As the fall season begins, nature gives us beautiful foliage and wonderful weather. But September also carries a darker reminder. This year marks the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001—a day that brought an unimaginable loss of life. The families who lost loved ones continue to live with that loss, while first responders and others continue to suffer from illnesses connected to the events of that day.

    I was traveling on Route 80 on my way to a group training session for the upcoming Captains Test when WINS 1010 made the announcement: “A plane just crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.” The time was 8:46 a.m.

    At first, I thought it might have been someone in a single-engine plane attempting some kind of stunt by flying between the two towers. When I arrived at my destination, I learned that another plane had crashed into the South Tower. At that point, we realized this was a terrorist attack.

    My beeper began to go off. I called headquarters and was instructed to report immediately to police headquarters. As a lieutenant, I was assigned to the southern post at 56th Street and Boulevard East, at the Amvets building, along with Rob, Gary, and several others.

    From our position, we could see the aftermath of the crashes. Smoke was billowing from the towers and traveling in every direction. All around us, faces were somber and filled with disbelief. Then we watched the towers come down.

    We waited for survivors to be transported to the Jersey side so they could receive medical treatment at Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen. But no one came.

    That was when it struck me: my father was there, working in one of the two buildings. My sister called me, crying. I told her there was nothing I could do at that moment. I held back my own emotions as I continued to wait for survivors to be transported to New Jersey.

    During that time, family members of people who worked at the World Trade Center began arriving, desperately searching for information about their loved ones. Among them were the parents of Michel Paris Colbert. They were crying and asking us for help contacting their son. We tried to give them hope, even though we feared that the outcome would be tragic.

    Later, I learned that Lieutenant Robert Cirri of the Port Authority Police Department, who had been at the Police Academy in Jersey City, raced to the scene to help the victims. He became one of them.

    Bob and I were never close friends, but we would see each other every so often in the parking lot at 67th Street and Bergenline Avenue. We would exchange our “on-the-job” stories and talk about our experiences.

    His entire family was involved in the first-responder profession. He sacrificed his life trying to save others.

    That is what so many first responders do. They run toward danger when everyone else is trying to get away from it. They willingly put themselves in harm’s way to save the lives of others.

    Around 9:00 p.m. that evening, I was finally able to confirm that my father had made it home. He had walked for hours from New York into New Jersey. The only reason he was alive was because the train he normally would have taken from Hoboken to the World Trade Center was about 20 minutes late. /font>

    It wasn’t his time. But it was time for thousands of others to perish that day. And the consequences of September 11 continue to this day. First responders, survivors, and others are still fighting illnesses and health conditions connected to the events of that terrible morning.

    On September 11, 2026, at 8:46 a.m., please observe a moment of silence in remembrance of all those who lost their lives, all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and all the families whose lives were changed forever.

    This article is dedicated to Lieutenant Robert Cirri of the Port Authority Police Department and to all the men and women who gave their lives while trying to save others. May we never forget their courage, their sacrifice, and the lives they touched.

    STAY SAFE out there. Danger can be lurking around the corner.