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On the morning of September 11, 2001, 20-year-old Aaron McLamb, an amateur photographer, was at his office on the 10th floor near the Brooklyn Bridge when the unthinkable happened: a plane crashed into the North Tower. Stunned and horrified, McLamb watched as, less than 20 minutes later, a second plane struck the South Tower.
Without hesitation, McLamb grabbed his camera. He caught a heart-stopping moment: a red fire truck, NYPD Ladder 118, racing across the Brooklyn Bridge, with the flames and destruction of the World Trade Center looming in the background.
The truck was heading to the heart of Lower Manhattan in response to a fire call—one that no one knew would become a final, fateful mission for the six firefighters aboard.
McLamb, who had often passed by the station, was in awe of their unwavering bravery. As he later put it, “Not all heroes wear capes.”
Aaron McLamb, a 20-year-old from North Carolina, had always dreamed of becoming a firefighter. Growing up, he often passed the FDNY Ladder 118 station on Middagh St. in Brooklyn, striking up conversations with the brave men and women stationed there.
An aspiring photographer, McLamb, who went by the Instagram handle @rr_equipment_and_more, had a passion for capturing the powerful presence of the fire truck. Little did he know, one photo taken on the morning of September 11, 2001, would become an iconic snapshot—immortalizing the final, heroic journey of six firefighters as they rushed toward their fateful call. It was a moment that would define not only McLamb’s photography but also the indomitable courage of those who risked everything.
Aaron McLamb was on the 10th floor of the Jehovah’s Witness facility near the Brooklyn Bridge when the unimaginable struck. A plane, carrying 20,000 gallons of jet fuel, slammed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
McLamb watched in stunned silence as flames erupted from the building. Less than 20 minutes later, a second plane appeared in the sky, cutting sharply toward the South Tower and crashing into it near the 60th floor.
In that moment of chaos, McLamb grabbed his camera from a storage room, instinctively positioning himself at a bay window. He began snapping photos.
“I saw the fire trucks going across the bridge, and I just had to start taking pictures,” McLamb, now 37, shared with the Daily News. “At the time, I had no idea that those guys wouldn’t be coming back. It felt almost surreal, being so high up, watching the chaos unfold below. We couldn’t hear the crackling of the fires or the groaning of the buildings—only the wail of the sirens from the fire trucks as they sped across the bridge.”
One of the photos McLamb captured—showing Ladder 118 racing across the Brooklyn Bridge, with the towering plume of black smoke from the burning towers behind—would go on to become one of the most iconic images of the 9/11 attacks.
Ladder 118
After the second plane crashed into the South Tower, six firefighters from Ladder 118—Vernon Cherry, Leon Smith, Joey Agnello, Robert Regan, Pete Vega, and Scott Davidson—left their Brooklyn Heights firehouse and rushed toward the destruction.
Upon arrival, they plunged deeper into the chaos, heading toward the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel. As they entered, the ground trembled beneath their feet—the 110-story towers began to collapse, shattering the hotel around them.
Survivors later recalled seeing the brave firefighters, their helmets marked with the number 118, charging up the stairs to help guests trapped in the building. These were among the last heroic acts they would ever perform. The six men were never seen alive again.
Bobby Graff, a former elevator mechanic at the Marriott, remembered their unwavering resolve: “They knew what was going on, and they went down with their ship.” As Graff spoke of the hundreds of lives saved, he added, “They weren’t going to leave until everyone got out. They must have saved a couple hundred people that day. I know they saved my life.”
In the days that followed, Graff shared the details of the firefighters’ final moments. He described how they refused to abandon their mission, even as the towers fell around them.
Retired firefighter John Sorrentino recalled the moment the building began to collapse: “They heard the rumble of the tower coming down, and everyone just started running. After the smoke cleared, Graff was in a spot where he survived, and everyone else died.”
Sorrentino added, “You could see it on the faces of the guys from 118—they knew this was going to end badly, but they weren’t leaving. They stayed to get as many people out safely as they could.”
“That’s how we found out what Ladder 118 did that day,” Sorrentino concluded, his voice heavy with respect and sorrow.
Some of the men from Ladder 118 were found mere feet apart, their final moments spent together in the midst of the unimaginable. Others were discovered days, even weeks, later, their bodies scattered across the debris of Ground Zero.
The fire truck that had been last seen charging across the Brooklyn Bridge toward the catastrophe was later recovered, a twisted heap of steel and glass. The mangled wreck was retrieved in the days following the attack, a grim testament to the destruction that had unfolded.
