Maricopa first-responders reflect on 9/11 anniversary

Today marks the 13-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

More than 3,000 lives were lost and the collapse of the twin towers caused more than $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage, according to National Geographic.

It is still an emotional topic for many Americans and people across the world who were directly or indirectly affected, including local public safety officers.

“I was on duty at the Gila River fire station,” said Reid Rogers, Maricopa Fire Department captain. “I came into the room as the first plane hit the tower and I watched the second plane hit the tower live.”

Rogers said he was in such shock and is so desensitized with images of violence and tragedies from movies and TV shows that the true severity of the situation didn’t sink in until later.

Rogers had a co-worker who used his vacation to travel to New York and help out in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Chief Brady Leffler was working for the Mesa Fire Department at the time: “I was in my office ready to go home and I turned on the news as I usually do when I am about to leave the office and I watched it unfold at the department with our crew.”

Leffler said he was at a conference in Seattle in 2004 and heard one of the New York Fire Department firefighters who was trapped in the stairwell give a chilling account of the experience.

“It makes me appreciate the sacrifice that all public safety officers are willing to make to go headlong into a situation like that and put their lives on the line,” Leffler. “It makes me proud to be a firefighter.”

“From my perspective it illustrated what firefighters were willing to do to protect lives and property,” Rogers said. “There were 343 firefighter lives lost.”

Maricopa Police Chief Steve Stahl was a sergeant with the Mesa Police Department on 9/11. “We were at a large table staffing a case when we actually saw the second plane strike the tower. We all stopped momentarily and you could have heard a pin drop for about two minutes.”

“Those who could be saved on that tragic day were saved by heroic men and women of the public safety profession who risked their safety, their future with their loved ones, for the safety of others in a time of crisis,” Stahl said. “Law enforcement has changed a great deal since that day, but the fundamental heroism of putting others first will never change in this profession.”

Stahl still lives by lessons learned that day.

“Prepare every day as if it may be your final day," he said. “Live life to its fullest and always let your loved ones know how much they matter. But train as if you will be the healthiest and most tactically-sound officer available to respond to the challenge when it is presented.”