
In Memory of our 22 Fallen Teammates from 9/11 #NeverForget

Charles Margiotta
๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ด๐จ๐ต ๐ถ๐ญ ๐บ๐ป๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ณ โข 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 manโs 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
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ โข 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
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ โข 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 โCatholic 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.โ
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 knewโฆ 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 lieutenantโs 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 โStackpole Awardโ 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."
โThe 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.

Daniel O'Callaghan
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ โข Summer and winter, morning, noon and night, Lt. Daniel OโCallaghan wore his thick black bunker pants around the Ladder Company 4 firehouse in Midtown Manhattan. โIt would be 102 degrees out, and heโd be wearing his bunker gear,โ said Al Schwartz, a firefighter who drove the truck with the lieutenant sitting up front beside him. โHe was always ready to charge in.โ This was a man who set the Fire Department like a seal upon his heart as well as a seal upon his arm. But he also taped paintings by his 6-year-old daughter, Rhiannon Rose, to his office walls at the firehouse, and when he left his house would back his pickup truck up the street just to wave goodbye one more time to his 17-month-old, Connor Daniel. And when he left their home in Smithtown, N.Y., to work a 24-hour shift, he left a trail of Post-It notes in places where his family would find them: the dresser drawers, the refrigerator, the pillows. โHeโd draw smiley faces on them,โ said his wife, Rhonda, who married him on his 31st birthday, โand heโd write โI love youโ or โI miss youโ on them.โ A lot of firemen work second jobs to make ends meet. But not Lieutenant OโCallaghan. โHe was always with us,โ his wife said. โIโm glad, because my daughter has all these special memories.โ He usually carried a battered prayer card with a book of matches stapled to it in his jacket pocket. It was his good-luck charm. On Sept. 11, he left it behind.

Andre Fletcher

Thomas Mingione

Thomas Haskell Jr.

Michael Cawley

Peter Bielfeld

Stephen Belson

Patrick Lyons

Christopher Sullivan

William Johnston

Durrell Pearsall

Thomas Cullen III

Danny Suhr

Tarel Coleman
The Consummate Teammate
Tarel Coleman grew up in a tight knit family in Queens, wanting to become a firefighter since childhood. Both he and his brother John would go onto join the department, with Tarel being appointed in 1993 and rising through the ranks to end up in Squad 252, in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Nicknamed โProzacโ, for his endless energy and speed, Coleman loved playing centerfield for several softball teams, but loved even more playing Defensive Back for The FDNY Bravest Football Team. He was rumored to run the 40 yard dash in a blistering 4.3 seconds!
Tarel was a devoted father to two children, and was always the life of the party. He was 32 years young on the morning of September 11, 2001, and has been missed dearly every day since.

John Bergin
โ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐โ โข Born in Dongan Hills, the 39 year old firefighter was a fixture in his Staten Island boro, particularly in his New Dorp neighborhood. He was a Daily News All City Football player for New Dorp High, and continued playing through his days with the FDNY Bravest team.
John Bergin started as a court officer in Manhattan, before being appointed to the FDNY in 1985, where he was assigned to Ladder 6. John moonlighted as a bartender at the famous Leeโs Tavern, and in 1995 made the move to Staten Islandโs Rescue Company 5.
He was referred to as the ultimate โMr. Momโ dedicating his life to his family, and neighbors. From coaching basketball at Our Lady Queen of Peace R.C., to Katie's Mid-Island softball team, and the Staten Island Little League team "Franco's Armyโ (named for Met pitcher John Franco), Bergin was always involved. It was affectionately known in New Drop that John P. Bergin's house was the neighborhood house.
Shortly before 9/11, in June of 2001, Bergin realized his lifelong dream of owning his own bar, when he bought the former Overtime Inn. It was just up the block from where he and his wife used to live, and he was just two weeks shy from completing renovations. He renamed it the Grant City Tavern, and it continues to operate to this day.
John is survived by his wife, Madeline, and children Katie, John, and Shannon.

