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Fallen from the Sky: The Unthinkable Story of 9/11's First Fallen Firefighter
Daniel Suhr, the first FDNY member killed on 9/11, was responding to the World Trade Center when he was tragically struck and killed by a person who had jumped or fallen from the South Tower, a harrowing testament to the chaos of that day.
The morning of September 11, 2001, began with a clear blue sky over New York City, a peace that was violently shattered when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. As the world watched in horror, first responders rushed toward the danger. Among them was Firefighter Daniel Suhr of Brooklyn's Engine Company 216, a devoted husband and father who would become the first of 343 FDNY members to make the ultimate sacrifice that day.
A Firefighter's Duty
Daniel Suhr, a 37-year-old from Rockaway Park, Queens, was a man who loved his job and his family. He and his wife, Nancy, had a two-year-old daughter, Briana, and he was known as a dedicated firefighter and a cherished presence in his community. When the alarm sounded, Suhr and his company did what they were trained to do: they headed straight into the unfolding catastrophe in Lower Manhattan to save lives.
An Unimaginable End
As Engine 216 arrived on the scene, the chaos was indescribable. Debris rained down, and the air was filled with smoke and the sounds of sirens. The firefighters began setting up their operations near the South Tower, preparing to enter the building. It was in these moments that a tragedy within a tragedy occurred. An individual, forced into an unthinkable choice by the fire and smoke raging nearly a hundred stories above, fell from the tower. In a horrifying twist of fate, the person landed directly on Daniel Suhr. The impact was instantly fatal. His fellow firefighters, in a state of shock, carried his body to a nearby triage center, where he was pronounced dead. Daniel Suhr became the first official FDNY fatality of September 11th.
The First, But Not the Last
Suhr's death was a brutal and sudden loss, a harbinger of the immense sacrifice the FDNY and other first responders would endure. He was killed before either tower had collapsed, his death a direct result of the desperate situation faced by those trapped inside. His story underscores the multi-faceted horror of the day, where dangers came not just from fire and collapsing steel, but from the sky itself. His wife, Nancy, has often spoken about the painful distinction of his death.
He was the first, but he was not the last. He represents all of them.
A Legacy of Sacrifice
Today, Daniel Suhr's name is inscribed on Panel S-20 of the South Pool at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, alongside the thousands of others lost that day. His story serves as a poignant reminder of the randomness of tragedy and the profound bravery of every individual who ran toward danger when others ran away. While his life was cut short in a uniquely terrible way, his legacy endures as a symbol of the courage and sacrifice that defined the response to the darkest day in modern American history.