CINCINNATI — When things are on fire and lives are at stake, there’s something to be said about those who run toward the danger — willing to sacrifice their own life to save another.
That very spirit shone brightly on Sept. 11, 2001, and in the days, weeks and months that followed.
Greg Phelia, a District Fire Chief with the Cincinnati Fire Department, is a second-generation firefighter passing on a family tradition.
“My dad was a firefighter and my oldest son's a firefighter,” Phelia said.
He was off duty driving and listening to the radio when he first heard of the plane flying into the World Trade Center in New York.
“I do remember I was at the corner of Madison Road and Victory Parkway when that occurred,” he said.
Phelia's story is one of dozens of firefighters' stories shared in a new book by Navy veteran Jim Serger entitled "9:11 a Time to Always Remember - Bond of Firefighters."
“People in the book are from California, people in the book from Alaska, people from the book from Iowa, here in Cincinnati, they stopped what they were doing and went up there,” Serger said.
The money from the sale of the book goes to support the Tunnels to Towers Foundation a foundation built solely off the core value of a firefighter’s ethos. It was created after firefighter Stephen Gerard Siller, who was off duty, responded to the towers following the attack, strapping on his gear and running from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the scene after the tunnel was shut down for security reasons.
“Well, when someone mentions 9/11, we see the fire trucks and the devastation of the buildings on fire,” Serger said. “And everybody was running down to the buildings, and all the firefighters were going in. So, everybody was running down. They're running up. And then when the impact hit across the United States. Everybody heard firefighters down. People dropped, firefighters dropped what they were doing in the moment. And they said, how can I get up there and help?”
This is his second book highlighting the events of 9/11. His first highlighted personal stories from across the country of everyday citizens. This time he wanted to share those common stories tied to a single thread of brotherhood within the fire service.
“Every single individual in this book shares that message loud and clear. Hawaii, I'm there. Texas, I'm going. Florida, I'll be there. I'm going,” Serger said. “They all shared how they got to Manhattan or what they did in their community. They slept on the curbs. They slept on the sidewalks. You know, whatever they could do to help out, 7 days, 13 days, 30 days in a row. Years afterward, they're still going down there. Everybody shares their unique story.”
Pehlia said CFD sent their own support. For him it’s a mission very close to home as a generational firefighter his father shared the mission with him and he is sharing it with his son.
“It's almost like it's a calling, you know, a family of service,” Phelia said. “We go in and we do that, and we all realize, you know, it can, you know, ultimate sacrifice can happen, and it has happened.”
You can pick up a copy of 9:11 A Time To Always Remember – Bond of Firefighters on Amazon.
If you have a veteran story to tell in your community, email homefront@wcpo.com. You also can join the Homefront Facebook group, follow Craig McKee on Facebook and find more Homefront stories here.
