NEW YORK—Firefighter Kevin Kelly was rushing to the North Tower just before it started to tumble. His chief had not realized the South Tower had already collapsed.
“We dropped everything we had [and] took off,” Kelly said. “First I got behind a car and somebody running behind me said, ‘Brother, you better run further than that.’”
Kelly eventually took cover behind an emergency service unit truck and had enough time to put his oxygen mask on.
“The whole world turned black and silent. You don’t hear downtown Manhattan. You don’t hear anything,” Kelly recalled.
The first responder stayed at Ground Zero until about 2:30 a.m., putting out fires and helping with the rescue. He didn’t get home until 5 a.m. but was quickly called back into the field to help with rescue operations.
Kelly, who had more than 20 years experience working in the NYFD, lost 343 colleagues that day.
“Some were friends, some were really close friends. I lost my few best friends on that day,” he said.
The now former firefighter said he attends the memorial service at Ground Zero every year with his closest friend’s widow and a group of his former co-workers to remember those who were lost.
Kelly said the traumatic event changed his outlook on life.
“You know what. One thing I learnt, never sweat the small stuff anymore. It’s not that important. Stuff is just stuff ... If somebody makes a stupid mistake and breaks something … it doesn’t really matter,” he explained.
“The only thing that matters is people matter. You matter. I matter. We all matter.
Daughter of 9/11 Victim: ‘They say God picks his flowers when they are ready’
Jimenez says she is still coping with the death of her mother, and although it is still really hard, she is able to pull through with the help of her family.
She described her mother Iline as a “strong-hearted, kind, caring person who always put others first.”
During the 9/11 attack Jimenez was waiting for the first bell to ring at her high school, when she heard a loud “Boom!” As she turned to see what was happening she saw birds flying away and the tower that her mother worked in was hit.
“I just started running downtown while everyone was running uptown. I was there when the South Tower fell so I actually got covered in dust,” said Jimenez. “I was looking for her in the crowd. I had hope that she was still going to be alive.”
While visiting the World Trade Center memorial on the anniversary of the tragedy Jimenez said she feels at peace and that her mother is not forgotten.
“When I do come over it’s a peaceful place. The sound of the waterfall it gives me some rest, but just knowing that I’m here where she was, when she passed away, it makes me feel a little closer to her,” said Jimenez.
Jimenez named her daughter Iline in loving memory of her mom.
