A restored 1974 Mack fire engine covered in the names, photos and company assignments of all 343 FDNY firefighters killed on September 11, 2001, rolled up to Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Station 32 in Fort Lauderdale this week, turning the station into a temporary shrine for retired New York firefighters who once worked alongside the men memorialized on its panels. The rig travels to events, and the station also happens to house BSO Fire Rescue's Technical Rescue Team, a unit whose own members deployed to Ground Zero in September 2001 as part of federal Urban Search and Rescue task forces.
The engine, operated by the Fire Department of New York Retirees of Southeast Florida, features a recreation of the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance, according to the Boca Post. As reported by WSVN 7News, 7News cameras captured hundreds of photos and names of the people who died displayed across the vehicle, which now serves as a traveling 9/11 memorial. Retired firefighter David Fischler told the station that the photos are meant to show viewers that the victims had families and children, not just careers.
Among those honored are Firefighter Daniel Suhr of Engine 216, who according to the outlet's report was struck by someone jumping from the towers, an emergency that forced his colleagues into a first aid operation that delayed them from going inside — and, in the process, saved their own lives when the tower fell minutes later. Also remembered are Joseph J. Angelini Sr. and Joseph J. Angelini Jr., and Firefighter Frank Palombo of Ladder Company 105, who left behind 10 children.
Survivors and the Friends They Buried
Paul Iannizzotto, who escaped the North Tower before it collapsed, told 7News he knew 108 of the 343 firefighters personally and still carries survivor's guilt. Retired firefighter Don Gander said he lost 32 close friends on September 11 and spent four days searching for loved ones without sleep alongside colleagues. Retired firefighter Sal D'Angelo dug at the site for eight days and attended 200 funerals in the aftermath, per the same account.
The engine also memorializes Sirius, a Port Authority bomb detection dog who died when the South Tower collapsed, and Firefighter Raymond R. York of Engine 285. Broward Fire Rescue Chief Timothy Keefe said he would never forget the September 11 attacks, and BSFR Division Chief Mike Nugent said the day remains emotionally unresolved for those who lived through it, according to the station's report.
A Health Crisis That Outlived the Attack
Chapter officials told 7News that tens of thousands of people now receive assistance from the World Trade Center Health Program because of exposure to dust and debris on September 11, and that the exposure issue remains ongoing. The federal program treats more than 145,000 enrolled first responders and survivors nationwide as of 2026, including over 43,000 living outside the New York metropolitan area, according to the Associated Press.
The scale of that crisis has grown stark: nearly 57,000 program members have been certified with 9/11-related cancers as of 2026, a 143% increase over five years, per the Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act. And as reported by Morningstar, the number of FDNY firefighters and EMS personnel who have died from post-9/11 toxic exposure illnesses has now surpassed the 343 members lost on the day of the attacks.
Why the Memorial Landed in Florida
Florida is home to retired New York first responders and multiple organized alumni clubs, including the FDNY 343 Memorial Club in The Villages, whose members act as historical sentinels for the families of the fallen, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. The Fire Department of New York Retirees Southeast Florida chapter said it will use the engine both to remind people of the losses from the attacks and to educate the public about the health issues stemming from toxic dust and debris exposure. The chapter has also raised money for law enforcement K9 units in the years since.
The memorial fire engine is not stopping in Fort Lauderdale. It is planned to visit an event in Margate on Friday, part of a schedule that will take it to several more September 11 commemorations across the region.
