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2 Your Town: Reflecting on West Baton Rouge's connection to 9/11 on the 25th anniversary
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PORT ALLEN — West Baton Rouge Parish has a direct link to the heroes and events of Sept. 11, 2001.
West Baton Rouge Parish Fire Chief Butch Browning was the driving force behind the Spirit of Louisiana, a legendary fire truck that was a gift from Louisiana to New York City in the aftermath of 9/11.
It was a fire truck that saved lives and lifted spirits in the aftermath of the attack on the Twin Towers.
The Spirit was born out of the compassion and generosity of the people of Louisiana, just months after the attacks on the World Trade Center. Firefighters, civic groups, businesses and schoolchildren all across Louisiana helped raise nearly a million dollars to build the Spirit of Louisiana and the two other trucks.
“We showed the rest of the country that we could come to the fore, before anybody else could,” said Leo Honeycutt, former WBRZ anchorman, who was part of the Spirit of Louisiana campaign.
The trucks were built with pride and much patriotism down the interstate from Baton Rouge at Ferrara Fire Apparatus in Holden.
“This was kind of like a healing experience for all of us, especially us,” said Chris Ferrara, the founder and owner of Ferrara Fire Apparatus.
And just three months after 9/11, then-Gov. Mike Foster presented the first truck to the City of New York. Butch Browning was the state fire marshal at the time. He called it a healing process.
“Louisiana came together and truly stood above every other state in the nation,” Browning said.
It was a gift to Engine Company 283, tucked away in a corner of Brooklyn, a company with a proud tradition that dates back to 1913. When WBRZ visited, you could also see many reminders of the Louisiana connection on the walls of the fire station.
The pumper logged thousands of miles on thousands of runs, everything from fires to EMS calls. Eventually it would be taken out of service and used to train new firefighters.
Joe Heegan was one of the New York firefighters who rode the Spirit of Louisiana into fire battles.
“Love the rig. It’s a great rig. A little bit faster than what we usually have up here,” Heegan said.
The Spirit of Louisiana not only helped fight fires and save lives, but it also helped ease the pain of the loss of fellow firefighters.
Vince Murello, 32, was one of the 343 firefighters and paramedics who died when the Twin Towers collapsed. His name was memorialized on the truck. Heegan said the truck was one example of how the country was united behind them.
“You realized the guys here were behind you, but you didn’t realize how much everyone else in the country was behind us, and looking to help out,” he said.
Now, a quarter-century later, the Spirit lives on. Organizers hope to make the truck the centerpiece of a firefighters’ museum, dedicated to the people and the fire departments of New York and Louisiana — still united in the resolve to never forget.
“Never forget. Never forget the 343 firefighters that died," Browning emphasized.
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