SACRAMENTO, California — Hundreds of firefighters across Northern California gathered in Sacramento to honor the 343 firefighters who rushed into danger to save people on Sept. 11, 2001 and made the ultimate sacrifice.
First responders climbed what was equivalent to 110 stories at the downtown Esquire Tower Monday, holding the names of every firefighter who perished and then symbolically ringing a bell once they reached the top.
Some in attendance, like Sacramento Fire Chief Chris Costamagna, reflected on their time at New York City’s Ground Zero, where they assisted with search and recovery efforts.
“I guess the surreal part for me was I’d been to NYC, I’d seen the towers, and then to see when we got there a 110-story building reduced to like five stories of rubble,” Costamagna said. “It took your breath away.”
Costamagna went to New York in hopes of finding survivors in what was left of the Twin Towers, but after two weeks of combing through the destruction, his team found no one alive.
“The hardest part for me was losing a good friend, Dana Hannon. He was a NYC Firefighter. He was working that day on engine 26 so that was hard. It’s always been hard,” he said.
Now, 22 years later, Costamagna is honoring his friend and the hundreds of others who gave their lives that September day through a memorial stair climb and ceremony. But like others who helped with the cleanup at Ground Zero, he wonders about the health impact of breathing in weeks of toxic dust.
“I worry about it. It’s like walking through a minefield. We get tested every year but every little thing you feel, everything you see on your skin, you worry about it and I know that all the responders worry about it,” he said. “We did our best to protect our lungs but the inhalation hazard was off the chart.”
As he reflects on all that was lost on Sept. 11, he remembers all that was found: bravery, sacrifice and a calling to serve others, even on the worst of days.
“No matter what you call us to do, we’re going to do it,” said Costamagna. “They saved over 3,000 people that day by getting them out of the building. The 343 people who passed knew they did something bigger than themselves and I think that’s in the heart of every firefighter. We don’t choose the calls we go on but we give it our all when we’re there.”
Watch more on ABC10: 9/11 | 22 years since the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil
