Safety Harbor Fire Department Officials Recall Time Spent at Ground Zero

Firefighters by nature are a rugged, confident bunch.

While they don’t like to toot their own horns, they're known to have a tough exterior, and they love to rib one another.

But sometimes emergency responders have experiences that change how they look at things, and those experiences force them to drop the jokes and band together like blood brothers.

That's the case with five Safety Harbor Fire Department officials who made a trip to Ground Zero shortly after the September 11 attacks, an experience that gave the men new perspectives and a greater appreciation for their brotherhood.

“We were on one of the first commercial flights up there after September 11,” Deputy Chief Mike Eash recalled of his trip with four fellow SHFD officials. "We were in that burning pit for about seven days. It was enormous."

“I am very proud and honored that I went. But I don’t know if I could do that again.” 

Eash, along with Fire Marshal Richard Brock, Captain Ray Duke, and firefighters/ paramedics David Pacheco, Jr. and Michael Pounds, all flew up to New York City less than one month after the attack to help out with the recovery process. 

They used their own vacation time and their own money to make the trip, flew commercial, and at first shuttled between Connecticut and the city, working 12-hour days in the surreal setting. 

“The first impression we had was the enormity of it —- seven acres,” said Brock, who has worked for SHFD for 32 years. “It was the size of downtown Safety Harbor, and everything was pulverized.” 

“It was very emotional to think so many people got killed there.” 

The five men worked tirelessly doing whatever was needed of them, such as attending the numerous funerals of fallen New York firefighters and “backfilling” — working fire investigations the decimated department had neither the time nor the manpower to work. 

But the week they spent at a lifeless Ground Zero helped forge bonds and friendships that will likely last a lifetime. 

“We ended up staying at a hotel right near the Staten Island firehouse that lost 15 guys,” Brock recalled. “When we were leaving, I handed out my business cards and I said call us when this clears up. Come to Florida and we’ll take care of you.” 

Many of them took Brock up on his offer, traveling to the area months later for some much needed R&R in the Sunshine State. 

“We took such good care of those guys, we couldn’t get rid of ‘em,” Brock joked. “Now they come back every year. Some even bought property around here.” 

Brock and Eash say they brought back mementos and memories of their time spent at the sight of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, although they don't display the photos and plaques openly, and they don't go around bragging about their participation.

But it's obvious the experience affected them in ways most of us will never imagine, and the memories, and friendships formed, will last forever.

“After I came back I went right back up there again two weeks later,” Brock explained. “When they saw I was from Florida, they took us in like we were family.” 

"We made lifelong friends up there.” 

“The whole experience was very humbling,” Eash added.