25 years later, Maspeth firehouse remembers 19 firefighters lost on 9/11
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Firefighters from a Maspeth firehouse keep an enduring memorial of 19 men from the unit lost on 9/11, the most of any city firehouse. Photo via Squad 288/Hazmat 1 website
By Ryan Schwach
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 firefighters left a local firehouse in Maspeth, and never came back.
The Maspeth firehouse on 68th Street, home to Squad 288 and Hazmat 1, lost more members than any fire station in the five boroughs during the attacks.
On Friday, the firefighters who carry their legacy in that same firehouse will mark a quarter century since 9/11.
Squad 288 was put together in 1998 when the FDNY combined five engine companies to create a specialized unit capable of operating as either an engine – responsible for carrying water and extinguishing fires – or as a ladder – responsible for entering burning buildings and making rescues.
None of its members from that time remain in the firehouse.
Dane Martin is the longest-serving member of Squad 288, and was one of the first new firefighters brought to the unit as it was still rebuilding in the years after 9/11. He arrived in 2003.
“It was basically starting over,” he said.
“It makes me proud knowing that they started the company, knowing the kind of people that they were, and that I'm hoping that I can live up to their reputations and keep Squad 288 what they were,” Martin added.
This anniversary will be Martin’s final anniversary as an active-duty firefighter, as he recently reached mandatory retirement age.
“I don't want to retire,” he said. “I love going to work, I love working here. I love everything about 288 and what they started.”
The 34-year veteran of the FDNY was working on 9/11 with a different Queens firehouse in Bayside.
“It's hard to understand,” he said when asked about the days following the attacks. “You were going to a funeral every day.”
At Squad 288, the names of the eight firefighters who died on 9/11 are recited like a creed – the other 11 members of the firehouse who died during the terror attacks were members of Hazmat 1.
“We go over the names of every member, we'll do that a couple of times during the year,” he said.
“You just go up to guys, ‘Give me the names of the guys that you know from 288 that passed away,’” he said, rattling off several of the names himself. “Not that they're expected to know, but they want to know.”
Martin said that the stories of the 19 men from the station who died on 9/11 are often told by members of the firehouse.
Firefighters from a Maspeth firehouse that lost 19 men on 9/11 are marking the 25th anniversary on Friday. Photo via Squad 288/Hazmat 1 website
“You knew him as these crazy guys in a firehouse but they were actually fathers, husbands, brothers,” Martin said. “That they were good people. They were all good people.”
He vaguely knew one of them – firefighter Jonathan Ielpi, whose father was also a firefighter.
“Jonathan was a tough guy,” Martin said.
As the longest-tenured member of the firehouse, Martin has been tasked with ensuring his predecessors are remembered.
“They're still interested in learning about it,” he said about new firefighters. “They're always asking questions. ‘What was it like? What did Ground Zero look like? What happened that day?’”
But the firefighters’ legacy will likely live on, even after Martin retires.
Several former and current lawmakers have begun pushing to memorialize the firehouse.
“The Maspeth Firehouse holds a special place in our community's history and the hearts of its residents,” wrote former Councilmember Bob Holden, former State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Steven Raga and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in a letter last year. “In light of this historical significance and the solemn memory of those who perished, we strongly urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Maspeth Firehouse as a landmark without delay.”
Earlier this year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited the firehouse and spoke to its current members.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited the station earlier this month. Mayor Zohran Mamdani/X
“When the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11, these two highly specialized units answered the call without hesitation,” he said in a social media post after the Sept. 1 visit. “They gave their lives serving their fellow New Yorkers. Twenty-five years later, we remember their courage, their sacrifice and the families who have carried their memory forward.”
The mayor’s visit prompted Councilmember Phil Wong to call on the mayor to help get the firehouse landmarked, QNS reported.
“Let’s never forget. Then landmark the building,” Wong said on social media. “[The Landmarks Preservation Commission] has waited long enough to protect the firehouse that lost more firefighters on 9/11 than any other in the city.”
Inside the firehouse, it’s still about telling the stories of the men themselves, and continuing to honor their families.
“We've been in contact a lot with the families,” Martin said. “We're going to make the 25th anniversary special for the families.”
“It's never forgotten,” he added.
The following members of the Maspeth firehouse were killed on 9/11:
From Squad 288: Lt. Ronald Kerwin, FF Peter Brennan, FF Ronnie Gies, FF Joseph Hunter, FF Jonathan Ielpi, FF Adam Rand, FF Brian Sweeney, FF Timothy Welty.
From Hazmat 1: Battalion Chief John Fanning, Captain Thomas Moody, Captain Patrick Waters, Lt. John Crisci, FF Dennis Carey, FF Martin DeMeo, FF Thomas Gardner, FF John Giordano, FF Jonathan Hohmann, FF Dennis Scauso, FF Kevin Smith.
