Miles Away In Another Arena, Scores Of Fire And ...

Miles away in another arena, scores of fire and policemen were becoming voluntary heroes in an effort to save people inside the World Trade Center buildings. Twelve firemen were lost from the Park Slope fire station in Brooklyn. One of them was named David Fontana, a 10 year veteran of the department. His 8th wedding anniversary fell on Sept. 11.

Dave had worked all night at the station and just phoned his wife to let her know he’d be home in a few minutes when the five alarm fire call came in. A colleague of his, Sean Cummins, dug at the Ground Zero site for three straight weeks, “hoping to find Dave’s body, or helmet or scrap of his uniform. Anything so Marian Fontana will have something to visit on Sunday afternoons.”

I think most of us would agree that Dave Fontana is a hero, and that Sean Cummins is a hero in his own right as well.