'It doesn't get better,' according to an NYC Firefighter

For Tucson and Marana residents, September 11 remains connected not only to the history of New York City, but also to a former firefighter and police officer who built much of his life in Southern Arizona. Dan Rowan, a retired New York City firefighter and former Marana police officer, says the passage of time has not softened the memories of the 2001 attacks. As the 25th anniversary approaches, Rowan is preparing to return to Manhattan to honor the firefighters, police officers and civilians who died, while continuing to speak with younger firefighters across the country.

Rowan was off duty on September 11, 2001, when he learned that terrorists had hijacked four planes and attacked the World Trade Center. He immediately understood that he and his friend, New York City Police Officer Bob Massey, needed to go to Lower Manhattan. They rushed toward the scene and arrived as the North Tower collapsed. Rowan’s fellow firefighters from Engine 33 and Ladder 9 were inside the tower. Ladder 9 was parked near the northeast corner of the World Trade Center, close to Seventh Avenue, when the collapse sent debris into the fire truck.

The scene has remained sharply etched in Rowan’s mind. He remembers seeing the truck on fire and finding the BF4, the document listing the firefighters assigned to work that day, burning inside. The wreckage included pieces of the Trade Center itself. For Rowan, the image of the damaged apparatus still brings back the details of that morning with painful clarity. He said that as he gets older, the memories do not become easier, despite what people often tell survivors and first responders.

Rowan was placed in charge of eight other firefighters as they searched the ruins for survivors and victims. He described the conditions as surreal, with dust and debris falling through the air and an unsettling absence of the sounds people might expect at a disaster scene. He knew where his colleagues should have been and understood that many of them were not coming out. Ladder 9 lost three firefighters, while Engine 33 lost seven, for a total of 10 members from those two units.

His work at ground zero continued for 72 hours. After taking one day away from the site, Rowan returned for another 72-hour shift. The first responders worked amid the remains of the towers and the hazardous air that followed the collapses. Rowan said they did not have masks or comparable protection while operating at the site for days. The danger did not end when the attacks were over. The smoke, dust and other materials exposed workers to carcinogens and substances linked to cancer.

A total of 415 first responders died at the World Trade Center on September 11. Rowan also pointed to the much larger number of first responders who have died in the years since, illnesses that he associates with exposure at ground zero. He said that more than 465 first responders had passed away from those effects, a figure that reflects the continuing cost of the disaster decades later. The losses are part of the reason the anniversary remains a living event for many families and emergency workers, rather than simply a historical date.

Rowan credits his move to Arizona and the state’s dry climate with helping preserve his health. His years in Southern Arizona did not separate him from the people he lost. Even while serving as a Marana police officer, he continued carrying the memories of the fallen firefighters with him. He remains in contact with relatives of those who died, including Jeanie, the sister of Bobby Evans. Rowan said he plans to be present in Manhattan when family members and first responders gather to remember them.

His connection to September 11 has also shaped the work he does now. Rowan regularly leaves Tucson to speak to graduating firefighter classes in communities around the country. Some of the firefighters he addresses were not yet born when the attacks occurred. He uses those conversations to keep alive the experiences of the people who responded, the risks they faced and the human cost of the day. For a new generation entering the profession, September 11 is something they learned about rather than something they personally witnessed.

Rowan continues to describe the attacks as the event that gave his life a defining purpose. He says the impact never truly leaves, and that he still considers himself part of the community connected to the tragedy. His message to Tucson area residents and to the firefighters he addresses is the same one repeated every September: remember the innocent people who were killed, honor the first responders who ran toward danger and make sure younger generations understand what changed. For Rowan, “never forget” is not a slogan that comes around once a year. It is an obligation he has carried from New York to Marana and continues to carry wherever he goes.