FDNY Firefighter Tim Duffy, though off duty, raced into the heart of the chaos on his 2000 Harley-Davidson Super Glide Sport — grabbing his gear from the firehouse and riding through a dust-choked Manhattan street to reach Ground Zero.
Duffy’s Harley-Davidson also survived the day.
On September 11, 2001, Tim Duffy was off duty, working on his 2000 Harley-Davidson.
Duffy says, “That morning I was actually doing a tune up on the bike, and I had a spark plug out when I heard the first explosion. It sounded far away and I wasn’t working so I continued working on the bike. But then I heard sirens, and the sirens didn’t stop after 10, 15, 20 seconds they just got louder and louder... so I knew something happened.
I ran into the house to call the fire house to see what was going on. As I reached for the phone it started ringing, my wife was dropping off my kids at the Y for pre-k, and she said a plane just hit the World Trade Center. I lived right on the beach... and I could see it from my kitchen window.
I turned and saw the North tower burning. So I was trying to get off the phone to go and of course she was telling me ‘You’re off today, you don’t have to go...’ and then the second plane hit. I told her I gotta go, I’ll see you later.”
Tim arrived just before the South Tower collapsed, crashing down and buried him in debris. He freed himself and got back to work, only thinking of others who’d also been victims of the terrorist attack. That day he helped save people who’d been seriously injured, commandeering a truck and driving back and forth to Ground Zero to assist wherever he could.
In the Nyack (NY) School District, we commemorate the life of Wells Crowther who became known as "The Man in the Red Bandana." He worked in One World Trade Center. He entered and left #1 WTC in the absence of lighting, escorting people down flights and flights of stairs to get them to safety. He always carried a red bandana for emergency needs which he used to cover his mouth on that day. He went in to @1 WTC once more to rescue people and never exited. One person rescued by Wells Crowther referred to her savior as "The Man in the Red Bandana" from which his willingness to give his life for others is remembered.
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