'Lucky to survive'

COEUR d’ALENE — Former New York City firefighter Tim Duffy will never, ever forget what transpired the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The second boom, the earth started shaking,” he said in his thick New England accent. “The booms got closer and closer together and it sounded like 100 freight trains were chasing me … it only took 10 and a half seconds for that building to fall. I got hit pretty hard right away. I got knocked to the ground and I went into the fetal position because I could feel I was in a bad spot. I tried to pull myself into my helmet.”

Duffy, of Englishtown, N.J., spoke quietly Tuesday afternoon as he shared his firsthand 9/11 experience with several intent listeners during a presentation in Panhandle Carpet One in Coeur d'Alene. He described the horrific imagery of that fateful day — how he rode his Harley to the scene, how he and his colleagues dug in the rubble until their hands were bloody and numb as they looked for survivors and how he lost 36 friends and 342 firefighters in the first hour after tragedy struck.

Duffy vividly told his story from the perspective of a humble hero, one who takes no credit when he knows how many heroes gave their lives that day.

“I thought of how selfish I was to do this job as a living, that now my wife has no husband and my kids have no dad,” he said. “I kept trying to get to my feet to run for my life and I never got back to my feet. The third or fourth time that I tried to get up, I just stayed on my hands and knees and crawled for my life. When the 110th story building hit, it actually propelled me up the steps of the Brooks Brothers (clothing store) building and I bounced off the doors there and wound up with my back against a granite pillar … I buried my face into my coat because I was choking to death; it was really thick.

"I was lucky to survive that morning."

Duffy presented Panhandle Carpet One owner Donnie Kimball with a framed shadowbox containing a piece of steel from the World Trade Center as a token of appreciation for the store's support of the Stephen Siller Tunnels to Towers Foundation. Tunnels to Towers builds "smart" homes for catastrophically injured service members. The foundation was started by the family of Siller — a firefighter and good friend of Duffy's who disappeared in the 9-11 wreckage.

“He was a fireman’s fireman,” Duffy said. “He was one of the people who we never even found anything of; he was totally vaporized.”

Duffy said Tunnels to Towers has built 28 houses for injured service members with 14 in the works and 200 more slated for the future. The homes are energy efficient and use "adaptive technology" to help America's injured heroes live more independent lives. He said it is an honor to give back to those who have put their lives on the line for their country.

Kimball in turn presented Duffy with a check for $1,600 to benefit Tunnels to Towers. The company matched $800 that was raised in his store. Panhandle Carpet One has been working with Mohawk Industries to raise funds for the organization. As a Tunnels to Towers representative, Duffy is touring parts of the country to say "thanks" for their support.

"It's a complete honor to have him here," Kimball said. "I couldn't be prouder of our fire department and our servicemen."