but she saw why I wanted it so badly,” he said. “I think [she and the rest of my family] are more excited about graduation than I am.”
At the academy, Angelini quickly realized his family name still carries a lot of weight in the FDNY.
“When I was at the quartermaster picking up my gear, two firefighters immediately remembered my name and said I had big shoes to fill,” he recalled. “I didn’t realize how many bells the name still rings. Some people say they were sorry about what happened, but a lot more had happy memories of them. All of them were good. I felt very close to them, being there.”
As he prepares for his posting in Queens, Angelini plans to learn from those memories as he carves his own path in the department.
“I want to do my own thing,” he said. “Since the beginning, I didn’t want to take my dad’s number. That’s his number.
“I want to make my own legacy,” he said.
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