Maple Ridge fire chief reflects solemnly on 9/11

As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, Maple Ridge fire chief Dave Samson is reflecting on his 2001 trip to New York, where he and other firefighters from Greater Vancouver supported the families of fallen New York City firefighters.

Samson recently watched video of firefighters entering one of the World Trade Center towers and recognized the name Burnside on a firefighter’s turnout coat. Days after the attacks in 2001, Samson attended that firefighter’s funeral.

Then a young firefighter in Burnaby, Samson travelled with firefighters from across Greater Vancouver and B.C. The Canadian firefighters were asked to wear dress uniforms and attend line-of-duty death services while New York City firefighters continued filling shifts and searching the World Trade Center debris for civilians, firefighters, police officers and port authority workers.

With support from union locals and department management teams, Samson travelled to New York with 19 close colleagues. During one week, he attended five funerals, including that of John Patrick Burnside, who died in the World Trade Center attack at age 36. The attacks killed 2,977 people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Samson recalled that New York firefighters worked 48-hour shifts and returned during their time off to “The Pile,” the remains of the World Trade Center, to search rubble for remains. He said he met people who had not been home for six weeks because they were working or going to the site.

He also attended the funeral of Lennie, or Leonard, Ragaglia, who died in the attack. Ragaglia’s obituary says his father, Leonard Sr., was a firefighter and that Ragaglia, 36, followed him into the service. Ragaglia was survived by his wife, Donna, and sons Anthony and Lennie; Samson recently learned that the younger Lennie has become a firefighter at the same firehouse where his father served.

Samson said the visiting firefighters remained in dress uniform throughout their stay and travelled through all five boroughs for events that brought both grief and laughter. They were invited into the temporary FDNY command post at firehouse No. 10, near the World Trade Center site, which survived despite debris piled against it. He said the group formed strong relationships with FDNY members who survived the attacks.

The firehouse Samson thinks of each Sept. 11 is the Pride of Midtown on Eighth Avenue in Times Square, where Ragaglia had been stationed. It houses Engine 54, Ladder 4 and Battalion 9, whose entire crew of 15 died on Sept. 11. Samson returned there with other firefighters at the end of August, spoke with the crew on duty and viewed the wall of photographs of the 15 firefighters.

He said more firefighters have since died directly because of exposure to the collapsed buildings. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently announced the release of previously undisclosed records on air quality after the 2001 attacks. CNN reported that the records showed officials knew air around Ground Zero was unsafe to breathe despite repeated public assurances.

Samson said there will be no formal local public observance of the 25th anniversary, though firefighters will mark the day personally. He plans to wear an Engine 54, Ladder 4 and Battalion 9 T-shirt under his uniform and take a quiet moment with a coffee.

Pitt Meadows Fire and Rescue Service deputy fire chief Ben Wilson said his department has no special event planned. A regional ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sept. 11 at Peace Arch Park in White Rock, where hundreds of people are expected. The event is expected to include four New York City first responders who served on 9/11, both national anthems, a helicopter flypast and a community barbecue.