A New York firefighter tells his story of 9/11
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2021
- The events of 9/11 are forever etched in the hearts of all Americans. Most of us still remember exactly where we were when it happened. In this episode, Acton’s Director of Communications Eric Kohn sits down with Niels Jorgensen, a retired New York firefighter, who shares his story of what happened at ground zero that day.
As we approach the 20th anniversary of September 11th, let us reflect on the bravery and courage that took place those two decades ago and to be especially thankful for all that God has given us.
20 for 20 podcast: 20 Stories for 20 Years Since 9/11
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"I look down at my dog and ask, what we gonna do now"
Dog looks back at me and say's "We're gonna go on more walks"
That's actually kinda sweet.
It really is sad how we have become divided and no longer united shortly after 9/11. It’s sadder that a lot of the younger generation don’t even remember or learn the significance of 9/11. I pray that we remember and learn so it never forgotten to be repeated again. All these men and women have gotten sick and have died for the rest of us. Please pray and remember this day. ❤
Yes and Amen.
Yeah I used to believe it when people would say “the world changed that day” or “the world will never be the same”. It was easy to believe that when we were in 2 wars in the Middle East. Sometime over the last 10 years I started to realize it’s almost as if 9/11 didn’t happen. Airport security has changed but I can totally understand if young people don’t know what people are talking about when they say the world changed.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!!
God bless America and our heroes who still suffer 🇺🇸
How could ANYONE forget ??
I wasn’t there and didn’t know anyone involved. I was in 3rd grade. I will NEVER forget. I teach my children about it and let them watch it. My husband feels the same way.
GOD BLESS YOU BROTHER! Thank you for your service! As a former Firefighter I was 18 years old when 9-11 happened we will never forget those Heroes and there family R.I.P! 😢
As I think about this talk I realize for sure that if more people don’t hear these stories no one will ever realize what life CAN BE
God bless this Fireman and his loving soul. I hope more men like him tell the story. Everyone should hear these story’s
Two most important this to take from 911 : if ever you are in a building where some thing happens that you are not comfortable with, do not listen to instructions from any "expert", do what your heart tells you. The other thing is the politicians will be quick to tell the world how much tte love our troops and emergency workers but when they do their duty and needs help, those same politicians will be very happy to throw them under the bus.
If I’m ever in a situation like that I’m gonna leave and if someone says they were told everything is ok I’m going to reply “yeah, that’s what they told people in the towers on 9/11”.
Thank you for sharing your story brother! Prayers to you for your health in years to come! I was 18 the world in front of me when this happened. I remember like yesterday. I will always remember and continue to share. Every year around July thru 9/11 I have to watch as many videos as I can to help me in some way. I don’t know what I need from it but it helps me. I cry a little less each year which makes me sad but I almost feel as if I was there that day as strange as it is even though I am hundreds of miles away in Maryland.
7
It's crazy because I was in the navy when it happened and never really watched any of these
Such courage and bravery shown by all firefighters this tragic day in history ❤❤❤❤❤
YES! I wish the media would stop saying that 2,977 people died that day because it’s closer to 5,000 who have died because of that horrific attack!
It is not a horrific attack. It was just an attack, and maybe they didn’t mean to do it, but it is not a horrific attack It is not a big deal move on.
@@matthew81158 You are a very sad individual wow
@@matthew81158it was a horrific cowardly attack that occurred on a single day. And many more are dying from illnesses resulting from breathing in the toxic dust. Yes, more people died in 2001 in the US from motor vehicle accidents ( over 20,000 from drunk drivers alone), more people died in 2001 from heart attack, cancer, etc, but this was still a horrific attack resulting in mass murder by terrorists.
@matthew81158 Are you Ilhan Omar's husband/brother? She said " someone did something"....you know, no big deal.
NEVER FORGET 9/11 🇺🇸 🙏
...and this count goes on. We at least have somewhat of a count of the first responders with long term life threatening illnesses. What about the civilians? Or people who lived and continued to live in the vicinity? Or the construction workers the rain only washes away so much of that dust. It settled like a blanket over that part of the city. A blanket of death.
It's very sad that young generations are forgeting what happened, but at least the United States are insisting a lot on these stories so that no one forgets.
What is really sad is that there are other stories that will be forgotten in the following years and no one cares. In my country we had the worst terrorist attack in Europe, the 11 of March of 2004, and everytime I talk about this with people of other countries no one knows about that tragedy, it's like it never happened. We as a country don't want to remember and the families of the victims are constantly told to shut up and let people forget.
