Quarter-Century After 9/11, Ten House Veteran Remains the Last Active Responder at Historic Firehouse

Nearly twenty-five years after hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center, New York City firefighter Sal Argano remains on duty at the historic Lower Manhattan station located directly across the street from Ground Zero. Now 65 years old, Argano holds the distinct distinction of being the sole firefighter still actively serving at the station who was assigned there on September 11, 2001.

On that catastrophic morning, an ordinary administrative scheduling decision spared Argano from being inside the station when the towers collapsed. The veteran responder had been temporarily assigned to another firehouse in Brooklyn on a routine rotation, keeping him away from his home base at the foot of the twin towers during the initial moments of the disaster.

Upon learning of the attacks, Argano immediately hurried toward Lower Manhattan to assist his department. When he arrived downtown, he found the firehouse heavily damaged by the catastrophic impacts and structural collapses, though the building itself miraculously remained standing amidst the surrounding devastation.

The relief of the building's survival was quickly overshadowed by profound grief. In the aftermath of the collapse, Argano and his colleagues learned that six members of their station were among the 343 Fire Department of New York personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty that day.

The sheer unpredictability of that morning's schedule continues to weigh heavily on Argano decades later. He frequently reflects on how close he came to sharing the fate of his fallen colleagues, acknowledging that had he not been sent away on rotation that day, he likely would not have survived the disaster.

Today, the firehouse is home to Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10, earning it the globally recognized moniker "Ten House." The station continues to operate as an active frontline facility, answering emergency calls throughout Lower Manhattan while simultaneously functioning as an enduring symbol of resilience and remembrance.

Because of its direct proximity to the National September 11 Memorial plaza, the firehouse occupies a unique position within the city. Daily crowds of visitors and tourists from around the world gather outside the station, pausing to peer through the garage doors at the gleaming red fire trucks or to photograph the historic building.

A major focal point for visitors is the large bronze memorial relief mounted on the exterior wall of the station. The expansive artwork bears the inscribed names of the firefighters who died in the attacks, serving as a solemn public monument where passersby frequently stop to pay their respects.

Station leaders acknowledge that serving at Ten House demands a high level of openness and engagement with the public. Capt. Terence Brody, the 55-year-old commander of Ladder 10 who has been stationed at the house since 2016, emphasizes that personnel must embrace interacting with international travelers who come specifically to honor the department.

Brody recalls his own introduction to Ground Zero as an academy recruit on the day of the attacks. When the towers fell, cadets were quickly issued their firefighting gear and transported by bus directly to the disaster zone, where dense clouds of pulverized concrete and debris filled the air so heavily that it resembled a winter snowstorm.

During the grueling rescue and recovery efforts that followed, Ten House became an essential sanctuary. The damaged facility was transformed into a forward command post and served as a secure, quiet rest area for exhausted first responders working around the clock in the wreckage.

Over the ensuing decades, the firefighters stationed at Ten House watched Lower Manhattan slowly rebuild from the ground up. Firefighter Robert Favata arrived at Ladder 10 in 2008 as a recent academy graduate, stepping into an environment defined by a massive excavation site surrounded by relentless heavy construction.

Favata, now 46, remembers the immense emptiness of the disaster area in those early years of rebuilding. During the initial phases of the redevelopment, the scale of destruction made it difficult for workers to envision that the monumental reconstruction project would ever reach completion.

The landscape outside the station's bay doors is now fully transformed. In place of the fallen towers, two large reflecting pools with cascading waterfalls occupy the original footprints, framed by bronze parapets inscribed with the names of nearly 3,000 victims, alongside the underground 9/11 Museum and surrounding modern skyscrapers.

The station also serves as a gathering place for the broader firefighting community, hosting international visitors such as French volunteer firefighter Laurent Cosenefroy and serving as a landmark where guides recount the sacrifice of heroes like Daniel Suhr, the first firefighter killed on 9/11.

Alongside peers such as Lt. Anthony Giannone, Argano continues to don his turnout gear and report for duty at Ladder 10. As the final remaining member of the 2001 roster still on the firehouse staff, Argano serves as an enduring bridge between the station's tragic past and its ongoing daily service to the city.