VIDEO/PHOTOS: Every year on Sept. 11, Americans are reminded of the tragic events through the same images: the towers falling, the dust clouds, the flag being raised. But 24 years later, new images are being shared for the first time by a Beacon Falls first responder who saw Ground Zero with his own eyes. Jeremy Rodorigo, an EMS captain and part-time photographer, was one of the many local heroes who drove into Manhattan after the attacks. โLet me just bring the camera. If we have the opportunity โ just to convey to the world whatโs going on down there, I will,โ Rodorigo said.
His never-before-seen photographs reveal a devastated landscape that few outside the recovery effort ever saw. โI was driving in six inches of concrete dust,โ Fire Chief Doug Bousquet. Bousquet loaded up their ambulance with supplies gloves, clothes, masks, food โ and drove toward Ground Zero. โBring as much stuff as we can fit in the back of an ambulance and drive down to Ground Zero and give it to whoever needs it,โ Rodorigo said.
Their photos document not only the destruction but also the desperation in the days that followed. โYouโre handing out a 50-cent mask, but to them itโs so valuable,โ Rodorigo said. โLiterally, Iโm carrying a box, and I got the camera over my shoulder; turn around, click and keep going.โ There were no signs of survivors. As an EMT trained to save lives, Rodorigo had to face the harsh reality of what little he could do. โWhen you accept the fact that, thatโs the most valuable you can be, and thatโs the best thing you can be doing right now, you can reconcile things,โ he said.
One moment stood out above the rest. During a sudden evacuation order, Rodorigo captured images of the rescuers, some of the bravest people in the country, fleeing in panic, as they feared a further collapse in the rubble. โThis photo, in particular, is the one that I think affects me the most. This was professional rescuers and very tough people, panickingโ he said.
When Rodorigo and Bousquet returned to Beacon Falls, a large painted American flag covered the front of the fire station. It was a welcome home and a reminder of how everything had changed, but some things stay the same. Asked what it was like, Rodorigo still struggles to find the words. โOf course, everyone asks what it was like, ‘Whatโs going on?’โ he said. At a vigil held at the station, veterans in attendance offered a rare moment of clarity. โThese guys were in World War II, right, so they understood what it was like to have a country in crisis,โ Rodorigo said.
Now, decades later, Rodorigo sees himself differently. โSo now, Iโm this guy. Now, Iโm the guy who knows what itโs like to have our country attacked,” he said. Bousquet also admits that he will never forget the things he saw. โItโs hard to explain what we saw down there. Iโll never forget it ’till the day I die,โ he said. But more importantly, he says, itโs their job to make sure none of us forget either. โPictures tell a lot,โ Rodorigo added.