What a story, I'm so proud of you, thank you for your service!!!!
Never Forget 🇺🇸
Thank you for sharing your story , rest in peace to those who died
So sorry to the victims loved ones 🕊🤍
I always wondered about that fire-fighter that you always see in the videos who was watching a jumper and when jumper hit the ground his arms lifted up as you can see his reaction was pure horror. What was his name? Did he survive? Is he ok mentally now?
Also looking for him😨
He was a member of 3 truck. All riding that day never returned
He was in the building when it collapsed dude.
He worked in 3 engine. And survived
No worries, we'll never forget.
This Firefighter is all heart. 9-11 was so catastrophic on many, many levels, but we as Americans come together and keep it together. I was able to spend time with a group of them in the years after 9-11. These men and women are the best of the best. An extremely sad day for our country but in true American fashion we come together. God Bless all those families who lost so much. I will NEVER forget!
It's egregious that we have lost almost more responders due to 9/11 health issues than actually lost that terrible day. These folks shouldn't have to worry or fight for care.
Now many are trying to keep individual stories alive. Educational systems aren't teaching about 9/11. American exceptionalism is frowned upon. Be a Christian patriot and you are an enemy. Believe in standing for the flag and National Anthem and the CONSTITUTION, you are almost a freak of nature.
Why do people who came here legally appreciate America more than folks born here?
I am a proud wife of an Army veteran. I stand for the flag and kneel at the cross.
May GOD bless.
I understand you're angry that a Black man kneeled during the national anthem but is that more disrespectful than smearing shit on the walls of the Capital building? American exceptionalism is a lie, we aren't better than the rest of the world. Listen to the voices of marginalized communities in the US and you will understand why we aren't exceptional.
Al, "rode the top of the collapse down, as if God symbolically said they're ok, he helped lead them to Me and now your family can take you back..." powerful.... gave me goosebumps and I shed a tear..
God’s blessings to you! As the daughter of a retired firefighter, I thank you for sacrifices and sharing your story. These stories are hard to listen to but so important. We must never forget the hero’s that live amongst us!
Brilliant interview. Thank you for sharing your story!
You guys and ladies have ave gone through so much, it’s amazing how you all stood together, it should be like that every day not just when a disaster happens, I am not an American, I am British and can’t get my head around what you went through god be with you all 🇬🇧🙏🙏🙏👍xxx
“They” do the same thing with nurses- hire the newbies and try to force the older- higher paid nurses- RNs- by giving them grief about sick leave, family leave, etc
❤❤❤ this gentleman really tells the story in such a wonderful and gripping way. As a former elementary teacher of 40 years I wish he could go to every school. As a daughter of a World War II Army veteran, I too am proud to be an American
Patriot!!!
A hero. A good good man.
Thanks for sharing ‼️I'm from Dublin Ireland and will never forget.....yes the new generations maybe don't know the whole story of the attacks and I believe till the day we die us/ this generation will keep this tragedy alive in every aspect...they should be taught in schools....be well....God bless you all 🙏
"No Day shall erase you from the memory of time" ☘️💚🇮🇪
Thank you - you tell your story so well. Will never forget. Stay well and happy in Tennessee.
Mr. Jorgensen, thank you for your story & your service! I'm so you survived leukemia & that your MIL was there to tell you that it wasn't your time yet! ♥️ It will NEVER be forgotten! God bless you! 🙏♥️
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
9/11 will never be forgotten
Im in New Zealand and had the TV on every minute i could...
It was fascinating and horrific
That Al Queada could be so evil, is incomprehensible
The jumpers were removed because Catholics believed suicide would condemn their loved ones souls...
They had seen hell...
breathed it, and God released them from sin...
i wish the families understood there was no suicide...
It was death by fire and brimstone, or a short freefall
They had no choice...
May They Rest in Peace
It is absolutely unconscionable that the government ran away from you and would not help you until many years later.
I cant believe young people do not know about 9/11, my children are now 23 and 21. I made sure they knew about 9/11 about he absolute horror of what happened and anout the brave people that helped that day from the emergency services to those people who just went to work that day. Although i met for the 1st time a young girl at work last week who didnt know what 9/11 was. So i made sure she knew and told her to find out about it. When i got home and tood my daughter she said they were taught about it in school and so did thenother young girls i work with. Im from the uk and im told the teens are taught about 9/11 in history. As a parent you should make sure these stories are never forgotten. Xxx
If you don't know about 911 bo matter what your age you must be living under a rock. Elvis died 5 years before I was born I still know all his music. People must know who Michael Jackson was no matter their age even born after 2009. I mean if you don't know about 911 your school and your guardians are majorly letting you down
Agree 💯 I definitely made sure my kids know x
Great, great show here. Someone recently told me to check out that new doc about the possible 5th plane, so I’ve been watching some 9/11 stuff on here. Usually it’s something I do every September because the victims and heroes deserve to be remembered.
