CHIEF KEMLY: Today is Friday, December
7th, 2001. The time is 1615 hours. This is
Battalion Chief Ronald Kemly of the Fire
Department, City of New York. I am
conducting an interview with the following
individual: Steven Altini, firefighter
first, assigned to Engine Company 24 of the
Fire Department, City of New York. The
interview is being conducted at the quarters
of Engine 24 in the engine office, regarding
the events of September 11th, 2001.

Q. Fireman Altini, would you please tell
me what happened on September 11th.

A. Okay. Me and two other off-duty
firefighters responded from home prior to the
recall. We went over the Verrazano Narrows
Bridge. Looking towards Manhattan, we could see
the two towers, pretty heavy smoke rushing from
the towers.

We responded through Brooklyn via the
Gowanus Expressway. We were waved through the
easy pass lane from PD as we showed our ID, who
we were. We proceeded to go through the Battery
Tunnel. We noticed no fire apparatus or
emergency vehicles as we went through, just some
civilian vehicles.
As we exited the Battery Tunnel to
lower Manhattan, we proceeded to make a right
turn onto West Street where we were confronted
with a lot of debris in the street, airplane
debris, human remains and such.
We pulled our pickup truck just north
of the Marriott at Carlisle Street on the east
side of West Street, facing north. As we exited
the vehicle, two other firefighters donned their
protective gear and headed north towards tower
two or one.
Me being in civilian clothes and no
protective gear, I proceeded west across West
Street to Commissioner Gregory and his aide and
asked them where the off-duty firemen were going,
and what I can do. I was instructed to either
remain at the scene or proceed over to City Hall
where the firefighters were now mustering up
after the recall.
As I was there, I remember seeing
Ladder 113, but there was no members there. This
was between 9:30 and 10. I don't know the exact
time the second plane hit the tower, but that's
exactly when we left Staten Island. It took us
maybe about 20 minutes to get in.
I noticed an engine company -- I
believe it was Engine 211 -- pull up. As they
were getting out of the rig, I went over to the
chauffeur and asked them if they had protective
gear that I could borrow. Being the chauffeur
was also suiting up, they had no extra gear.
With that I headed east across West
Street and went through the Marriott at Carlisle
Street, exiting the rear onto Washington Street,
headed north one block, over east another block
to Greenwich Street, where I met up with another
fireman who was in full gear from Engine 249.
We proceeded north towards Engine 10,
and we tried to enter their quarters through the
rear basement entrance, which was locked. As we
continued north on Greenwich Street towards the
corner of Liberty and Greenwich is when tower two
started to come down.
The only other apparatus I saw, that I
remembered seeing on Liberty Street in front of
tower two, I believe it was Ladder 15. The
number is not clear, but I thought it was Ladder
15. I may be mistaken. I confronted no
personnel other than the one member from 249 at
that point.

We found cover at the corner of Cedar
and Greenwich Street as tower two was coming
down, in a deli next to O'Hara's Restaurant.
After it sounded like the tower was finished
collapsing, we exited the deli and headed south
one block, where we were separated, me and the
fireman.

I met up with a fire cadet, Eddie
Gonzalez, who sustained a broken left arm, I
believe, and we got him to an ambulance maybe
about 15 minutes, 20 minutes later. By that time
tower one had already come down.
When he was taken away in the
ambulance, I went around by Battery Park and back
up West Street where there was a lot of firemen
that weren't there earlier. I didn't see
Commissioner Gregory or his aide. I didn't see
any other members that I saw prior to the
collapses. Just a lot of firemen from out of the
borough I guess responded from the recall.

I gave Chief Mosier from the 8th
Division some information about the two members
that I came up to Manhattan with, because at this
point I knew they were missing and I thought they
were caught in the collapse of either one or two,
tower one or tower two. I wasn't sure, because
they didn't say where they were going.
Throughout the day I met many different
personnel, and we continued to search and help
stretch some hose line from the tugboats to
supply tower ladders on West Street, and that was
pretty much it.

Q. I'm just going to ask you a couple
questions. That was pretty good.
When you say you went there with two
other firemen, who were the others?

A. It was Craig Monahan from Ladder
Company 5 and Joseph Rea from Engine Company 255.
Q. They had their gear with them?
A. Yes.
Q. When you were on West Street, you said
you were on West Street and you met Commissioner
Gregory.
A. Right.
Q. Where on West Street was he? Do you
know what street?
A. Yeah, we were pretty much right between
Liberty and Cedar, just south of the south
walkway bridge, at the median in the divider.
There was a separation in the divider, and he had
his car and they were there, facing north.
Q. You mentioned 211, again on West
Street. Do you know where on West Street? Is
that the same location?
A. Same location. They pulled up, and the
officer had come out and I believe he spoke to
Commissioner Gregory. At that point I went over
and spoke to the chauffeur as he was donning his
gear.
Q. And the guy from 249, you don't recall
his name?
A. No, I'm sorry.
Q. That's okay.
A. I was told his name a couple of times.
Q. Okay. Fine.
A. I don't remember.
Q. It would help, but that's fine.
And Ladder 15, you said they were on
West Street also on Liberty Street. Is that the
overpass, the south overpass?
A. No, it looked like they were facing --
they were on the north side of Liberty Street
facing east on a diagonal. I hate to speculate,
but they may have come around by Battery Park and
then up West Street and parked their rig in front
of tower two. They weren't near tower one.
Q. No, but the overpass on Liberty Street,
the south walkway.
A. Right.
Q. Were they near that?
A. They were just north of that and east.
Q. Okay. If you don't have anything else,
that concludes the interview. Thank you very
much.
A. Thank you.