These Harrowing Photos Show The Brave 9/11 First Responders In Action

On Sept. 11, 2001, first responders faced imminent danger and rescued countless lives. Many of them still live with the devastating health effects from that day, but their heroic legacy has not been forgotten.

By
Gabriel H. Sanchez
by Gabriel H. Sanchez

BuzzFeed News Photo Essay Editor

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Firefighters run toward the World Trade Center after reports of a plane crash.

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A firefighter runs as the World Trade Center crumbles.

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Firefighters carry a colleague, Al Fuentes, who was injured in the collapse.

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Firefighters Todd Heaney and Frankie DiLeo of Engine 209 carry an injured colleague from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

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A firefighter is covered with ash after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

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A police officer helps evacuate people from the area around the World Trade Center.

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Rescue workers and Pentagon personnel help wounded people outside the government building in Washington, DC.

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A firefighter breaks down after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

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Rescue workers help one another after the attack on the World Trade Center.

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Firefighters embrace as they grapple with the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

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Firefighter Dan Potter pauses on a bench in Lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade Center.

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A firefighter stands atop a demolished fire truck at ground zero.

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The rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

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Rescue workers sift through the wreckage of the World Trade Center on Sept. 13, 2001.

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Rescue workers wait for their orders near the base of the World Trade Center as search efforts continue on Sept. 12, 2001.

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Trained rescue dog Gus and his trainer Ed Apple from Tennessee Task Force One, a search and rescue team, look for survivors in the wreckage at the Pentagon.

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Firefighters transport victims and continue to search for survivors at the wreckage of the World Trade Center on Sept. 14, 2001.

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A New York City firefighter calls for 10 more rescue workers to make their way into the rubble on Sept. 14, 2001.

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Left: A firefighter with a US flag bandana participates in rescue efforts on Sept. 11, 2001. Right: A rescue worker is pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 13, 2001.

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An emergency worker takes a moment to sleep between rescue operations.

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Left: Firefighters along with a few military personnel drape a large flag over the west wall of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. Right: A search and rescue dog sleeps behind a New York firefighter at the scene of the World Trade Center collapse on Sept. 15, 2001.

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A memorial to firefighters who were killed on Sept. 11 is left outside their firehouse on Sept. 14, 2001.

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Firefighters carry the flag-covered casket of colleague Lt. Dennis Mojica during a funeral service at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sept. 21, 2001, in New York City.

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Firefighter Tony James cries while attending the funeral service for New York Fire Department Chaplain Rev. Mychal Judge, in front of the St. Francis of Assisi Church on Sept. 15, 2001, in New York City.

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A New York City firefighter bows his head at a cement block at ground zero during a memorial service on Sept. 11, 2002.



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