HOLT, Mich — Delhi Township Fire Chief Brian Ball was among the first responders who traveled to New York City following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an experience that continues to impact him more than two decades later.
- Ball was a young firefighter in Mason when he and several colleagues immediately drove to New York City after the attacks.
- He spent five days at Ground Zero searching through debris for survivors and personal artifacts for victims' families.
- The attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, including 400 first responders, changed how local fire departments train and collaborate.
I spoke with Ball about his powerful firsthand account of working at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil.
WATCH: Local fire chief shares his 9/11 Ground Zero experience 24 years later
Twenty-four years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the memories of Ground Zero still haunt those who answered the call to help, including one of our local fire chiefs.
"I always knew that being a firefighter was something I always wanted to do. Obviously, around this time, it really hits," Brian Ball said.
You might know Brian Ball as the Delhi Township Fire Chief, but before he was chief, he was a young firefighter working in Mason.
"As a young twenty-something-year-old fireman, I jumped on with a couple other guys and we got on the road," Ball said.
Ball made his way to New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, just hours after the attack began. Nearly 3,000 people died after a terrorist attack. 400 of them were first responders.
He tells me he spent time searching for signs of life and artifacts to take to victims' families.
"Initially, when we got down there, I can't remember which side of the pile, but it was just digging through, filling up buckets, and handing buckets down," Ball said.
But that was just one day of the five days he spent at Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers once stood.
"They deployed listening devices and search cameras that were portable and could go down," Ball said.
Pat Brown, a former firefighter at the Delhi Township Fire Department, tells me that 9/11 changed the way all local law enforcement collaborated and trained.
"That did change a lot of training tactics for every fire department. It made you go oh I never thought of those things, it's not going to happen here, that was the big thing, but it did," Brown said.
Back with Ball, he says every year he's reminded of his time spent at Ground Zero, time that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
"I've never watched any of the documentaries, and I haven't been back," Ball said.
Later this evening, the Delhi Township Fire Department will put on its annual 9/11 Hero Run. Local firefighters, police, and more will run with full gear on to honor all lives lost 24 years ago.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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