A quarter of a century after the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the nation pauses to remember the thousands of lives lost in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where courageous passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 fought back to prevent their hijacked aircraft from reaching another target. While the attacks reshaped the global political and military landscape, they also forged an enduring bond among emergency personnel across the country. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, hundreds of Chicago Fire Department members mobilized to travel east, stepping forward to assist overwhelmed rescue teams at Ground Zero.
The morning of the attacks began with shock and uncertainty across the country, including in Chicago. Jim Joyce, who was serving as the Chicago Fire Department commissioner at the time, was exercising at a downtown gymnasium before his workday when news broadcasts revealed the devastation unfolding at the World Trade Center towers. Shortly thereafter, Joyce received an urgent communication from Chicago City Hall, where officials were weighing whether to shut down municipal operations over fears that the city could be the next target of an attack.
Joyce firmly pushed back against the proposal to close City Hall, arguing that such an action would project panic rather than resilience. He countered that potential threats could emerge anywhere and questioned whether the city genuinely wanted to convey a message of fear and confusion to its residents. Ultimately, Chicago’s municipal headquarters remained open, while firefighters across the city watched the catastrophic events unfold with a growing determination to assist their fallen counterparts in New York.
Among the first wave of personnel dispatched to assist was Pat Maloney, a retired CFD Chief of Operations who now serves as the fire chief in Niles. Maloney recalled the surreal atmosphere as his contingent crossed the George Washington Bridge into New York under the cover of darkness. The familiar sights that had been broadcast repeatedly on television gave way to the overwhelming, disorienting reality of lower Manhattan illuminated against the night sky.
Upon reporting to the disaster site, the Chicago contingent immediately checked in with the incident commander to receive operational assignments. Maloney vividly remembered the commander’s grim greeting, who welcomed the team to "Hell" before immediately assigning ten members with two hand lines to suppress active fires burning within the wreckage. The remaining crew members were promptly assigned to the massive, smoking debris field to search for possible survivors.
Reinforcements from Chicago continued to arrive in the subsequent hours. Retired firefighter Tom Ryan, who also served as president of the Local 2 firefighters union, was among the personnel who reached the site the following day. Ryan and his fellow first responders quickly went to work amid the destruction, relying on rudimentary tools, buckets, and their bare hands to sift through the vast mound of rubble in hopes of finding anyone still alive beneath the collapsed structures.
The rescue and recovery environment was hazardous and taxing. Chicago crews spent grueling hours inhaling air saturated with dense particulate matter and dust generated by the destruction of the twin towers. The work demanded relentless physical exertion, with responders logging 16- to 18-hour shifts each day. Overcome by exhaustion, many Chicago firefighters rested and slept directly on nearby sidewalks before resuming their shifts on the debris pile.
In addition to search operations, Chicago personnel stepped forward to honor the staggering number of fallen first responders. The attacks claimed the lives of 343 members of the Fire Department of New York, alongside 60 police officers and eight paramedics. To support the grieving department and local families, Chicago firefighters attended numerous memorial services dressed in full uniform, a gesture of solidarity that was deeply appreciated by the victims' relatives.
The shared trauma and mutual support fostered relationships between the two departments that have endured for decades. One notable Chicago firefighter who deployed to Ground Zero was Herbie Johnson, who later lost his life in the line of duty while battling a blaze in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood in 2012. Demonstrating their reciprocal gratitude, dozens of FDNY members made the journey to Chicago to attend Johnson’s funeral services.
Johnson's legacy, along with the memory of the fallen 9/11 responders, remains permanently preserved in Chicago. A recovered piece of structural steel from the World Trade Center was donated in Johnson’s honor and now stands as a dedicated memorial at King-Lockhart Park. Furthermore, New York firefighters continue to travel to Chicago every year to participate in the annual Herbie Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament.
The passage of 25 years has not diminished the physical and emotional scars left by the response efforts. Over the past two and a half decades, hundreds of first responders have died from illnesses directly linked to the toxic dust and fumes inhaled during operations at Ground Zero. To this day, the remains of more than 1,000 victims killed in the collapse of the towers have never been identified, while surviving responders, including Maloney and Ryan, continue to manage long-term medical conditions resulting from their service at the site.
As the 25th anniversary of the tragedy is marked, both Maloney and Ryan are returning to New York to participate in commemorative ceremonies, keeping alive their vow to never forget the sacrifices made that day. Looking back on the fateful events, former commissioner Joyce expressed profound relief that Chicago was spared from the devastation, acknowledging the lingering realization that their own city could easily have been in the crosshairs.
Reflecting on the mission that brought Chicago’s bravest to New York during one of the darkest moments in American history, Maloney emphasized the deep spirit of unity that defined their deployment. He noted that when the FDNY had been brought to its knees by unprecedented tragedy, Chicago firefighters stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them to help them rise again, carrying forward the enduring principle that united they would stand together.
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