‘A noble profession’: How the sacrifices of 9/11 inspired the next generations of firefighters

Those of a certain age know exactly where they were and what they were doing Sept. 11, 2001, when they learned America was under attack by terrorists.

The indelible events of 25 years ago are unforgettable for many, but especially for those in the fire service.

Three hundred forty three New York City firefighters died that day trying to save people trapped in the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Hundreds more have died in ensuing years due to illness linked to their exposure to toxic dust at the site.

Suburban firefighters who joined a surge of new recruits nationwide in the wake of the attacks retain a near-photographic memory of that day.

“I was sleeping. My dad woke me up and said, ‘Hey, look at this,’” said Wauconda native Adam Schlick. “The aftermath, the gravity hit me.”

Schlick was working at the family business outside town at the time. After Sept. 11 and a conversation with his brother, a firefighter/paramedic, he joined the Wauconda Fire District, part of the first group of recruits after attacks.

“(The fire service) always had a level of credibility, but nobody ever saw that level of sacrifice,” said Schlick, now the district’s division chief of training. “It is the satisfaction of helping somebody. That’s why we’re here.”

For those too young to join a fire department immediately after the attacks, Sept. 11, 2001 still played a part in their decision to join the profession.

“You saw the next day (Sept. 12, 2001) what can happen with people helping other people,” said Kyle Lamprich, 36, a firefighter/paramedic with the Libertyville Fire Department.

Lamprich, a Vernon Hills native, was 11 at the time of the attacks. That morning, teachers at Hawthorn Elementary North suddenly left their rooms without explanation.

“I remember them looking a little panicked,” he said. “I didn't grasp the true magnitude of what was going on.”

But he was inspired by the actions of the firefighters who rushed into the towers not knowing their fates, and the ensuing outpouring of support for New York from firefighters throughout the country.

Lamprich said he intended to pursue the fire service after high school, but also had a desire to serve the country and follow in his father's footsteps.

After serving in the Marines for four years, Lamprich said he realized the fire service was a “great fit” and completed the fire academy at the College of Lake County. He worked part time for the Grayslake Fire Protection District before joining Libertyville full time in 2021.

“I would not change a single aspect of my path,” he said. “I tie it loosely to the events of 9/11 and what transpired after.”

Fellow Libertyville firefighter Scott Sugerman, 25, notes he “was in my crib when this (9/11) happened.” Later on in his elementary school days, the attack was just “the newest piece of history” in textbooks, said Sugerman, who grew up in Grayslake.

But as he got older, and as he learned more about the attacks, the lives affected and the sacrifices made, he signed up for his first firefighting class at the Warren Township High School tech campus.

“I always knew I wanted to help people,” he said.

After high school, he earned his EMT license while pursuing an associate degree in fire science at CLC. He worked for a private ambulance service for about two years, then spent a year at Grayslake’s department before joining with Libertyville.

The bottom line: “I am making a difference for someone,” he said.

Mike DaValle, division chief/fire marshal at the Wauconda Fire District, was a student at Wauconda High School on Sept. 11, 2001, when a television on a cart was rolled out to watch new reports of that day’s events.

“It just sat there and (it) weighed on me,” he said. After a brief time as a plumbing apprentice, DaValle shifted gears and started with the fire district in 2005.

“To me, it's a more rewarding career than anything I've done in between,” he said. “To this day, one of my favorite things to plan is the 9/11 ceremony.”

The village’s Heroes of Freedom Memorial across Route 176 from the main fire station was dedicated Sept. 11, 2015, and features a beam from the 91st Floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Maxx Romberger, 23, who grew up around fire trucks and ambulances has been a Wauconda firefighter/paramedic about a year and a half. His dad was a Mundelein firefighter on duty Sept. 11.

“We talked about 9/11 growing up. I wasn’t around to experience it but it definitely is touching — it affected a lot of people and America as a whole,” Romberger said.

“This is an honorable job — we are going into situations we might not come back from, which is scary,” he added. “I think America has to keep on remembering and never forget.”

Six-year Wauconda firefighter/paramedic Michael Krumenacher was 2 years old in 2001 but has a clear understanding of what happened that day and the longer-term effects on firefighters.

“All the heroism that happened sets the example — this is what we should aspire to,” he said.

Schlick said Sept. 11 elevated the fire services.

“This is a noble profession,” he said.

Interest in the fire service leveled after the post-Sept. 11 surge, but Libertyville Fire Chief Mike Pakosta said it is coming back with the popularity community college programs.

That’s evident at Elgin Community College, where enrollment in fire science and safety courses stands at 432 this year, up from 193 in 2022. There are wait lists every semester, said Ron Two Bulls, senior director of academic programming and public safety.

Parents who remember the Great Recession are guiding their kids to public safety or government positions for job security, Two Bulls said. Starting salaries for firefighter/paramedics with a two-year degree in the Northwest suburbs is about $80,000, he added.

Two Bulls, who retired as a battalion chief after 26 years with the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, was on duty Sept. 11, 2001, getting ready for roll call when the first and then second plane hit the towers.

“We knew immediately, ‘This isn’t an accident,’” he recalled. “We started thinking about the firefighters in the building — ‘What are they doing?’”

mzawislak@dailyherald.com