I came into work last Friday and a coworker asked me why the flags at the station were at half-staff. "Are they down because of 9-11?" he asked. Actually they were down to honor two firefighters who had died last week when their aerial firefighting OV-10 aircraft went down while responding to a wildfire in Tulare County. Click here for memorial information. Killed were California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Battalion Chief Robert Stone and contract pilot George Willett. They were the 72nd and 73rd firefighters to die in the line of duty in the United States this year. On average the fire service experiences approximately 116 line of duty deaths (LODD) each year, but 9-11 changed all of that. In 2001, the toll was 449 firefighters.

U.S. Fire Administration: Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2005

I remember the day well. I was just getting ready for work when I turned on the television. I was shaken at what I saw. I came into work to find everyone glued to the television. It was like that for the rest of the day; glued to the television while running emergency calls in between. Those people wishing to do something tangible began bringing flowers, posters, cards and candles to our station. A makeshift memorial was set up on the street in front of our station and quickly grew. This went on for weeks. I think most fire stations around the country had similar experiences. When all was said and done, 343 firefighters, 10 EMTs and Paramedics and 72 Port Authority and NY Police Officers lost their lives.

In the days and weeks after 9-11, rescue workers from San Diego were sent to New York to assist in rescue and recovery efforts. Members of San Diego's Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force 8 and Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) CA4 spent countless hours at the collapse site searching for victims and providing medical care to emergency crews. In case you were unaware, USAR Task Force 8 is a federal disaster team made up of members of local fire departments including San Diego Fire, California Department of Forestry, Carlsbad Fire, Chula Vista Fire, Del Mar Fire, El Cajon Fire, Encinitas Fire, Escondido Fire, La Mesa Fire, Oceanside Fire, Rancho Santa Fe Fire, San Marcos Fire, San Miguel Fire, San Onofre Fire, Santee Fire, Solana Beach Fire and Vista Fire. The team is on call to respond to a "variety of emergencies or disasters, including earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, storms and tornadoes, floods, dam failures, technological accidents, terrorist activities, and hazardous materials releases." Team members train regularly and have a variety of specialties from canine handling to hazmat.

San Diego's DMAT team consists of Physicians, Nurses, Paramedics, EMTs, pharmacists and pharmacy techs, dentists, respiratory therapists, communications specialists and other ancillary staff members that are able to provide medical care during natural or man-made disasters.

The team is able to respond to a disaster within 6-8 hours of notification anywhere within the continental United States. DMAT is always looking for qualified volunteers and if you are interested, contact Zona Wahrenbrock at ZWahrenbrock@san.rr.com.

On this 5-year anniversary of 9-11 (has it really been 5 years?), I thought it was important to let people know that San Diego had an amazing connection to the relief effort that took place.

In October of 2002, I happened to be in New York for a family wedding. I knew that there was going to be an FDNY Memorial Day service and parade scheduled for the same weekend I was in town, so I packed my class A uniform. On a cold and rainy morning, I took a cab to the mustering point and wandered around in a sea of uniforms. I had no idea that this tribute was going to be so large. It started to rain, so I ducked into a small mom and pop grocery store to keep dry and two minutes later a group of firefighters that I knew from San Diego happened to walk in. Talk about a small world! We then joined up with a contingency of Chula Vista firefighters and began the march from 14th to 33rd street in a mile long procession of 55,000 uniformed firefighters. The procession ended at Madison Square Garden where a memorial service was conducted. It was one of the most somber, yet remarkable moments of my life.

Krimston (left) and San Diego City Firefighter/Paramedic Jaime Nichols waiting outside Madison Square Garden after marching with 55,000 firefighters in a FDNY Memorial Day parade.