PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Standing against a backdrop of 2,977 American flags blowing in the morning breeze at the Tempe Healing Field, each one marking a life lost on Sept. 11, 2001, two Phoenix firefighters say the memories of what they witnessed 25 years ago remain as vivid as ever.
When hijackers flew commercial airliners into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, thousands of first responders rushed to Ground Zero — including urban search and rescue crews deployed from right here in Arizona.
Phoenix Fire Capt. Mark Kirman was shopping with his son when the attacks occurred. Firefighter Jerry Johnson was in the car heading to a family wedding.
Within hours, both turned around, linked up with members of Arizona Task Force 1, and deployed the next day to New York City to join search, rescue, and recovery operations.
‘Nothing could have prepared us’
While specialized task forces regularly train for mass-casualty disasters, both men say nothing could replicate the sheer scale of devastation that awaited them at Ground Zero.
“As I walked around the corner, there was a police officer that was doing his beat. And I’m looking at this pile that was about 35 stories tall,” Kirman said. “It was burning still when we got there. It was smoldering. It was down to nothing. It was dust with metal sticking out.”
Kirman worked heavy rescue tools over a 10-day to two-week deployment, searching through the burning debris field where recovery crews continued to locate victims’ remains.
“I constantly think about what had happened. I mean, thousands of lives were lost,” Kirman said.
For Johnson, the physical dimensions of the destruction left an indelible mark.
“The moment and image that sticks with me was the magnitude of the damage,” Johnson said. “I remember looking up and thinking, ‘that’s a 20-story pile of just rubble.’ It’s 20 stories in the air. As we went around the corner, we looked down and it was a 70-foot-deep hole.”
“It was a lot of thought process going into it,” Johnson added. “Realizing that a lot of people had just lost their lives. And a lot of first responders had lost their lives.”
The enduring toll and lasting lessons
In the quarter-century since, the toll of Sept. 11 has extended far beyond that Tuesday morning, with thousands of responders and survivors battling long-term illnesses linked to toxic dust at Ground Zero.
“A lot of people suffered from 9/11, emotionally afterward, physically,” Kirman said. “There’s a lot of people that are very sick from going there and working.”
He added: “Don’t take things for granted.”
Both Kirman and Johnson continue to serve with the Phoenix Fire Department today, carrying forward lessons forged in the rubble.
“‘Never forget,’ to me, is just remember the kindness. Remember the discipline. Remember our sorrow,” Johnson said. “Remember how we dug ourselves out.”
Passing the message to younger generations
With 25 years having passed, both first responders emphasized the importance of educating younger generations who were not yet alive when the towers fell.
Their message to families is straightforward: talk to children about that day, teach them about the sacrifices made, and visit memorial sites like the Tempe Healing Field to help them understand the magnitude of the loss and the unity that followed.
The Tempe Healing Field will remain open through Monday at Tempe Beach Park, featuring 2,977 flags honoring every victim. Organizers are also hosting a candlelight vigil Friday night to remember the lives lost.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2026 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.