On September 11, 2001, Steve Buscemi tried calling his old firehouse. No one answered.
The next morning, he grabbed his turnout coat and helmet from years earlier and headed downtown.
Most people know Steve Buscemi as an actor—the unmistakable face from Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Boardwalk Empire. What many don't know is that long before Hollywood, Buscemi was a New York City firefighter.
In 1980, at twenty-two years old, he joined Engine Company 55 in Manhattan's Little Italy.
He served for four years, fighting fires while taking acting classes and doing stand-up comedy on the side. When his acting career started taking off, he took a leave of absence, figuring he'd be back someday.
Seventeen years later, he was.
When Steve arrived at Engine 55 on September 12, 2001, he learned that five of the six firefighters who had been on duty the day before were missing. One of them had been a good friend.
The captain told him he was welcome to join them.
For the next five days, Steve Buscemi worked twelve-hour shifts alongside his former brothers, digging through the rubble of the World Trade Center. He joined bucket brigades, sifting through debris, searching for survivors and remains. The dust was so thick it clogged face masks within minutes. Most workers gave up on wearing them.
He didn't want credit. He didn't want cameras. When reporters approached, he declined interviews. When photographers tried to capture him working, he asked them to stop. He wore a surgical mask partly to protect his lungs, partly to avoid being recognized.
He wasn't there for publicity. He was there because people needed help, and he knew how to give it.
Sometimes the most powerful thing a person can do is show up when no one's watching, work until the job is done, and never ask for recognition.
Steve Buscemi did exactly that.
And when people tried to make him a hero, he pointed them toward the firefighters who were still struggling, still suffering, still needing support long after the cameras went away.
That's the kind of hero America needed on September 12, 2001.
That's the kind of hero our world still needs today.
