Changed by 9/11: Allan Schneider, Hampton Bays Firefighter

A firefighter with 28 years of technical rescue training, Allen Schneider of the was prepared to do his job on September 11 when his unit was placed on standby.  Hours passed and Schneider and his fellow volunteer firefighters waited anxiously — they wanted to help; they wanted to do what they were trained to do — provide rescue services in a building collapse situation.

Then, on September 12, they got the call. Along with a few other Long Island technical rescue teams, Schneider’s unit was dispatched to Ground Zero.

“It was rescue gridlock,” said Schneider, whose unit was stationed on Chamber Street.

Throughout the day, Schneider said he watched as rescue workers sifted through the rubble. The hardest part, he said, was not only sitting idle, adrenalin pumping, waiting to be called into the pile, but watching through the dust-filled air the faces of New York City Firefighters.

“We always looked up to these guys,” said Schneider. “They are our heroes, larger than life, nothing scares them. But to see their broken faces and sadness in their eyes, just makes you sick.”

After nearly eight hours, the Hampton Bays Fire Department was relived. They were sent home with heavy hearts, but Schneider said also a feeling that he has never experienced before — That Manhattan was more like a small town, like Hampton Bays. Not a big city.