Emerging from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel into the sunlight, four members of the Fairfield University EMS Rescue Team continued their run toward ground zero. They passed hordes of people chanting “USA” in the same spot where smoke and chaos coexisted six years earlier.
Along with soldiers, firefighters and civilians, the four team members ultimately made their way across the finish line, located beneath a huge American flag held up by two fire truck ladders.
On Sept. 30, Calin Calabrese ’10, Michael Langowski ’10, Diana Westcott ’10, and Tom Zelenzy ’10 joined over 22,000 people participating in the 5k Tunnel to Towers Run to honor firefighter Stephen Siller and all those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11.
“The experience was a little emotional for me just because it really hit close to home being part of a volunteer fire department and also knowing so many people lost in 9/11,” said Wescott, a rescue lieutenant. “But I’m really glad I participated.”
“You never know how to give back to people who have given so much, so I guess this was a small way of showing support for the firefighters who lost so much,” she said.
The run traced Siller’s last footsteps, which led them from the tolls, through the tunnel and finally to ground zero.
Siller had just gone off duty and was on his way to play golf with his three brothers when he heard over his scanner that the World Trade Center had been hit. He immediately tried to turn his car around and head to the site to help his fellow firefighters from Squad One in Park Slope, Brooklyn, all of whom perished that day.
Unable to get through the traffic, Siller grabbed his gear and ran through the Battery Tunnel on foot to the Twin Towers. He was last seen on West and Liberty Streets. He left behind his wife and five children, the youngest of whom was only nine months old.
The money raised from the race goes to support firefighter burn centers and the Tunnel to Towers “Let Us Do Good” Children’s Foundation.
The foundation was created in honor of Siller, who was orphaned on his 10th birthday. It aims to serve the needs of children who lost one or both parents. It provides educational scholarships, counseling, financial support and other related activities in an effort to bring hope and healing to these children.
Firefighters from every state, with the exception of Hawaii, as well as 163 firefighters from a London brigade, participated in the race. Some even ran in their turnout gear.
The EMS team felt fortunate to mingle with firefighters from across the world.
“The run was amazing,” said Langowski, treasurer of the Fairfield’s EMS Rescue team. “I found it hard to believe someone ran through this in full gear. In the last third of the tunnel, when it begins to go uphill, there are firefighters holding individual pictures of the 343 firefighters that died on 9/11. I still get a knot in my throat thinking about it.”
After the race at ground zero, the team met former New York City mayor and possible presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. They took a picture and held a brief conversation with the prominent New York figure.
Langowski said he decided to participate in the event after watching news coverage of the race last year and reading Siller’s inspirational story on the Web site.
“There was not much time to get the word out about the run once school started this year,” said Langowski. “But I was able to fill my car up with four other compassionate EMS club members who did not need any convincing once they heard the inspiration for the run and that it was for a charitable cause.”
The Fairfield EMS team, which plans to prove non-emergency transportation from the Health Center to the hospital, was founded last year for the school and community.
“Over the past year, many students have been working hard to get this organization up and running,” said Mike Stahl, deputy chief of the EMS team.
“Through attending events such as the Tunnels to the Tower run, and National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conferences, the bond our members have with each other tightens,” he said.
Langowski said the EMS team will definitely be participating in the run again next year, but he hopes to have more people and open transportation so anyone can participate.
Zelezny, secretary of the team, said he feels fortunate to have been part of such an inspiring event.
“For me, the best part of the run was when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and I heard the chants of USA,” he said. “This was the time when I really felt proud to be there and, although it seemed like I was just running, it was running that now felt like it meant something.”
“In all, this was really one the best experiences of my life and I will definitely do it next year and probably every year after,” he said.
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