Retired NYC firefighter as 9/11 approaches: ‘Don’t forget’

When Ed Bergen woke up connected his archetypal time of status aft 23 years arsenic a New York City fireman, helium walked downstairs to find his woman crying.

He looked astatine the TV and saw a 2nd level deed the World Trade Center, past watched some towers collapse. It was Sept. 11, 2001.

Bergen had retired the time before, with plans to determination to Las Vegas with his woman and their then-3-year-old son. But those plans were delayed aft the devastating attack.

After watching the illness connected TV, Bergen said helium grabbed his cogwheel and drove to Manhattan.

“I conscionable benignant of witnessed everything; determination was truly thing for maine to do,” Bergen, 68, said. “It was benignant of over, arsenic acold arsenic rescues go.”

He said helium ran into immoderate radical helium knew and yet ended up astatine New York City Fire Department Ladder Company 3, known arsenic “3 Truck.”

“When I got determination it seemed precise still, precise implicit — a catastrophe,” Bergen said, calling the attacks “the worst happening that could happen.”

“So I went backmost to my aged firehouse, past implicit to 3 Truck, which mislaid the astir guys, and I conscionable was hanging astir with the guys that showed up,” helium said. “It was beauteous solemn.”

He said the country was overwhelming, and helium wasn’t definite however helium could help. He mislaid galore friends that day, including firefighter Michael T. Carroll. He keeps Carroll’s memorial handout successful his fireman’s hat, which is connected show successful his surviving room.

Bergen said helium and his wife, Annette, had visited Las Vegas successful May 2001 and ended up looking astatine existent property portion they were successful town. Despite nary anterior plans, they bought a house, decided helium would discontinue and planned to determination to Las Vegas successful September 2001. He says the determination saved his life.

But the determination was delayed truthful helium could be funerals and memorial services for his friends and colleagues mislaid successful the attacks.

The section tried to get him and anyone other who had retired successful the past six months to travel backmost to enactment and assistance capable the void that was near aft Bergen said astir 10 percent of the unit was killed that day, but helium couldn’t bash it. He needed a caller commencement with his family, and they moved to Las Vegas connected Dec. 5, 2001.

Many New York City firefighters discontinue to Colorado, New Jersey oregon Florida, Bergen said, but helium doesn’t cognize of galore who ended up successful Las Vegas. While successful town, though, helium said he’s go bully friends with Danny Serrano, a skipper with the Henderson Fire Department.

Remembering from Las Vegas

Serrano said Bergen has been 1 of his champion friends since their kids started kindergarten unneurotic successful 2003. He said Bergen, who was inactive recovering from the trauma of the attacks, was “a pugnacious seed to crack” for the archetypal fewer years of their friendship, but their wives brought them unneurotic due to the fact that Serrano was successful the archetypal fewer years of his firefighting career.

As the families got closer, Serrano said, his person started opening up and sharing his 9/11 communicative and telling stories of the men who died, whose photos bent successful the store of Bergen’s Summerlin home.

“I conscionable retrieve him telling me, ‘All my champion friends died that day,’ and that shook me,” Serrano said. “And helium told me, helium said, ‘Do maine a favor, don’t ever forget.’”

So to support the representation of the 343 firefighters who died that time alive, Serrano helped signifier a memorial astatine New York-New York each Sept. 11 for astir 15 years, and helium said firefighters from departments crossed the vale were invited to march and clasp a infinitesimal of soundlessness to grant the fallen.

Each twelvemonth helium would invitation Bergen, but it wasn’t until astir the 10-year day that his person took him up connected the offer.

“I’ve ever had this knowing of, OK, Sept. 11 is coming up, truthful Ed is going to spell into hibernation for a mates weeks,” Serrano said. “You’ve gotta springiness him immoderate space. But retired of the bluish 1 twelvemonth helium said, ‘Hey, I’d similar to go,’ and that was benignant of a landmark infinitesimal successful our narration erstwhile it came to 9/11.”

Serrano remembers picking Bergen up to spell to the memorial that year, and helium was amazed to spot his person unfastened the doorway successful his formal uniform. When his woman picked up his chapeau disconnected the support successful their surviving room, she saw the photograph of Bergen’s precocious person Carroll inside. “Hi, Mikey,” she said earlier handing the chapeau to her hubby and sending him disconnected to the memorial.

“Seeing adjacent a small infinitesimal similar that, it’s conscionable like, wow, and they conscionable transportation on,” Serrano said of the couple’s maturation implicit the past 2 decades. “But they ever archer stories astir the men who died and support their memories alive.”

Bergen said helium has gone to a mates of memorial services implicit the years, but helium usually stays location and remembers the solemn acquisition successful his ain way. And that’s the astir helium said helium tin inquire of anyone arsenic Sept. 11 approaches.

“Pretty simply, don’t forget,” Bergen said. “I don’t cognize what other to say.”

Contact Alexis Ford astatine aford@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0335. Follow @alexisdford connected Twitter.