Upper Nyack Firehouse Ties Welles Crowther's 18 Rescues to Volunteer Training After Medal of Freedom
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 10
Upper Nyack Firehouse Ties Welles Crowther's 18 Rescues to Volunteer Training After Medal of Freedom
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 10
Summary
Empire Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 President David Gottlieb said Welles Crowther’s volunteer firefighting training in Upper Nyack was crucial to the actions that helped at least 18 people escape the South Tower on 9/11.
The account followed Crowther’s posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom award, after his mother Alison Crowther told the White House ceremony that the firehouse prepared him to act effectively under extreme chaos.
Gottlieb said Crowther grew up in the company’s multigenerational culture of service—his father was a former captain—and learned the instinct to stay, help and trust the person beside him.
He also linked Crowther’s sacrifice to the wider toll of 9/11 on firefighters, noting 343 firefighters died that day and Empire later lost two members, Harry Wannamaker Jr. and Joe Stach Jr., to related illnesses.
Gottlieb used Crowther’s story to urge more people to join local volunteer departments, saying volunteer fire service is now struggling to recruit enough members.