At the same time, I am embarrassed to be part of a system that has so miserably failed the citizens in the affected areas.

In New Orleans, 70 percent of their stations were flooded and many will never be useable again.

At that point we stood back and coached those people.

We tried to find the fire stations. We went to the GPS coordinates and there was nothing there, just concrete slabs.

should remind people of the role the fire service plays. They are the first responders when something happens. We lost 343 firefighters that day. Annually, we generally lose over 100 per year in the line of duty.

The things that happened that day are significant for our country, ... It's like Pearl Harbor Day. It should be a reminder to us all about what a great country we live in.