Thursday, October 1, 2026
Nine years ago, Capt. Al Fuentes of the New York City Fire Department's Marine Division was pinned beneath a steel girder and rubble after he rushed to search for survivors in the north tower of the World Trade Center. Tower 2 had collapsed, and firefighters were struggling to get to the scene to rescue survivors, including Fuentes, a Long Beach resident, who was pulled from the rubble two hours later.
Although he sustained injuries to his skull, lungs and ribs, Fuentes lived to tell not only his story, but those of the men and women who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Those memories were recalled last Saturday, when members of the Long Beach Fire Department, residents and city officials gathered for a memorial ceremony at the Firemen's Memorial at Lafayette and Park Avenue, one of several services held throughout the city on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford led a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial on Virginia Avenue and West Beech Street. The Town of Hempstead held its memorial ceremony at Town Park Point Lookout on Lido Boulevard, and it featured two 15-foot-tall chrome towers and the release of white doves as a symbol of reflection, healing and hope.
About 100 people gathered at the Firemen's Memorial to pay their respects, shedding tears and listening to stories of inspiration from Fuentes and others. "I have always said that I saw the worst in humanity that day and the best," said Fuentes, a keynote speaker who at times struggled to hold back tears. "I like to say that I saw the best."
Fuentes recalled the bravery of fellow firefighters Terry Hatton, Michael Kiefer and Patrick O'Keefe, as well as volunteer firefighters from Long Beach who responded that day. "This uncommon valor is not limited to uniformed personnel, but citizens as well," Fuentes said. "I will never forget how we responded as Americans."
Many echoed those sentiments, on a day when American flags lined the boardwalk and clear skies recalled the early-morning hours of 9/11. "We need to continue to honor the memory of people we lost that day," said Fire Chief Scott Kemins.
This was the first year Long Beach resident Neil McCarthy, a lieutenant with the FDNY in Far Rockaway, didn't attend ceremonies at ground zero. "I figured I'd stay closer to home, closer to the community," said McCarthy, who responded to the attacks as a member of Engine 236. "I lost a lot of friends that day. I watch it on TV ... it seems surreal."
City Councilman John McLaughlin, a retired FDNY firefighter who spent time on the pile after the attacks, searching for survivors, will forever recall 9/11 in black and white, a day when everything south of the Brooklyn Bridge was covered in dust. "It almost seems like an out-of-body experience," McLaughlin recalled. A member of the Waterfront Warriors who visits wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, McLaughlin said that even though many of them were only 10 years old in 2001, the attacks left an indelible impression on them, as it did on many Americans. "You talk to them and ask why they joined, and most of them say it was because of 9/11," he said.
For Noreen Costello, sister of Patrick O'Keefe, a firefighter who died on 9/11, the day was about honoring not only her brother's memory, but all of the people who died that day. "It's really done in memory of everyone who lost their lives back then," Costello said. "
She was on hand for the annual Brotherhood Walk and the Spirit Rider Regatta on Saturday. The walk attracted over 200 people, and was followed by the regatta off National Boulevard beach. The O'Keefe Foundation, named for Patrick, provides college scholarships for high school seniors who have lost a parent in a violent circumstance or a young person starting over as an immigrant in the United States and has become a citizen.
Costello said that although it has been nine years since that day, the wounds are still there, though they are not as raw anymore. "Strength is forged in sacrifice," she said, "and we will never forget."
