September 11th 2001

Charles Margiotta

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑨𝑵 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑳 • There's a story so old it must be true, about the time some wannabe tough guy was trying to pick a fight at Demyan's Hofbrau in Stapleton. "You Chuck Margiotta? I heard you were tough. You don't look so tough." The guy took a swing. Margiotta took it, and turned back to face his attacker. "If that's the best you've got," Chuck told him, "you better sit next to me and have a beer."

Lt. Charles (Chuck) Margiotta was a man’s man: football player, movie stuntman, and 20 year veteran of the FDNY. But beneath his forbidding exterior of a stern look, tattoos, and 240 pounds of muscle, was a gardener who nurtured tomato plants alongside Ladder 85 in New Dorp; a caring neighbor who ran into the street in his pajamas to help an elderly woman who had fallen; a loving father who coached his kids' basketball, softball, and soccer teams. "He was the nicest tough guy I ever met," said Jimmy Ernst, a classmate at Monsignor Farrell High School.

Margiotta lived most of his life on the same block in Meiers Corners, where he knew everyone by name. He played football at Monsignor Farrell, where he was a hard-blocking tight end and a member of the National Honor Society; at Brown University, where he was an undersized nose guard, and later for the FDNY Bravest Football team. When Brown's 1976 Ivy League champions were honored at their 20th reunion, his teammates chose Chuck to speak for them.

After graduating Brown with a double major in English and Sociology, Margiotta worked for General Motors before being called by the Fire Department in 1981. He was first in his class at probie school and worked 15 years at Ladder 40 in Harlem, earning eight departmental citations. After his promotion to Lieutenant in 1996 he was assigned to Battalion 22, and spent the bulk of that time ufo in Ladder 85. In his "spare" time, Margiotta found time to work as a stuntman in dozens of feature films, including "Hannibal"; as a private investigator, and for 20 years as a substitute school teacher for the New York City Board of Education.

On the morning of September 11th, after just being relieved from the night before and on his way home, he heard the news on his truck and drove to the nearest firehouse. It happened to be Rescue 5, with whom he hitched a ride into lower Manhattan, never to be seen again. At the time of his death, the paperwork had just been finalized on his permanent assignment to Ladder 83 in Westerleigh.

Margiotta is survived by his wife, Norma, and his children, Norma Jean and Charles Vito II.

Thomas Foley

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍 𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙉𝙀 • Thomas Foley joined the New York City Fire Department in 1990. He was assigned to Squad Company 41 in the South Bronx for nine years, before moving to Rescue Company 3 in 2000. Tommy was a member of the FDNY Bravest Football Team, after having played Safety and elected as a team captain at Westchester Community College. Noted for his adventurous spirit, he dabbled in rodeo bull riding, hunting, fishing, and skydiving. An avid weightlifter, he was also fond of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and made sure to enjoy all that life had to offer him in his 32 years. That helpful nature is what led him to his true passion, which was a career in firefighting.

On August 30, 1999, Squad 41 was dispatched to a situation demanding ingenuity and strength. A collapsed scaffold left two workers hanging for their lives on West 108th Street in Manhattan. The scaffold was dangling at approximately the 12th floor, on a windowless side of a seventeen story building. Both were attached to their safety lines, but only one still had a hold on the failed scaffolding. Ladder 4 raised their 110-foot aerial in an attempt to reach the workman that was dangling only by his safety line, but the ladder fell just short of height needed to reach the victim. His fate now rested with Squad 41. The members went to the roof to set up a high-angle rope rescue, but due to a reported smoke condition on the 12th floor, they could not use the elevator and were forced to carry their equipment bags up the seventeen flights. As the other members of Squad 41 took their positions, Firefighter Tom Foley donned his harness.

