By Sarah Moskowitz
While Dixin always took pride in the career path he chose, only after the events of Sept. 11 last year does Dixin think firefighters are getting the respect they deserve.
Before the attacks, firefighters were less recognized for their efforts and blended more into the community "like wallpaper," said Dixin, who served for FDNY Division 14 as a division chief aid. But, he said, the view of firefighters has been positively altered, garnering a stronger appreciation from the public.
"They really realize how much...[firefighters] put on the line every day. We seem to have a certain respect," he said.
Lynbrook Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Matzen believes that firefighters have always been viewed as do-gooders because they save lives and belongings. He thinks that since last fall firefighters are looked at in a better and friendlier way, but he never thought they had a bad reputation.
"The magnitude [of public appreciation] has increased," said Matzen. "It definitely intensified to a degree."
Malverne's Volunteer Fire Department Chief Richard Fusco said the public might have had a distorted image of the attitudes and responsibilities of firefighters before the attacks, claiming "it's not all fun and games." He agrees that firefighters are now getting more credit for their efforts than in the past, although he believes the acknowledgement is long overdue.
"It's about time we got the recognition for the dangerous job that we do," said Fusco. "They're finally realizing that we do provide service to the communities."
Malverne volunteer firefighter John O'Brien also thinks the public view of firefighters has brightened.
"[The public] realized [we are] not a bunch of people with a hobby driving around on a truck," he said. "It's kind of a shame that it took Sept. 11 for [the public] to realize it. However, I think they recognize that we're serving the public and there's a degree of risk involved." He believes the recognition is especially strong on Long Island, where many firehouses are manned voluntarily.
After Sept. 11, firsthand accounts of firefighters' days down at Ground Zero were broadcast through every media medium. Society became more conscious of firefighter's hard work and a wholehearted response to their heroism poured into local fire stations.
O'Brien saw examples of public appreciation through gifts to the Malverne firehouse such as T-shirts, baked cookies and a handmade plaque of an American flag.
Certain touching moments stick out in Dixin's mind as well, besides the contributions of food, provisions and other gifts of thanks to firefighters. He recalls standing outside of a Manhattan firehouse last September when a passerby approached him. He assumed she would ask for directions. Instead she hugged him, shook his hand and said, "I just wanted to thank you." Dixin was caught off guard. He also fondly remembers a candlelit vigil outside of his own firehouse in Corona, Queens and the woman who stepped forward to sing "The Wind Beneath My Wings."
"It was quite moving," he said.
From a professional perspective, Dixin sees the efforts of firefighters on Sept. 11 in a different light than those outside the force. While onlookers may label firefighters as heroes, Dixin believes they are simply doing the job they have chosen to do.
"Firefighters have a desire to help people," he said.
"It's part of your discipline...to follow procedure to save the life of your team and the lives of those people," said Fusco. "[The word] 'hero' is really in the eye of the beholder."
Fusco said all firefighters know they will face dangerous situations and that as a firefighter, there is more of a risk of losing than winning against the challenges they handle, as "calculated risks" are part of the job. Fusco added that Sept. 11 revealed how hazardous firefighting is most of the time, and that only sometimes it is heroic.
O'Brien feels that firefighters, along with policemen and other law enforcement, and everyone else who helped at the World Trade Center, were all heroes. He said the circumstances of Sept. 11 caused people to be heroic in ways they did not think they were capable of.
"Any public serviceman who loses their life on the job is a hero," he said.
