VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A piece of steel from the North Tower of the World Trade Center now stands as part of a 9/11 memorial at the Virginia Beach Fire Training Center, serving as a reminder of a day that changed the nation and the lives of the firefighters who responded.
As the country prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, two Virginia Beach firefighters are sharing memories of their deployment as members of Virginia Task Force 2, the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team based in Virginia Beach that responded in the aftermath of the attacks.
Archived News 3 footage from Sept. 11, 2001, captured team members loading equipment and preparing to leave for one of the nation's largest rescue and recovery efforts.
Answering the call
Virginia Beach Fire Captain Jim Ingledue was among those deployed.
Walking down a hallway at the fire training center, glancing at framed team photos on display, he stops and gestures.
"This is the task force," he said while pointing to a photograph.
Looking through a scrapbook documenting the mission, Ingledue reflected on the team's work. "This is a scrapbook that I had that goes back through a lot of the stuff with the task force."
Assistant Fire Chief Paul Pureza remembers exactly where he was when the attacks unfolded. "I was on the way home. We had just gotten off shift," Pureza said.
By the time he arrived home and turned on the television, he witnessed the second plane strike the World Trade Center.
"You knew from that second plane hitting that it wasn't an accident," Pureza said. "And we were probably going to go see if we could help out."
That prediction proved accurate. Soon after, members of Virginia Task Force 2 were headed to the Pentagon.
Witnessing the devastation firsthand
When the team arrived, the reality of the attack became impossible to ignore.
"There was still some smoke," Pureza recalled.
"You can see it driving down the road, and you're kind of mentally preparing yourself for what you're going to encounter."
Ingledue said the sights were powerful, but it was the smells that made the tragedy feel real.
"The building was still on fire. It was still burning in spots, so you could smell all of that," he said. "The thing that makes it real from TV is your olfactory system. You can smell the smoke. You can smell jet fuel."
As the search and recovery effort continued, firefighters were confronted with scenes they still remember decades later.
"People are not intact, and you're dealing with some situations that are not normal," Pureza said.
A moment that never left him
For Ingledue, one discovery at the crash site remains especially difficult to discuss.
At the time, he had a daughter who was not yet two years old.
"We were digging, removing debris right at the plane," he said.
Among the wreckage, rescue workers uncovered a row of three connected airplane seats.
"When we lifted that up, there were a couple of diaper bags, a bunch of small clothes, some shoes and some toys," Ingledue recalled.
The discovery struck him immediately as a father.
"I told the people I was with, 'I gotta go.'"
He stepped away from the search area to collect himself.
"I just went out and went for a little walk and then came back after they got through that area," he said.
"But those are... I was scared. Simple. I was afraid of what I might find."
Keeping the story alive
Both firefighters say it is important that the memories of Sept. 11 continue to be shared with younger generations who did not experience the attacks firsthand.
"You can't forget something you never knew to begin with," Ingledue said. "That's why this is very important for you to tell the story. It's very important to me to have you tell this story because it helps people never forget."
The Virginia Beach Fire Department will commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday at the Virginia Beach Fire Training Center, where the piece of World Trade Center steel remains on display as a tribute to those who lost their lives and those who answered the call to help.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
