Friends of Firefighters, nonprofit started after 9/11, provides mental health, wellness services to FDNY members

Nearly a quarter of a century after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, the memories remain vivid for the firefighters who responded to Ground Zero and for the people who helped them in the aftermath.

Retired firefighter John Sorrentino was off duty that morning. But when he heard what was happening, he said he immediately headed toward the World Trade Center.

"I just made a beeline right for the towers," he said. "And the first guy I ran into was a guy from my firehouse, and he looked at me. He said, 'The whole truck is gone.'"

Sorrentino was with Ladder 118 in Brooklyn, which suffered a devastating loss that day. All six men on the truck died, along with two other firefighters. 

Several weeks later, a photo of Ladder 118 was featured on the front page of a newspaper, capturing the heroic efforts of the FDNY members on the way to the burning towers.

The picture showed the firefighters, including Pete Davidson's father, Scott Davidson.

"I still think of it now. It's heartbreaking," Sorrentino said.

The heartbreak continued in the hours Sorrentino spent working at Ground Zero.

The early hours on the pile brought even more heartbreak. Among the sounds that have stayed with him was the beeping of firefighters' personal alert safety system, known as a PASS alarm.

The alarms are designed to alert other firefighters when a member is motionless or in distress.

"If you are in a fire and you can't move, your alarm's going to go off. And now everybody knows, hey, somebody's in trouble."

At Ground Zero, the alarms were heard everywhere.

"When we're on the pit for that first hour or two, all you can hear is hundreds of PASS alarms," he said. "Of all the things I saw and all the things that I did, that particular thing just sticks with me," he said.

In the days following the attacks, community members wanted to do anything to help, including Nancy Carbone.

She found her way to Sorrentino's firehouse, where she asked him what she could do for them.

"He did name the number one thing was bunting for the house," Carbone said.

Then came another request: A bugler.

"When you're asked to do something by a first responder, and they're in duress, you really want to deliver it," Carbone said. "The bugle was a pressure for me."

In those early days, if firefighters needed clean socks, food or other supplies, she made it happen. Her volunteer efforts eventually became something much bigger. 

"Just imagine your worst nightmare, and they were living it," she said. 

Carbone established the nonprofit Friends of Firefighters in a storefront on Columbia Street in Brooklyn, which eventually moved to a decommissioned firehouse on Van Brunt Street.

The organization's mission evolved over time, with mental health services becoming central to its work.  

Carbone said she has seen changes to the stigma surrounding mental health in the years since they started offering services.

"There's an openness now," she said. "What's incredible is that it's free. So, it's been free now for 25 years to the members, active and retired and their families."

Carbone remains driven and dedicated to the FDNY even as she admits the weight of these last 25 years has taken a toll.

"I know I did the right thing, but I also have to acknowledge it was a tremendous sacrifice," she said. "The return is people are feeling better. People are on track again."