ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A former firefighter in New York shared what he experienced on 9/11 with News4JAX on the anniversary of the tragedy Wednesday.
Billy Keegan, who now lives in St. Augustine, attended a remembrance ceremony at the fire department.
Keegan stood in the rubble at Ground Zero 23 years ago. It was a place he never fathomed being in his 17-year career as a firefighter with FDNY at the time.
“On that day, I was home that morning,” Keegan said. “I saw it on the news. [I] went into my firehouse and got my gear and went to the World Trade Center.”
He arrived right after both towers fell that fateful day.
“Our mission was search and rescue,” Keegan said. “That was all that we could do. There was just dust and people. Into that night, it was just horrible. The days and weeks after, I just remember the smell. The smell.”
Keegan was among the many in attendance at the St. Augustine Fire Department for a remembrance ceremony honoring the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day, including 343 firefighters and 60 law enforcement personnel.
For Keegan, sorting through that trauma came to a head a few years ago.
“It was hard to continue,” he said. “I thank God that I got help and my life has never been better. It definitely is hard. The emotional [aspect], the scars on all of the first responders and families of those who lost loved ones. I lost a lot of friends, but thank God I did not lose any family.”
St. Augustine Fire Chief Carlos Aviles said there are ways people can honor all of the victims from Sept. 11, 2001, even now 23 years later.
“Just like that day, when we saw ordinary citizens step up and do extraordinary things. One random act of kindness, living your life to the fullest is the best way to honor their sacrifices in their loss,” Aviles said.
Keegan retired as a firefighter in 2004 and moved to St. Augustine.
He misses the friends he lost that day, dealing with his pain the best way he knows how.
“I just thank God every day,” Keegan said. “We just have to push forward and things will be okay.”
That is where he says he finds solace.