Bend firefighter reflects on 25 years since Ground Zero deployment
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Former Bend Fire and Rescue Shift Battalion Chief Bob Madden reflected on his deployment to Ground Zero and the lasting impacts of the terror attacks as the nation marks 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001.
Madden was among the Central Oregon first responders deployed to New York City following the attack on the World Trade Center.
‘It was our Pearl Harbor’
Madden's task force was activated in the days following the attacks, sending his team across the country to provide logistical support for crews working at Ground Zero.
The team was stationed at Firehouse 10, known as Ten House, located directly across the street from the World Trade Center site.
Madden recalled waking up on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, to news that American Airlines Flight 11 had struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time. He spoke with his two sons before heading into work early alongside fellow firefighters who gathered around television screens.
“It was our Pearl Harbor,” Madden said. “So, you know, people my age will know exactly what they were doing at the moment. They found out just like my parents did Pearl Harbor.”
Watching the towers fall
As Madden arrived at the fire station, the South Tower collapsed 56 minutes after being struck. At 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, after burning for one hour and 42 minutes, the North Tower also collapsed, spreading dust and rubble across Lower Manhattan.
“I remember telling the boys, my two sons, that something bad happened, but you're going to be okay,” Madden said. “And then shortly after I walked in, the South Tower collapsed. That was the second one hit, but the first one that collapsed.”
Madden added that as the towers fell, crew members realized the catastrophic scale of the loss, thinking of tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of first responders gone in an instant.
Central Oregon team called to help
Community members visited Bend fire stations in solidarity as first responders prepared for potential deployment. Madden admitted he was initially skeptical that federal or local officials in New York would need assistance from an Oregon crew, though his wife insisted their team would be called.
“And sure enough, our team got called,” Madden said.
He recalled his familiarity with Lower Manhattan, where his father had grown up in Brooklyn and where Madden had once posed for a photograph in front of the World Trade Center towers while they were under construction.
Inside Ten House
Upon arriving in New York, Madden's assignment focused on logistical support to ensure ground crews had necessary supplies. His team set up a command post upstairs at Ten House, the home of Engine 10 and Ladder 10, which was among the first stations to respond when the towers were struck. Five firefighters from Ten House died during rescue operations.
“We walked through the locker room and the lockers of the guys that didn't come home that day,” Madden said. “Their stuff was still there. Their lockers were open, their shoes were there and nobody had touched them.”
Health impacts continue decades later
More than 300 firefighters, 71 police officers and 60 other first responders died on Sept. 11, 2001. In the decades since, health complications related to Ground Zero exposure have affected thousands more. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, more than 154,000 people have enrolled in the program, including 95,000 first responders and workers who served at Ground Zero.
Several members of Madden's task force have suffered long-term health consequences, including chronic lung issues and cancer. The team's incident commander died a year ago after undergoing a lung transplant.
“I am worried. I'm still worried,” Madden said regarding his own health and that of his fellow responders. “Right now knock on wood I’m okay. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be in the future.”