After a final safety check, Foley dismounted the parapet, and the team proceeded with the lowering operation. The victim had been hanging by his safety line for approximately 20 minutes, and there was fear that the shock of the fall weakened the safety line to the point where a total failure was probable. When Foley reached the man, he immediately hooked a safety line to the motionless victim's harness, using sheer strength to implement the transfer. The lowering operation resumed to reach Ladder 4's aerial, which was positioned at an extreme angle, culminating with two additional firefighters ready to assist the incoming delivery. Eventually, with extreme caution, the four men descended the aerial in unison, bringing the victim to safety. This hazardous rescue operation earned Foley a prestigious award with the FDNY in 1999.

Tommy was a team leader, unique character, lover of the outdoors, and country music. After a banner year in 2000 which included being honored by Irish American Magazine for that high angle rescue, he was getting started in modeling and acting, and was even listed as one of People Magazine's 10 Most Eligible Bachelors. On September 11th, eight members of Rescue Company 3 responded to the World Trade Center. Tragically, none of them returned to quarters. He was posthumously featured in the FDNY Firefighters 2003 Calendar of Heroes. Tommy will be remembered for his love of family, his bravery, loyalty, and most important, his kindness.

Timothy Stackpole

𝙃𝙊𝙉𝙊𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙏𝙊 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙈𝙀𝙏 𝙃𝙄𝙈 • Captain Timothy Stackpole was the miracle firefighter, who clawed his way back to full duty, after narrowly escaping death in a monstrous Brooklyn blaze. A Marine Park native, family man, Bravest Football player, as well as “Catholic Bishop" who counseled countless colleagues, most of all, he was a fireman who loved fighting fires. "We called him 'Jobs' because he was always talking about the fire we had the day before, the week before, the year before," said friend Gerard O'Donnell, a 37-year FDNY veteran. "He never stopped talking about fires.”

Prior to 9/11, Stackpole had an incredible story of perseverance and dedication to the FDNY that had already been etched into department history. On June 5, 1998, he rushed into a burning East New York row frame to search for a woman mistakenly believed to be trapped inside. The floor collapsed, plunging him, Lieutenant James Blackmore, and Captain Scott LaPiedra into a maelstrom of flames. Stackpole recited the Lord's Prayer aloud. Blackmore died at the scene. LaPiedra died 29 days later. His injuries would have easily qualified him for an honorable discharge, that no one would have second guessed. But, Timmy Jobs had two goals after cheating death in that East New York building: to recover and spend as much time as he could with his family, and to return full-duty to the job he loved. "It was his life, his calling," said wife, Tara. "He couldn't not do it. This is what he felt he was supposed to do in his life."

Hospitalized at Weill Cornell Medical Center's burn unit for 66 days with fourth and fifth degree burns over 40% of his body, followed by numerous painful surgeries, and countless unbearable skin grafts, Stackpole fulfilled his vow and returned to full duty in March, 2001. Nearly three years following his harrowing ordeal, and six months prior to the day the world changed for all New Yorkers. "People ask why he came back," said Michael Stackpole, his brother and fellow firefighter. "But the people who knew Timmy best knew… whether it was helping a lady down two flights of stairs, or running into a burning building, that was him." Against popular opinion, he succeeded. On 3/10/01, he returned to his lieutenant’s job, and soon after was promoted to Captain on 9/6/01. He was in FDNY Headquarters, off-duty, the morning of September 11th. Of course, he responded.

It turned out that Timothy Stackpole was among the first to get to Ground Zero, leading a team that ran into 2 World Trade Center to rescue victims after it was struck. He and the others all perished when the tower collapsed, with recovery workers finding his body a week later. It was estimated that ten thousand people attended Stackpole's funeral, including former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who called him "one of the most exceptional human beings I've ever met." It is why there are now multiple scholarships, and the coveted ‘Stackpole Award’ in his honor. "He was the pride of Sheffield Ave.," said Lt. Kevin Schamberger of Ladder Company 103. "He was. He always will be. He made us rise to the occasion."

“The greatest high you can get in life is by helping somebody," he said in a public service announcement that was taped before his death. He taped the message for the hospital that helped him recover from the terrible burns he suffered in the 1998 fire. Stackpole is survived by wife Tara, and their four children, Kevin, Kaitlyn, Brian, and Brendan.