3 years ago
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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — When planes deed the World Trade Center astir 20 years agone this week, thousands of radical ran from Manhattan to flight the collapse. But archetypal responders, including a Sacramento firefighter, ran toward the information to hunt for survivors.
“I mislaid a truly bully friend. He was a New York City fireman. His sanction is Dana Hannon,” said Chris Costamagna, lawman main of the Sacramento Fire Department.
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Dana is engraved successful the representation of Costamagna and connected an engraved metallic bracelet astir his wrist.
“You don’t hide astir him, you ne'er hide astir him,” Costamagna said.
But helium has memories from September 11, 2001, that helium wishes helium could forget.
“We didn’t find anybody alive,” helium said.
Just hours aft the towers fell, Costamanga loaded onto a C-17 astatine the Travis Air Force Base successful Vacaville, deploying with Sacramento’s Urban Search and Rescue squad to crushed zero. It was 1 of the lone planes allowed to fly.
“The fastest cross-country formation I’ve ever had,” Costamagna said.
Fighter jets escorted the subject craft into New Jersey, and the squad got to work.
“As we were moving into Manhattan, we had to determination constabulary cars retired of the street,” Costamagna said.
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Nothing could person prepared him for what helium saw.
“A punch successful the gut was seeing a level deed the building. The punch successful the look was lasting astatine Church and Vesey [streets] and seeing a hundred-and-ten-story gathering reduced to 5 stories,” helium said.
Sacramento’s USAR squad did what they could to propulsion bodies from the piles.
“What we were uncovering was portion of a person,” Costamagna said. “But that became precise important due to the fact that that identified radical successful the coming months.”
Costamagna said those are memories that instrumentality with you.
“Twenty years later, I’m stronger. There was a clip erstwhile I needed assistance and I didn’t question it retired close away, and I didn’t recognize however overmuch stronger and steadfast I could beryllium until I sought it out—and I did that,” helium said.
He inactive thinks of that time and the days that followed.
“NYC was backmost connected its feet and working,” helium said.
But what stays with him the most? The representation of his person Dana Hannon. Costamagna said helium would privation his person to cognize immoderate things.
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“I’d archer him I emotion him and I admit him and the occupation helium does and that he’s everybody’s hero,” helium said.
Laura Haefeli
English (US) ·