Gerald "Jerry" Sanford: Retired FDNY Firefighter, Author of It Started With a Helmet, 9/11 Press Secretary

Team Never Quit

Marcus Luttrell

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Education, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Self-improvement

4.9 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2021

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A black leather helmet.

Not just any helmet.

A circa 1914 FDNY helmet found in Naples, Florida, originating from Ladder 42 in The Bronx, New York.

In this week’s episode, Jerry Stanford, FDNY veteran, details his adventure in returning that incredible helmet – and presenting it back to Ladder 42 in The Bronx on September 10, 2001 - the day before the attacks of 9/11.

Jerry returned to service as a volunteer after the attacks on the World Trade center and authored the book: It Started with a Helmet.

You’ll appreciate Jerry’s compelling story, and his straightforward personality as he details the path of the helmet from Naples to The Bronx.

In this episode you will hear:

• We flew out from La Guardia Airport 2 hours before the attacks. I could’ve been on one of those hijacked planes.

• Everyone’s running out of the buildings while we were running into the building.

• We lost 343 Firefighters from all ranks. With all those years of experience gone, it was difficult to fill those voids.

• After 10-12 days, it changed from a rescue mission to a recovery mission.

• The jet fuel kept the fires burning.

• On September 12, 2001, we were all New Yorkers.

• You couldn’t buy a flag.

• The government officials told us that it was fine to be in the area with no masks or breathing gear. 6 years later, I was diagnosed with lung cancer, as were many others.

• Back then, I could go to the World Trade Center site, and any hour of the day or night. People were cheering us on.

• Now they want to cut back funding for police, while they have private security. That’s crazy.

• Life is so different now. We have to adapt to it.

• We were taken aback at the difference in two or three years in New York City.

• In Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over in three short weeks. What the hell is going on there?

• We let the fox back into the hen house.

• What happened to our leadership?

• If you need to talk to somebody, please do it. Don’t do anything drastic. A lot of departments have mental health people that are there to help you.

• It doesn’t cost anything to be nice to people.

Support Jerry

https://www.tiktok.com/@itstartedwithahelmet

https://www.facebook.com/itstartedwithahelmet

https://www.instagram.com/itstartedwithahelmet

Transcript

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0:00.0	3am mission statement 4am staffing 5am successful series B 6am wake up and get to work
0:08.8	Vobos is a fiber network providing 10 gigas standard for the businesses that prefer to spend their
0:13.6	nights dreaming rather than worrying Vobos the business fiber network built by Vobos for London
0:20.0	The team different podcast is sponsored by Navy Federal Credit Union and you can finance by
0:24.4	protecting and enjoy your auto purchase all through one convenient place learn more at NavyFederal.org slash car buying
0:40.4	All right everybody welcome back to the TNG podcast I'm your host Marcus Matrell every week it's my
0:50.2	job to fire you up to ignite the legend inside of you and to push you to your greatness join me
0:55.8	every week and I take you into my briefing room with some of the most art charge of people on the
0:59.6	planet they're going to show you how to embrace the stuff of life teach you the values of working
1:04.2	your ass off and charge through whatever life throws at you this is the team you never quit podcast
1:09.6	yeah don't fuck the love buttercup
1:21.1	Hey what's up everybody welcome back to another episode of the team never quit podcast my name is
1:26.0	Andrew hanging out with Marcus and Melanie today how are you guys
1:29.1	blessed unstoppable we're good nice hey we've got a great guest in store today but before we get
1:35.1	to that we've got a patreon question of the day patreon question of the day is what is your favorite
1:39.7	meal that mama makes mama Holly mama Holly or anybody okay what's my favorite mother makes
1:51.5	that's gonna be such a tough oh what's not to be prime rib prime rib for Christmas we only
1:57.1	get to have one time a day it's so good or one time a year it's so good and we get all the fixes
2:00.9	with it so it's a meal it's like the macaroni and cheese and everything you would ever like in a last
2:06.5	a meal so that recipe is actually in Steve doose's cookbook yeah we made the book yeah she made
2:17.2	the book so in it was like one of the top recipes it was the number one recipe in America right yeah
2:23.6	over Christmas yeah what's up mom yeah how about you Jerry well being brought up in an Irish house
	...

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