Reprinted from September 2001, this is the story of one local person who experienced “Ground Zero” in person in the days immediately following the 9-11 attack.
by David Flint
Rob Soncini, a firefighter in the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department, was helping out at the Muster Sunday, It was a pleasant fall day for the Muster, and the event was, as usual, fun-filled and upbeat. But Rob had just returned that morning from what some are calling the “jaws of hell”. He was a volunteer rescue worker at the World Trade Center from Thursday through Saturday. He did not go as a Stephentown firefighter. Volunteers from the SVFD, some 15 of them, are on a waiting list, to be assigned as needed by the Rensselaer County Bureau of Emergency Services. Rob, however, had responded to an 800 number put out on Tuesday by the New York City Emergency Medical Services and was asked to come down by them. He went down Thursday afternoon and was put to work on “Ground Zero” on the south side of Tower 1. He joined a team, painstakingly and thoroughly digging bucket by bucket, and sifting through the buckets for body parts. he put in three hours on Friday. Then on Saturday he worked one-hour shifts, going for rehab in between at the Javits Center being used as a staging area. There was a scare at one point at 1 Liberty Plaza when the call came to “Evacuate, Evacuate!” He grabbed his brother, who was also working there as a volunteer from Pittsfield, and ran.
Rob worked under the direction of the New York Fire Department. “It was physically and emotionally draining,” he said. “It has changed my outlook on life – how I look at people.” He said he was in awe of the effort put in by the rescue workers down there, the long shifts they put in, how they refuse to give up looking for their comrades. Even though most of the people buried in the rubble must be dead, the rescuers refuse to give up.
Rob was provided a place to stay by a lady who had donated her apartment at 9th Avenue and 24th street. As he was heading up in that direction, people were lining the streets, waving flags, and signs that said “We love you” and “Thank you” and giving hugs.
Rob says he is ready to go back if needed. He may be called back by the NYCEMS but he is also a member of a National Guard infantry unit based in Pittsfield, and may be called to go with them. As a firefighter and as a member of the National Guard, Rob says he has been trained to deal with disasters, but “Nothing,” he said “could prepare anyone for this!”