Rising from the Ashes: Rebuilding the Liberty Street Firehouse

Located directly across the street from the World Trade Center, it's not surprising that the Liberty Street firehouse became -- in an instant -- a refuge for those seeking shelter from the chaos on the streets and the choking mounds of soot.

"All you could see were clouds of thick gray ash," says Capt. Gene Kelty of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). "It was like Mount St. Helens had just erupted."

While falling debris crushed an ambulance in front of the firehouse, two emergency medical technicians worked in the back of the station, tending to two men with broken bones. When the second plane crashed into the tower, debris and dust came flying through the doors, and the back window of the firehouse shattered.

"At that point, we made sure everybody evacuated the building," says Kelty.

In the next few days, there was talk of closing the firehouse, home to Engine Co. 10 and Ladder Co. 10, also known as Ten House. Kelty was opposed to the idea from the beginning.

"I didn't want to just pack up the flag and leave," he says. "That would be admitting defeat."

Instead, Ten House became a staging area, where rescue workers could come for a change of clothes, water or food. Doctors stood by, treating rescue workers for lacerations and eye problems from the dust.

Meanwhile, everyone held out hope, waiting for survivors to emerge from the rubble.

"We had a whole medical team waiting to treat victims," says Kelty. "We thought we were going to be so busy, but all we found was steel upon steel upon steel."

By the end of October, Kelty and his men were facing burnout and despair.

"It was like the movie Groundhog Day, but in a war zone," he says. "Every day, we confronted the same hopelessness."

Hoplessness and sadness because the Fire Department of New York lost 343 firefighters. Kelty's Ten House lost six men in the attack, including one who was filling in for a colleague and another who was retired.

When it seemed that they'd also lost their firehouse, it almost killed their spirit, says Kelty.

"Morale was really low for a while," he says. "All the other fire companies could go back to their firehouses and regroup, but Ten House was left a shell of its former self."

Although the foundation remained solid, the station roof was damaged, along with the electrical and ventilation systems and interior walls.

Like much of New York, Ten House is being rebuilt. A $1.45 million grant from FEMA will cover the cost of renovating and preserving the station. FEMA also provided $28.3 million to FDNY to replace vehicles destroyed in the disaster.

"I think it's enormously important that we show terrorists that we can come back from a disaster like that," said R. David Paulison, Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration, an entity of FEMA. "Ten House is a symbol of our coming back."

Capt. Kelty couldn't agree more.

"Ten House will be like a phoenix," says Kelty. "We're coming out of the ashes again, literally."