It is disheartening how no one seems to care these days. Almost no one I come into contact with really says anything on the anniversary. It’s just like how everyone is content to pretend covid has been eradicated and thinks continuing to spread the virus is no big deal. Most people are too addicted to social media.
It was mentioned on this show about how miserable people are. How society is largely thankless. This need people have to compete with everyone else on social media is a big part of that. People lie so much on it that when you logon it seems everyone but you has these amazing, perfect lives.
If people are not made miserable and steered into consumption, the corporations and politicians lose money. Putting 9/11 in the public eye would steer that corporate and political money into more empathetic causes.
The politicians are so bad that people don’t think it’s a stretch to say that some of them had a hand in 9/11. I’ve never seen concrete proof of that, but there is plenty of evidence to show that the politicians benefitted tremendously off 9/11’s aftermath.
You guys were right about how they hid the images and info about the jumpers. I don’t think I ever heard much about them until I did a search to find out if there really were many of them.
The stories of the jumpers, first responders who were harmed, and so many others should be told and remembered. Thanks for putting together a great show and I’ll be sure to watch more from both of you.
I agree with a lot of what you say here. I saw the documentary on the 5th plane the night it premiered. Chilling stuff. I had heard that there were actually 10 planes that day so it’s very likely that that was the 5th plane.
In regards to the jumpers… I saw a lot of jumper footage that day. There were full page photos in our local newspapers, of people jumping, the next day that I still have. I know as time went on, they omitted most of the jumper footage which is a discredit to those poor souls.
I'm sending prayers to all who have been affected 911. I've told my grandchildren about 911 and here in the UK we had 7/7 my grandson said why is 7/7 not called 999 which is our emergency number I had to explain in America 911 is the date but also their emergency.
My mum was from Ireland co Wicklow xxx
It would be a crime against humanity if we ever forgot about 9/11. That is why it is our responsibility to talk about, to put the towers on our social media, even if others tell us it’s an ancient history and to move on. You can’t do that. You rang every bell. You bang on every door and you preach. You tell this story everywhere and everyday. It’s is up to us, it is our responsibility that our children remember that day of horrors. And if I can add one more thing. I know how brutal it is to watch someone die. Die of a violent death. But I believe if you are witnessing it, you take that iPhone out and you document it. You are his and hers brother’s keeper. You don’t turn around because it grosses you out and sometimes you should not take the photos. No, you do. You see them. You document them. At their last moments of life. You are there to witness it and you are the chosen one to deliver that message of this individual tragedy to others to know and to remember. FOREVER.
Did you not get enough likes on the 1st comment ?
It seems politicians are too busy banning books to worry about First Responders and their illnesses caused from the airborne toxins on 9/11. May those same politicians contract the same illnesses.
Check out idiot
Guiliani, Silverstein and others should be paying the mllions to these guys. The authorities said the air was fine to breathe days after 911....they just wanted the area cleaned so business could restart, money could be made again. They should pay
Truth matters and we need to continue to tell the generations to come about 9/11, all of it, like you said.
343…makes me so sad. At the same time…so patriotic. Love you guys
I know this is not directly related but I always want to spread this story about an amazing person. I have a small personal connection through my boyfriend to one of the passengers on flight AA77. That crashed into Pentagon. His former colleague a Navy Lawyer was traveling to LA to completely overhaul her life and career. She was a great lawyer in the Navy in Washington DC but her passion was gymnastics. She got position as a Coach at the university of California in SB and was traveling that morning. There is a video available on UA-cam of her going through the security at Dulles Airport on the morning of 9/11. It was used during the trail of the last hijacker in 2009-2010 I believe. She was traveling with her orange kitty. She looks a bit confused with what to do with the kitty if to carry her or put through the X-ray machine. It’s actually funny to watch her doing it but then what will break your heart is to know that right behind her and in front of her are the two hijackers getting checked by the security. She boarded that flight with her orange kitty on her lap. My boyfriend gave the eulogy at her memorial in 2001. Her name was Mari-Rae Sopper and she was absolutely awesome.
Btw, in the same clip, if you look to the right you will see another passenger from flight AA11 going through the security. His name was Dr. Paul Ambrose. He was working for a Surgeon General in DC and was traveling to LA to speak at a conference on childhood obesity.
