By Heidi Smith
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
METHUEN, Mass. — New York City firefighter Mike Wood said he was born to do his job, but he didn’t always know it.
While serving in the rescue operations during the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York, Wood relied on his religious faith to draw strength and inspiration for the job.
“The footsteps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. God gave me the ability to go through what I went through,” said Wood as he shared his experiences with church members at the Riverside Assembly of God during yesterday’s service.
Eight years ago, Wood’s uncle, who was a firefighter, talked him into taking the firefighter’s test. He said he never wanted to be a firefighter and that it was actually his two brothers who dreamed about the profession. But he took the test anyway, and he passed. His brothers did not. If you ask him why, he’ll tell you it was the Lord’s will and meant to be.
“I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news about the towers,” he said. “I was at a red light, my brother called me and told me, ‘Turn on the radio.’ I asked which one and he said, I don’t think it matters.”
Wood was off duty on Sept. 11. It was a beautiful day, he remembers. The skies were clear blue, and the plan was to head over to his uncle’s shop to repair some air conditioners.
With a flip of the radio switch, the day turned from the ordinary to a frantic whirlwind that would send Wood and the rest of the nation spiraling into a very real nightmare.
“I sat in my car frozen for a minute listening to the news. Then I punched the gas and rushed off so I could get to a TV,” said Woods. “I walked into the shop just in time to see the plane crash into the second tower.”
Shortly after, he got the call from the Fire Department to come in.
Wood’s unit was initially sent to Coney Island to set up a triage and morgue unit, but after hours of waiting, they finally got a call to head into Manhattan.
“Gray snow started falling from the sky and then we got the call that the tower collapsed,” said Wood.
As Wood and his fellow firefighters stepped off the boat, they saw trees filled with papers like they were decorated for Christmas, and a fine dust covered the streets and cars.
“A Hummer came barreling around the corner with its lights flashing, and I felt like I was in the middle of a war,” he said.
Wood and his team traveled up 48 flights of stairs to shoot water across the street onto one of the burning buildings.
“They wouldn’t let us go into the buildings because they were worried about more collapsing,” he said.
After several hours of fighting the fires, Wood was sent on a search-and-rescue mission. Debris fell everywhere, and bodies that couldn’t be moved were marked with chalk.
“The first body I saw was a fireman. His legs were hanging out from under a piece of ceiling, but they couldn’t move it so they had to just mark around his body,” he said.
The firefighters took turns going into holes to search for survivors. They had to stand guard for each other in case something collapsed while one of them was inside.
During the months following the attack, Wood had a hard time separating himself from the accident but says that was not an uncommon problem for many firefighters.
“Every time I’d come home, my only thoughts, my entire being, was absorbed in trying to find people’s remains,” he said. “I just wanted to bring something back so the people who lost loved ones could find closure.”
As he stood on the stage in the front of the church yesterday, a sea of emotions washed over his tearing blue eyes. He looked down as he explained how his wife had to grab him by the shoulders and remind him that he was needed at home, too. He said things will never be the same at work, but his wife helped him to find some peace with himself, at least when he was at home with the family.
Most people focus on the devastation of Sept. 11, but Wood tries to focus on the strength God gave him to help him through that time and the kindness that people showed during the aftermath.
“You’ll never hear me say it happened for a good reason, but I try to focus on some of the positive, like the goodness and generosity shown by so many people,” said Wood.