25 Years After 9/11: The Fire Chief Who Worked Ground Zero

Content warning: This episode includes discussion of the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001, death, human remains, people falling or jumping from the towers, grief and trauma.

On September 11, 2001, David Morkal woke up in New Jersey, helping his father-in-law with some renovations.

That night, he was down at Ground Zero standing on the rubble of the Twin Towers. Surrounded by 2763 people who passed away- including 343 firefighters. On his first drive home, he had to pull over because he was crying too hard to see the road.

Dave spent 33 years with the New York City Fire Department.

Twenty-five years on from the attacks, he joins me to talk about the friends he lost, the responsibility of helping rebuild, and learning to live with what happened.