Two months later, as firefighters continued to sift through the mountains of rubble, they uncovered tools engraved with the Ladder 118 logo—a small but poignant symbol of the fallen heroes who had given everything to save others. These artifacts, like the men themselves, became part of the legacy of courage that would never be forgotten.
The heroes of Ladder 118
Vernon Cherry, a 30-year veteran of the FDNY, was just months away from retiring at the end of the year. At 49, Cherry lived in New York City with his wife and three children, but his life was filled with more than just the firehouse. He had a passion for singing and often moonlighted as a wedding singer.
Those who worked with him at the firehouse remember Cherry not just as a dedicated firefighter, but as a man whose voice could fill every corner of the station. “He would just sing,” one firefighter recalled. “Walking up the stairs, in the locker room, even in the shower. He had such a beautiful voice.”
Cherry’s presence wasn’t only felt in the firehouse—it echoed in the hearts of everyone who knew him, leaving behind a legacy of warmth, humor, and unshakable dedication.
Leon Smith, 48, a dedicated father of three, had been with the FDNY since 1982. As the chauffeur for Ladder 118, he was responsible for driving the rig, a job he took immense pride in. His mother, Irene, fondly remembered how meticulous Leon was about his truck. “He would wash his rig every single day. When he went off duty, he’d say, ‘Listen, my baby better be clean.’ He called it his girlfriend,” she recalled with a smile.
Joseph Agnello, 35, a loving father of two, was a firefighter who cherished his family and his life. His wife, Vinnie Carla Agnello, reflected on her husband’s humility: “People on my block didn’t know my husband was a fireman. He never needed to talk about himself or the job. He wasn’t the type of person who needed attention. He just loved his kids, his dogs, and his life.”
Lt. Robert “Bobby” Regan, 48, initially worked as a civil engineer before joining the FDNY to spend more time with his children. “He was Mr. Mom,” said his wife, Donna. “There was never a day that went by where we didn’t know how lucky we were. We always told our kids that not everyone gets to be as happy as we are.”
Pete Vega, 36, joined the FDNY in 1995 after serving six years in the U.S. Air Force, including a stint in Desert Storm. He was known for his kindness and generosity, even in the small things. His wife recalled, “If he was cleaning out our gutter, he would clean the neighbor’s too.”
Scott Davidson, a 33-year-old father, began his firefighting career in 1994. He was the father of Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson. Known for his humor and heart of gold, Scott was a man who loved Christmas and always tried to spread joy. His son, Pete, later spoke of the trauma of losing his father: “You know, Dad says he’s coming to pick you up and he doesn’t. For life, I’m like, I don’t believe anyone…”
Three of the men—Agnello, Vega, and Cherry—are buried together in adjacent plots in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. “They were found side by side, and they should stay side by side,” Agnello’s wife said with reverence.
The six men of Ladder 118 were part of the 343 firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11, a staggering toll that, as USA Today reported, accounted for nearly half of the FDNY’s “on-duty deaths in the department’s entire 100-year history.”
Sorrentino, another firefighter at the Brooklyn Heights firehouse, was there when McLamb arrived with a stack of photographs. The survivors at the station immediately recognized the fire truck in one of the images as Ladder 118. McLamb then shared the haunting photo with the media, and it quickly became one of the most iconic images of the 9/11 tragedy. It showed the fire truck racing toward the towers, its final mission symbolizing both the patriotism and the devastating loss of that fateful day.
Two years later, McLamb joined a Reddit conversation to reflect on the story behind the image. “I took this pic. These [firefighters] were super nice guys. They always talked to me when I passed the station,” McLamb wrote. “I had no clue that any of these guys wouldn’t come back, but I admired their bravery. I imagined them looking through the front windows of the rig, knowing they were heading into the fight of their lives. Not all heroes wear capes.”
Our hearts and thoughts are with all the emergency workers who were so dedicated to their work that they ultimately gave their lives. Their selflessness saved countless others, and without their courage and support, the tragedy of that day would have been even more devastating.
To the families and friends of the brave men of Ladder 118, we hope you can find comfort in knowing that hundreds of lives were saved because of their heroic actions. Your loved ones’ legacy lives on in the countless people who owe their survival to their bravery.
Please share this story and, in honor of Ladder 118, let’s take a moment to express our gratitude to all emergency workers. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten.
If this story moved you, you should also read about the unsung hero who saved thousands of lives on 9/11. Their incredible courage and selflessness may not have been widely recognized, but their actions made all the difference in the midst of unimaginable chaos.
