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Tina Sawyer: As we mark 25 years since the terrorist attacks on 9-11, many tributes will be given to the first responders who saved many and who suffered losses in their ranks. WCMU's David Nicholas spoke with Jacob Steichen, a firefighter in Traverse City. His personal story of joining the fire service is connected to the events of that day.
David Nicholas: The first question, Jacob, and this seems like one that when people talk about commemorate anniversaries of this type is to ask someone, where were you? And I guess I would include how old were you and where were you when the planes first struck the World Trade Center on 9/11?
Jacob Steichen: Yeah, so I was a junior in high school, actually. I went to Lincoln Park High School down by Detroit. And I remember I was in actually a Michigan geography class that shows up clear my memory of it and we were watching TV for whatever reason and it was interrupted by breaking news and all that and I just remembered, you know, everybody just kind of being captivated by what was going on and nobody really knew what was going on and then later on in the day they ended up dismissing school altogether and yeah, it was a, it was a wild, wild moment.
DN: You said junior in high school. Did you have plans of what you were going to do beyond high school? Because I know before we sat down to roll tape, the events of 9-11 changed your whole plan for life. But what was kind of on the mind prior to this?
JS: Yeah, like many juniors go back to school and you know, in your head, like, oh, you only got, you know, two years of school left, like, what are you doing? So, I vividly remember, at this point, when 9/11 happened, I was definitely mentally trying to prepare myself for adulthood and trying to figure out what kind of career I wanted to do. And at that point, I was already thinking, if I couldn't go to a four year university and play football, then I was most likely going to become a firefighter. We had a substitute teacher in my high school that had been a firefighter and I had visited the firehouse prior to that, just trying to prep myself for what I wanted to do after high school. And then, yeah, like I said, I think that kind of had me already mentally on track with having an appreciation and respect for firefighters and 9/11 happened and all the subsequent events. So, it definitely, it influenced me for sure.
DN: You are certainly among those now that we in society respect the most. We thank you for your service as a firefighter in Traverse City and to all of your co-workers, your fellow firefighters, as the anniversary comes upon us, we continue to hope for your safety in doing the job that you do. And Jacob, I want to thank you very, very much for taking the time to talk with us.
JS: Yeah, I appreciate the opportunity and I hope I did my peers justice by speaking on my personal experiences with 9/11 and everything that's happened afterwards. But yeah, we still firefighters and like I said, police officers and EMT workers and nurses and doctors, the mission goes on. And I worked last night, did a 24-hour shift from 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. and we're busy. We're busy every day and we keep going back on duty every time that we're assigned to work and do what the community needs to keep moving forward. So that's the best thing we can do to honor the memory of those that made the ultimate sacrifice. On one of the biggest tragic events in the history of the country.
TS: Jacob Steichen is a firefighter in Traverse City. He was inspired to serve after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