John Florio
The Nut of The Nuthouse
John Florio was born in Middle Village, Queens, on November 29, 1967. A graduate of St. Francis Prep High School in Fresh Meadows, he resided in Oceanside and attended Nassau Community College for a few years before taking the fire department test. Assigned to Engine 214/Ladder 111 in Bed Stuy, he was the metalhead of his Brooklyn firehouse, and an electric presence in a place that was already called "The Nuthouse."
Florio was described by a friend as being built like a fire hydrant, who โwasn't really tall or anything, but he was all muscle." Others described him as an athlete, built like a box of bricks, and if it was 6am and Metallica was blasting from the basement of the firehouse, it meant that John J. Florio was down there pumping iron. An enormous fan of Metallica, he and lead singer James Hetfield actually struck up a relationship exchanging letters to each other. It is even said that the night the members of Engine 214 found his body, someone called to say โturn on the radioโ. They did, right on cue with the opening riff of a Metallica song.
Florio became the starting halfback the first year he tried out for the FDNY Bravest Football Team. He coached his son's Little League team, as well as his football team, the East Rockaway Raiders.
John Florio is survived by his wife, Shari, and his children, Michael, and Kylie.

Salvatore Calabro
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โข Sal Calabro was born in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, but later moved to Staten Island to raise his family. He was on the job for 14 years, where he was assigned to Ladder 101 in Brooklyn, aka the Red Hook Raiders. On the morning of 9/11 he had already been relieved from duty, but with L-101 being a Tiller Truck there was an empty seat, and Sal jumped on to ride heavy. None of the members of L-101 returned home that day, having last been seen in the South Tower of the World Trade Center right before it came down. They are now affectionately remembered as the โ7 In Heaven.โ
Sal was the heart and soul of the firehouse, and was noted as being super patriotic. He could often be seen wearing an American flag t-shirt, watching the History Channel, or reading about the Vietnam War and World War II. Sometimes all at the same time. His catch phrase was telling guys โYouโre the bestโ, to which they would always respond, โNo Sal, youโre the best!โ, because he absolutely was.
Sal played on the FDNY Bravest Football Team, as well as intramural ice hockey and softball for the department. According to one of the senior guys from his firehouse, โhe was in great shape, a little light in the ass, but loved to hit. He was a special teams ace.โ
Sal would be 60 years old today, and was survived by his wife Francene, and their two sons, Daniel and Alexander James. A.J. (@aj_calabro) just graduated from Syracuse University where he was a Defensive Back and Special Teams Ace for the Orange, just like his dad was for the Bravest.

Keith Glascoe
๐ป๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐น๐ฐ๐บ๐ด๐จ๐ป๐ฐ๐ช ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐จ๐ต๐ป โข Keith Alexander Glascoe was born in San Francisco, California, before his family moved to Brooklyn, NY. With a deep affinity for football, he began playing at the age of 8 years old, and became a star at Midwood High School, before attending Springfield College in Massachusetts for two years. He later transferred to Delaware State, competing as a Defensive Lineman, while earning a degree in Business Administration.
Growing to a monstrous 6โ4โ and 270 pounds, Keith was invited to the New York Jets training camp following his graduation from Delaware State, where he made the practice squad. His second year at Jets' camp was cut short by injuryโ although he next played professionally for a year in Italy.
Returning from Italy, where he is rumored to have mastered the language, he worked at the New York City Children's Welfare Agency (CWA) to help improve the plight of inner-city children. Additionally, Glascoe embarked on an acting career, appearing in various commercials, Law and Order episodes, and even played the character Benny in the iconic movie "The Professional."
Keith joined the FDNY, where he was assigned to Ladder 21 in Manhattan. He played Tight End and wore #21 for the Bravest. Off duty, he continued to go to casting calls, but his sons had discovered modeling. So Keith, the proud father he was, instead focused his energy on their careers.
Keith would be 60 today, and was survived by wife Veronica, and their two children, Nolan and Owen. His wife was expecting a third child in April of 2002.

Brian Bilcher
๐ป๐ถ๐ถ๐ป ๐ป๐ถ๐ถ๐ป โข Brian Bilcher was from South Beach, Staten Island and carried the nickname "Tugboat" because of his size and strength. Family and friends described him as a great man, whether handing out food and money to the homeless, pulling practical jokes on unsuspecting friends, or riding his motorcycle around town. Brian played guard for the FDNY Bravest Football Team.
Brianโs wife Tina called him โCaptain Americaโ, and they welcomed their first child into the world on August 29th, just two weeks before 9/11. He was said to be excited to become a father, but even more excited to be having a son. The Bilcherโs named their son Grant, because they felt he was a Grant from God.
Brian was on the job for 10 years, and was the patriotic comic book superhero: calm, reasonable, and quick to the rescue of anyone who needed help. He was there for everyone, whether your car was stuck on the side of the road, sick in bed, or just needed a helping hand. Tugboat was there right away to help.
Brian was assigned to Engine 33, but on an onion skin in Squad 1, solidifying his case for the transfer to become permanent. His heroics on 9/11 proved beyond worthy.

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