Saturday marks 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. The collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York claimed thousands of lives and altered the course of American life. In the immediate aftermath, first responders from around the country flooded into the city to assist with search and rescue efforts, among them Craig Mignogno, part of Ohio Task Force 1.
Today, Mignogno is a lieutenant in the Columbus Division of Fire, working with the city鈥檚 five heavy rescue companies, and he still serves as part of Task Force 1 responding to crises or natural disasters.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a member of Ohio Task Force 1 since 1999 when the team first came online in the federal system,鈥� Mignogno explains. 鈥淎nd there I鈥檓 a rescue squad officer, so when the team deploys I work with a squad of five rescue specialists.鈥�
He says the morning of September 11, he was sleeping in after a long, late night shift as a paramedic. He recalls his dad calling to wake him, urging him to turn on the television.
鈥淎nd I want to say by about the time I got to a TV shortly thereafter was when the first tower fell,鈥� Mignogno says. 鈥淏ack then it was pagers and a lot of phone calls started happening, to say hey the team is getting activated, we have to start making our way to Dayton. The morning got pretty hectic right off the get go.鈥�
The team got moving quickly鈥攁rriving in New York before dawn the next day.
鈥淭he whole scene, it kind of crept up on you,鈥� Mignogno recalls. 鈥淪o you鈥檙e getting down there through lower Manhattan, you would get glimpses of the sight between other high rises as we got there.鈥�
He describes how the team went to a forward staging area at a nearby bank. Once there, he says the enormity of what had happened hit him like a 鈥渟lap in the face.鈥�
鈥淐rumpled up fire trucks, and just debris everywhere, all the piles of paper and everything that had blown out of the buildings,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t got real pretty quick.鈥�
Twenty years removed, Mignogno said the abiding recollection he wants people to take from the attacks is respect for those who rushed forward to help those in the building.
鈥淔rom the FDNY, from the NYPD from the port authority police, normal civilians that sacrificed that day to help each other out and help get injured people out of the danger zone,鈥� he describes.
鈥淵ou know,鈥� he goes on, 鈥渆verybody came together to work through that, and a lot of sacrifices were made, and a lot of people didn鈥檛 make it through it.鈥�
