There was an incredible loss of life that day.
And it was also unsafe to be there just because of all the toxic dust.
But to a first responder, there was a job to do.
It's something that happened 20 years ago, but we're still
suffering from the effects of it.
Before I was an actor, I was a firefighter at Engine Co. 55 in Little Italy.
I saw then that it's a real brotherhood that will do anything for each other.
And it wasn't until 9/11 that I realized how strong
that connection was still in me.
The only way I've ever been able to describe it is like
being on another planet.
It was surreal.
But you couldn't let yourself give into feelings of like,
'Oh my God, this is terrible.'
I think there's a thing that happens that you can sort of weather this alone.
And 'I'll be better if I don't talk about it,'
because they're afraid of what might happen if they do talk about it.
What 9/11 brought out was that the firefighting community
needs help, needs counseling.
If I could help in any way by, you know, raising awareness
or raising funding, or even letting people
who are suffering know that we're here.
You know, Friends of Firefighters is here, and there are other
organizations that are here to help.
When we did our documentary,
Nancy Carbone, founder of Friends of Firefighters,
told us about this firefighter, Larry Sullivan,
a guy who was larger than life.
I'm the chauffeur.
I drive the fire truck.
You know, it's the greatest job in the world.
I tell people, my kids are firehouse kids.
So many people that are on the job worked with my father.
Every single one of them was always like, 'Your father, he was the best.'
Obviously I would like to try to fill his shoes.
You know, I try to be the best I could be,
but it's not always easy because he was great.
I haven't seen the Sullivan family, you know, for a while.
But I hear that, you know, two of the brothers have become firefighters.
One is a police officer.
I'm sensing the presence of Sullivans.
It's the Sullys, hey!
They were going to the pile and digging, and they had families.
We didn't really see my father much around then.
A lot of the firefighters, they just, they gave it their all.
I guess, in their minds, it's like, 'My buddies are gone.
'Their families need me, and they need me on the pile.'
They said around the eight- to 10-year mark that guys would get sick,
and sure enough, that's when my dad got sick.
When we started going to Memorial Sloan Kettering, there was all firemen there.
So it really started settling in that this is a real thing.
Losing the weight was a telltale sign, you know.
I mean, I was 215, and then I dropped down to, you know, 190, 180.
I'm down to 135 now.
Everybody sort of knew, 'This is gonna affect us,'
but you didn't think about it, cause you thought,
well that may be ... that'll be 20 or 30 years from now.
It's just sort of exploded.
It's like another wave that's, you know, hit slowly over the years.
We were supported from the second that my father found out that he had cancer.
The guys were like, 'We're gonna get through this.
'We're gonna take you down to the doctor.
'We're going to be there for you guys, no matter what.'
A fundraiser was thrown for him.
It had to be 800-plus people there, raising an incredible
amount of money for my family.
We're going to get through this together, Larry.
All of us, right here.
Friends of Firefighters, Steve Buscemi, you know, they supported us.
Steve was a fireman, you know, and he doesn't forget where he came from.
And him being in there just really meant a lot to my father.
So there's physical effects that people are having to overcome or dying from.
And then there's still the emotional, you know, mental stress that a lot of
the members are still struggling with.
This isn't something that just happened 20 years ago and we're over it.
It's an ongoing thing.
This is another lesson that, hey, as much as we break each other's chops,
we know when a guy needs help, we take care of each other
and come to a place like this.
Like this is therapy.
This is helping me.
And you leave here, and you feel a little better.
I think that we've come a long way in terms of help and support
and making it more acceptable and more common.
The family of firefighters is such a great thing.
We all understand what we're going through.
My hope for the younger generation of firefighters coming up:
One, that they never have to experience anything like 9/11, but knowing
that they will experience tragedy.
It's just the nature of the job, but that they know that there is a network
of support within the firefighting community that is there for them.
That will always be there.
I've been volunteering since 9/12.
It's an honor.
It's a privilege to have that access, and to have that trust with firefighters.