As we approach the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, Townhall plans to honor the lives lost and the lives forever changed with our “Heroes of 9/11” series. Every day from now until September 11, we will highlight an American hero. This year, most especially, we wish not simply to commemorate an event, but the character of exceptional men and women who demonstrated the best of humanity in one of its darkest moments. More than that, we want to educate younger generations for whom September 11 is little more than a historical episode so that we embody what it means to “Never Forget.”
It was 1982, and Peter J. Ganci was a lieutenant with FDNY Ladder 124. His crew responded to an apartment building that was engulfed in flames. The smoke and heat were intense, and Ganci knew children were trapped inside. He watched for an opening in the flames and charged into the blaze at the first opportunity. Inside, he threw burning furniture out of his path, searching the rooms for children. He found Lydia Perez, who was five years old. Ganci carried her lifeless body to the window and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before handing Lydia over to another firefighter. Ganci then returned and helped rescue another victim.
Lydia Perez survived, thanks to Ganci, and he received the B.C. Frank Tuttlemondo medal for his bravery. After investigating the incident, B.C. Robert Scalone of the 28th Battalion wrote of Ganci, “without regard for his own safety, Ganci, with unerring skill and accuracy, moved into an atmosphere heavily charged with heat and smoke. If it were not for his quick, skillful actions the rescued child would certainly have perished.”
For his part, Ganci saw it as simply part of the job. “When a firefighter realizes that someone is being robbed of life by fire, adrenaline and determination replace any thoughts of personal safety,” he said.
That attitude carried Ganci, now Chief of the Department, on September 11, 2001. That morning, Ganci was at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn when Flight 11 hit the North Tower. Along with his deputy, Daniel Nigro, Ganci headed toward Manhattan.
When they approached the Brooklyn Bridge, the two firefighters could see the North Tower burning.
“Pete, this’ll be the worst day of our lives,” Nigro recalled saying.
But Ganci was already escalating the FDNY response while en route to the World Trade Center. Over the radio, Ganci said, “Transmit a fifth alarm for this box,” and ordered a staging area be set up on West Street.
Once at the World Trade Center, Ganci ran the FDNY response, and he moved the incident command post out of the lobby of the North Tower and onto West Street. From there, he launched rescue operations in both towers as well as the Marriott Hotel sitting between them.
They thought they had time, too. FDNY Deputy Chief Pete Hayden believed they had “hours” to rescue people from the World Trade Center, and even though they considered a localized building collapse on the burning floors, no steel high-rise in history had ever completely collapsed due to fire.
That changed on 9/11.
At 9:59 AM, the South Tower collapsed. Ganci was still at the West Street command post. “When the South Tower collapsed, what we did was we either ran, got blown or fell down,” said Chief Salvatore Cassano, who was working the command post with Ganci. “I realized we have people up there, the building is loaded with our guys. We got to get them out of there.”
“None of us expected the building to come down,” said Nigro. “We expected the fire to keep burning and conditions to get worse, but if we could just get one route above in each building, perhaps we could bring some folks down at least … we just needed time.”
Somehow, Cassano and Ganci both survived the South Tower collapse. Ganci ordered people to evacuate the area, then headed to the North Tower to order its evacuation, too.
It wasn’t the first time Ganci put his firefighters before himself. Three months before 9/11, Ganci responded from his home to a call of firefighters trapped in a burning store. He went wearing shorts and boat shoes.
Ganci once said the 11,000 firefighters who worked for him were his children. And that morning, he went to the North Tower to save them.
“When a firefighter realizes that someone is being robbed of life by fire, adrenaline and determination replace any thoughts of personal safety,”
At 10:28 AM, the North Tower collapsed.
Peter J. Ganci was killed. He was 54 years old and the highest-ranking member of the FDNY to give his life that day.
He left behind his wife, Kathleen, and their three children: two sons, Peter III, who was a firefighter with Ladder Company 111 at the time, and Christopher, and their daughter, Danielle.
Ganci’s body was recovered from the rubble later that afternoon; he still had his walkie-talkie with him. It now sits in the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
In 2022, “60 Minutes” ran a segment on the FDNY that day, and it featured a segment on Ganci. Scott Pelley interviewed both Dan Nigro and Salvatore Cassano.
“Pete, I guess people would say he’s my alter ego,” said Nigro. “Had a chest full of medals and he was just a down-to-earth, honest, hardworking guy.”
“That’s the kind of person Pete was. He would put people before himself, without a doubt,” said Cassano.
On 9/11, Ganci acted with the same selfless bravery that saved the life of Lydia Perez in 1982.
In the process of rescuing thousands, the FDNY lost 343 members. Among them was Pete Ganci. Under Ganci’s leadership and command, the FDNY helped safely evacuate more than 25,000 people from the World Trade Center complex before the towers collapsed.
That day, and his father’s sacrifice, drove Chris Ganci to change career paths. He went from a promising career in pharmaceutical sales and a graduate degree to joining the FDNY.
“9/11 was such a dark time and period of my life. Everything that revolved around it. This was the first like ray of sunshine I had in my life,” he told CBS News in 2011. It’s in their work with the FDNY where Pete and Chris feel closest to their father.
“There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about my father,” Chris said. “I think about him when I’m trying to fix something at my house. I think about what he would do or where he is right now — if he’s proud of me, if he’s proud of Pete. I’m pretty sure he is, I hope he is.”
This is part of the American Heroes of 9/11 series. To read more about the American Heroes of 9/11, click here.
Editor’s Note: We must never forget those lost on 9/11 and the American heroes who sacrificed their lives to save countless others.
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