DIONNE WALKER
Firehouse.Com
In the months following the Sept. 11 attacks, the firefighters of FDNY’s
Ladder Co. 9/Truck Co. 33 have experienced emotions ranging from sorrow at
the loss of 10 of their colleagues in the World Trade Center collapse, to
thanksgiving that so many people have reached out to them with donations and
emotional support.
And now they want to thank all of them--literally.
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Six of the East Village firefighters are bicycling across country in an
effort to show their gratitude to those who have supported them. The "Thank
You America" tour, which began in New York City Sunday, will take the
firefighters through 19 states and over 2,757 miles before coming to a close
in California, said Warren Betts, president of Zoomwerks, an LA-based media
company handling the group’s publicity.
Betts said the tour was organized by firefighter Dan Rowan as a way of
bringing closure to their grief while showing their appreciation for the
public’s support. Throughout the tour the cyclers will be joined by other
firefighters, many of whom helped at ground zero, he said.
"As they travel across America, they are going to be joined little by little
by firefighters from other communities," he said. "It will just keep
building."
During the tour, the firefighters will pass through 30 key cities in
addition to smaller towns and villages, Betts said. While in those cities,
the firefighters will be hosted by local fire stations where they will eat
and get much needed rest.
"They’ve been in communication with other fire departments across America,
they’re sort of going to be expecting them," Betts said. "So far, the
response has been huge."
In preparation for the journey, Betts said the firefighters endured a basic
exercise regimen and took steps to minimize weather-related hazards.
"They’re taking a southern US route because the feeling is the weather there
would be less of a problem," Betts said.
The firefighters next stop is in Washington D.C., then on to the Carolinas,
Georgia, Alabama and other southern-most states, before cutting through
Texas, New Mexico and ending in California where a reception is planned,
Betts said. Throughout the trip the team will be followed by a van full of
communication equipment, provided by Pasadena-based Disk Marketing Inc.
The firm, which is housed in one of the nation’s oldest firehouses,
volunteered their services as part of an ongoing commitment to unity in the
wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Betts said.
Firefighters from Ladder Co. 9/Engine Co. 33 were among the first on the
scene of the World Trade Center attack, narrowly escaping the first collapse
that claimed their co-workers.
"They feel like by doing this they’re doing something for their comrades
that they lost," he said. "It will certainly help them in acceptance and
closure."
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