Local firefighters remember 9/11
TRAVERSE CITY -- For firefighters here in Northern Michigan the emotions are still raw, they lost hundreds of their brothers and sisters when the towers fell.
7&4's Lauren Amstutz sat down with the Traverse City Fire Department to talk about how that day has changed the way they do their job.
Traverse City Fire Chief Jim Tuller remembers the horrific events of September 11th like it was yesterday. He was at a fire Marshall Conference in Lansing with other firefighters from across the state.
Chief Jim Tuller says, "It was mass exodus...everyone ran to their rooms to call home, their stations. Everyone from Lansing and Detroit areas left they didn't know if they were a target."
Lieutenant Mike Onthank just got home from the fire station; glued to the TV he watched the attacks unfold from home.
Lt. Mike Onthank says, "I said to my wife, some firefighters are going to die today. I knew fighting a high rise 80 stories up, just what they had to do to put out the fire... something bad was going to happen."
His fears became a reality, more than 300 New York City firefighters died that day. Ten years later it's still raw.
Lieutenant Onthank say, “We had 343 guys die, that's still hard."
9-11 changed everything.
Chief Tuller says, "We had to develop new policies. We had to secure the station and we put electronic locks on the doors. It used to be a neighborhood building, open door policy. Not anymore."
The Federal Government now also gives departments funding for equipment like chemical agent monitors and radiation detectors. While firefighters are prepared for anything that comes their way, the day they lost their brave friends still fills their minds.
Traverse City Firefighter Nate McKerchie says, "You hope and pray you're as good as the guys that have done the job before you."
Chief Tuller says, "I'm fortunate to be here, 343 others are not. I carry them with me every day."