Thank you for sharing that.
@@helenf.7221 I hate to be that person, but it doesn't seem true. Neither Mari-Rae Sopper or Paul Ambrose are listed on the 9/11 memorial.
@@liamweaver2944 why are you replying to me?
@@helenf.7221 Because you believed it
These men were in the bowels of a post atomic blast
I remember how unified and friendly everyone was before 9/11 and I remember how extra sweet everyone was right after 9/11. But the depth of the decline of the American workforce, the watering down of not only history but the way we can raise our children, and how we as Americans know better than to let these corrupt politicians mislead our unity. I'll never forget how everyone came together right after 9/11 and as the years went on, the country we have today exists. I was born in 90' and a friend of mine said that our generation has had the least amount of struggle if you compare it to our grandparents generation who came up through the depression and the war. We don't have to grow our own food we can just go up to the supermarket and buy a pre made meal. But yet most of my generation and the gen z are miserable and yet they all live in the most luxurious time period in history. THATS WHY WE CANNOT FORGET HISTORY!! When I remind my friends and the younger people of my grandparents up bringing and what they went through those frowns turn upright instantly!!! We cannot forget what men like Mr. Jorgensen went through, what those people burning alive in the towers went through and most of all we cannot forget the UNITY displayed by Americans after 9/11. We have to constantly remind ourselves how good it is to wake up each day because for me at the time, 9/11 came right out of left field and thatis an example of how precious life is and how in an instant it can change. When you open your eyes in the morning when your still lying in bed, feel the life in you as you wiggle your toes and you feel the sheets and can see the sun peeking through. You have the greatest gift of all on this Earth, ,"LIFE."
And yes I to,is learning that the new generation has no knowledge of the horrible events of 9/11.The education system of today is really bad especially in the south.This fact is really sad to me.I grew up in New York on Long Island.I was up in the towers to see the view of the city my parents actually ate dinner once at the windows of the world restaurant.And because we are pilots,we used to fly down the Hudson River and see the people at the top of the towers wave to us as we flew by,we did this several times and enjoyed it.I personnely miss the twin towers.I hate the new tower they have there now.
I have the greatest respect for fire fighters and all emergency first responders, but I think they have been let down badly by the rest of society for over a hundred years.
The situation with the jumpers and there being no way to get to the fire high up in a skyscraper, is a problem made infamous by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in Manhattan in 1911. Yet I've never once heard this fact mentioned in any 911 documentary.
1911!
And the Triangle fire was not the first high-rise fire by a long shot, nor was it the first mass casualty event precipitated by a total lack, or catastrophic failure of evacuation measures in a modern public building.
The fact that fire fighters had no effective strategy, and no technology to combat a major high-rise fire in 2001, represents a catastrophic failure of industrialised western technological development.
How many other FORESEEABLE challenges to society and public safety had zero countermeasure development between 1911 and 2001, DESPITE major incidents occurring world wide on average every five years throughout the 20th century?
Think of how many entire industries were created over the 20th century to combat systemic problems that arose due to modern urban living, international trade, communications, transport, construction, medicine, manufacturing techniques etc etc. To say nothing of the economic priority given to research and development throughout the western world.
Now take any great industry within out society and imagine trying to perform that task today using only technology in use in 1911!!!
Think of the planes in use in 1911. Compared to what the terrorists used in 2001.
Yet the brave NY firefighters faced the same problems at the twin towers, that they faced at the Triangle fire: No way to reach the fire. No way to reach the people trapped by the fire.
I know the scale of 9/11 was unprecedented. But the use of multiple commercial planes in a terrorist incident was not, (see Dawson's Field hijackings, September 1970). And there were several examples of the damage a large modern jet could do to a high-rise building in the years leading up to 9/11, (notably El Al Flight 1862 crashed into high-rise apartment buildings in Amsterdam, October 4, 1992).
It is not expensive to assign the possibility to a small team of security professionals to the problem and tell them to imagine how bad, bad could get. If Hollywood can play this game, so too can the FBI and the NSA etc.
Modern fly by wire planes can in theory be hacked WITHOUT physically taking over the cockpit. So this is a risk that needs to be investigated.
We now have technology for evacuating people down the outside of skyscrapers. But where is the investment in this technology? Where is the priority? Fighting fire in the sky is not a new concept, but it does not exist for urban structural fires. Again where is the investment?
