On Sept. 11, 2001, hundreds of law enforcement officers from numerous agencies responded to the attack on the World Trade Center towers.

In this special series of interviews, we discuss how officers responded to the attack, then worked through the days and months of trying to recover evidence and remains, and finally fought the political battle to provide medical care for 9/11 first responders.

A retired NYPD Officer, Frank DeMasi served with the city's Emergency Services Unit and responded to the World Trade Center that morning just before the second plane hit the South Tower. From Sept. 12, 2001 to May 31, 2002, he worked at Ground Zero.

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⏱ Timestamps ⏱

0:00 Introduction

0:41 Frank’s mission to find survivors

2:28 The workload in the first month -

3:54 From Rescue to Recovery

6:09 Lingering health issues from ground zero

8:09 Advice for Today’s Law Enforcement Officers