Robert Dorritte

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Lieutenant Robert Dorritie of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Engine 53 had just finished his night shift when he saw on television that the North Tower of the World Trade Center was hit by a plane. He and his colleagues immediately knew they were going there to help. Dorritie recalls thinking that they were going to go to the site, put out the fire and rescue those who needed it, it’d be like every other fire he had ever put out. However, while they were on their way and learned of the second plane hitting the South Tower, he knew that the country was in the midst of a terrorist attack and it was not going to be like any other fire.

Upon arriving at the site, Dorritie was assigned to the South Tower. He had two probationary firefighters with him, Mike Catalano and Danny Schofield, who had been on the job for about six months. He recalls seeing them counting the people who were leaping to their deaths from the Tower’s fiery blaze. Although Dorritie tried to focus Mike and Danny on the work they had to do, he couldn’t help but look for himself. He still remembers the faces of them today.

When the South Tower began to crumble, Dorritie immediately turned around and began running. He ran into the parking garage underneath the World Financial Center.

After the collapse and evacuating from the garage, Dorritie and a fellow firefighter, Eddie Caccia, went back in to try and rescue people. In the garage, he recalls noticing that everything was obliterated from existence; there were no desks, toilets, or anything, it was all dust.

Upon his arrival back home, Dorritie’s wife greeted him by hugging and kissing him. He recalls reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. But Dorritie could not sleep for a few days following 9/11 because of the attacks and the images he kept replaying in his head. In the days after the attacks, he recalls driving down the West Side Highway with Engine 53 and seeing crowds of people cheering them on. Dorritie was inspired by the sense of unity everyone felt during that time.

After 9/11, Dorritie’s perspective on life changed. He and his wife went through a divorce, which is something he never thought would happen prior to 9/11. He moved to Florida by himself and went back to school to be a registered nurse; his passion for helping others never wavering. Although FDNY Engine 53 did not lose any members, 343 firefighters were lost on September 11, 2001. Due to his survivor’s guilt, Dorritie often wondered to himself why he was not one of the fallen. However, in his grief, he made it his duty to attend the funerals of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, out of respect for them.

Reflecting on his experiences, Dorritie would like others to know that when the United States is attacked, everyone stands as one unit to help each other. To him, “Never Forget,” means to remember those who sacrificed their lives to save others.