GUEST OP-ED – Michael Tepedino: Remembering September 11th

It is not difficult for anyone to remember exactly what theywere doing on September 11, 2001. In addition to remembering theAmerican lives that were lost on that day and the way that thiscountry was changed forever, this week’s column is dedicated to thedozens of Bravo volunteers who dropped what they were doing on thatsunny, clear Tuesday morning and responded to their city’s call forhelp.

Immediately after the first plane hit the World Trade Center, acall went out from the Fire Department’s EMS MARS (Mutual AidResponse System) to all volunteer ambulance services for help.Vinny Tarantino was the Bravo dispatcher who received the call.Never in my life or in the 15 years I have been answering callsfor help would I have imagined the call that came in that morning,Vinny said when asked about his first reaction to the call. Ittook me a few seconds to realize it was for real.

Pam Carlton, Ed Handler and Aaron Waks were the Bravo members onduty that morning. When they heard the call, they immediately wentinto Manhattan with Bravo 1 to treat what they feared could bethousands of patients.

They arrived on the scene at approximately 9:10 a.m., reportedto the EMS staging area in front of the towers and began treatingtheir first patient. They left the scene with the patient literallyseconds before the first collapse, which surely meant that theirlives had been spared.

Bravo volunteers responded to their headquarters from all overtown. Drew Kasler, Sr. stocked Bravo 2 with equipment andsupplies so that John Bostany, Susan Bologna, Margaret Del Bagno,Spiro Karantzalis and Michael Loughnane could respond to thedisaster site.

Nick Nikolopoulos, Walter Jehle, Eugene Gluzberg and DennisJameson responded with Bravo 4. When we got to the entrance tothe Battery Tunnel, we met at least 30 other volunteer and privateambulances who were ready to help the injured, said Jehle. Thefirst thing we did was to set up an area to receive patients thatwere being brought through the tunnel so that they could be triagedand transported to Brooklyn hospitals.

Walter had been a member of Bravo since 1975 and a member of theFDNY – EMS for many years, and was experienced and well trained indisaster management. It was important to organize all of thepeople and vehicles so that patients could be treated quickly andproperly and we were not all getting in each others way, hesaid.

Shortly after the collapse, the two Bravo units as well as mostof the others assembled on the Brooklyn side of the tunnel weredirected to go into Manhattan to a staging area closer to GroundZero.

One of the first things that Bravo 2 and 4 did was to respondto an area north of the towers where approximately 30 firefighterswere suffering from smoke inhalation and other relatedproblems.

When they arrived, the firefighters told the Bravo crews thatthey were not going to the hospital, but were going to rest aminute and go back into the disaster site to save their brothers.By that time, the smoke was so dark and thick that it appeared tobe nighttime. The Bravo crews managed to get back to another areawhere patients were being triaged and assisted in the transportaway from the building collapse.

Other Bravo members responded to the tragedy from their officesand job sites in and around Manhattan. They included ChristopherSmith, Terrell Estesen, Vincent MacFalter, Robert and JamesLoughnane.

The Bravo members who responded to Bravo Base included CarloGattnig, Louis Cazzetta, Michael Vale, Jeff Zahka, Javier Monsalve,Sean Quaranta, Irene Koulentianos, George Athanail, MillianneDiVietri, Adam Gottlieb, Jacque Jehle, Eileen Oldcroft, SadieCecere, Jerry Lande, Christopher Nelson, Ed Slomka, Betsy McKenna,Mary Boland, Drew Kasler, Jr., Diane Kasler, Winnie Cuzzolino,Jonathan Kasler, Lisa Torre, Anne Marie Nielsen and Alvin DelGado.

The Bravo family extends way beyond the over 200 currentactive members. Hundreds of other, past members of the organizationhave gone on to serve as EMTs and paramedics for the EMS, asfirefighters and police officers. Many of those were in and aroundthe scene because it was their nature to be there when others needthem.

As we reflect on the events of that terrible day, let us keep inmind the Bravo volunteers who served Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, NewYork City and these United States not because they were paid to doso but because of the deep and sincere spirit which called them toaction in times like those.

God bless all of the volunteers who provided aid in that crisis,all of the firefighters, police officers and constructions workerswho risked and lost their lives to save others’ and may Godcontinue to bless America.