The Freedom Tower

Part I

America has real heroes. This is the beginning of a serial about the life and times of one, one of New York City Fire Department’s bravest.

The life Robert Stec, like the careers of every other firefighter in America, was tragically and irrevocably changed after events five years ago when two hijacked jet planes slammed into the World Trade Center.

The planes toppled the world’s tallest buildings within hours, killed thousands of people trapped inside WTC buildings and sent hundreds of New York City fire fighters to hundreds of funerals for fallen colleagues killed, lost and presumed dead that horrible morning of 9/11.

Two months later on November 12, 2001, Stec would again be hurled into a life-altering situation when he led the men of the Bronx firehouse where he was a battalion chief to join 60 other fire units and 220 firefighters assigned to a five alarm fire in a sleepy, working class neighborhood in Queens.

Box Number 1398, located at 127th Street and Newport Avenue was transmitted at 0917 hours EST. Within minutes first arriving Fire Department units transmitted a 10-60 “Major Emergency Response”. A short time later, fire box 1441 went off near a gas station located at 183 Beach and 133rd Street in Queens. An American Airlines Airbus A300 bound for the Dominican Republic, Flight 587, had crashed in Belle Harbor Queens.

Stec’s life was changed that day and would never be the same again.

It was like being called to fight fire in hell!