Albert Turi Jr

Former Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Firefighter Albert Turi Jr. reflects on being a first responder during the September 11th attacks. The retired firefighter recalls responding to only two incidents at the Twin Towers since his first year as a member of the FDNY in 1968; the 1993 World Trade Center Bombings and the 9/11 attacks.

Turi shares the moment he learned about the first aircraft crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center and being only 1,000 feet from the South Tower when the second aircraft hit that building.

Turi characterizes the 9/11 attacks as the “perfect storm.” Two of the world’s most prominent buildings were engulfed in flames at a volume that the best firefighters in the world had never seen or trained for. The telecommunications, standpipes, and sprinkler systems were all compromised.

Turi recalls leading people out of the collapse zone after the South Tower collapsed to the ground. Turi remembers his friend, FDNY Chief Peter Ganci Jr., during his final moments. He was one of two people to recover Ganci’s body at Ground Zero days after the attacks. Ganci, Turi’s longtime friend and brother in the department since 1968, remains the only chief of the FDNY to die in the line of duty.