The construction industry builds these skyscrapers, developers profit from them, but where is the investment in air to surface fire fighting technology, given the known rate of urban structural fires around the world? Where is the insurance industry on this issue? Not only do we have the challenges of high-rise fires, but equally challenging are large fire in sprawling public buildings like shopping malls.
Another point worth adding. A lot of fire fighting equipment really hasn’t changed for a hundred years. Our society places a high priory on creating light weight super strong equipment for military and sports entertainment, but not things like hoses and hose fittings, breathing equipment and rescue tools.
Why are fire fighters forced to lug around heavy equipment in 2023, when the space race was 50 years ago? Where is the titanium steel forced entry equipment? Where is the carbon fibre? Where is the high tech communication and location equipment? The real time tactical aids? Drone based infra red fire analysis, search and rescue co-ordination? Isolated soldiers in the field can be sent water and first aid supplies via drones, why not fire fighters? None of these things a very expensive compared to the cost of disasters.
My apologies if anyone finds this disrespectful to the memory of fire fighters. The bottom line is we owe our first responders the very best resources to do their job.
yes your right the problem is not one single person cares or dares to make the necessary decisions for change its truly sad and pathetic.... You are very right tho
Why the hell don't you pay taxes yet to make all health care free yet?
Wow
This is Niels Jorgenson
This is the greatest Nation but sadly our blemishes As a People now outweigh's the greatness as a Nation because no one dealt with those blemishes and went about attempting to fix hotspot's in America.
When we tried rising above our collective places in Society our common System our Institution's would then turn around and sabotage those effort's too make ourselves better recognizing we would stumble and fall a bit but, we'd dust ourselves off and keep going forward with Life's Journey.
An now at this precipice we face those blemishes that has been irrevocably negligent!
I wonder if this and other Fireman can pass me a photo that will be used to show the brave men and women who risked their lives in 9/11 to save people. I am a Classically trained Fine Artist whose passin in life is to teach people the messages of the body,
Think of the memory thing this way. I remember when JFK was assassinated. I was in my third year of high school. It was the most devastating event people my age had ever experienced. The horror and sadness were profound. Our parents could remember the attack on Pearl Harbor. We had not been born yet, so we could not experience what they had felt in 1941. We could not experience the horror our parents felt when the holocaust was revealed. Within about twenty years of the JFK assassination, although conspiracy theories were abundant, young people didn't feel what we felt. They could in no way remember the shock and horror. Time marches on. 9/11 is the same, as is the horror of the space shuttle disasters or the January 6th, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol. In a short few years, young people will have no way to feel the outrage so many of us felt during and immediately after those horrific events.. That's just the way time and life work. It's sad that so many people seem to lack the empathy to appreciate the significant of major events like these.
343 on both sides now more respect for them than any politician.
Was 12 when it happened I'll never forget 🇬🇧🇺🇲🏴.
But I'll also not forget that it was an inside job.
Cet homme est émouvant et je respecte et admire son témoignage et son courage, mais il le serait tout autant s’il ne parlait pas autant de religion. Au nom de sa religion il y a eu des massacres terribles en Irlande, et au nom de la religion il y a eu le 11 septembre.
I don't get how there are people in the comments criticizing his "personal" story. Do you get off the phone with a friend and then call them back and criticize the story they just told you? Some of the people in these comments are so self serving and pathetic. You people who do this have no empathy, what are you AI?
Humans created the gods and not the other way around. Grow up. Religion is not the answer, it is the problem. No better example than 9/11.
The whole city for some reason had no major traffic problems that day.
Really? That's so funny to me. Believe me, there was traffic. However, no one was focused on it.(for obvious reasons) and the first responders and people in charge, shut all traffic coming in down. Smh
@@concettalicata3951 if you’re from NYC you would know and understand the am traffic routes. Fire departments made it to ground zero ( before they collapsed) from 25 miles away in 40 minutes that day. Rescue 5 is a prime example of getting there in 40 minutes, nobody from that rescue made it home.
Home heating oil?? In 2001? Talk about under development 😢
What does this mean? Some people choose heating oil, because it's a different kind of warmth and this is true. Also it burns clean today as opposed to yesteryear. Yes there are facilities that never upgraded to gas. But it burns so clean today it is not necessary now.
why didnt god prevent the attacks from happening?
I’m sure ALOT of people are asking that
Either he's a sick fuck or just plain don't exist
Call it what it is Nextel brainsell radiator comp u tator
Elon musk space weapons
Jesus is God
Less about personal life please
You need to check out and shut up.
How dare you complain anyways !!! What did you do to help those people that day ?? Hmm ? What ? Complain? Like your comment? Unreal.