June 28, 2019
At 11 AM, in the quarters of Engine 7 Tower Ladder 1 at 100 Duane St., New York City, NY, Battalion Chief Larry Byrnes from the 911 Naudet film was honored today with a Fire Family Assistance Van in his name to support FDNY sickened members for their transport needs.
During the ceremony there was a surprise – the Chiefs grandson Newley assigned Firefighter Robert Cummings Jr was also honored and was presented with the Chiefs first FDNY Badge Number Shield # 7341. Chief Byrnes was assigned this number in 1957 when he was a new firefighter at Engine 239.
Presenting was Chief Ron Schmutzler who worked with Chief Byrnes during their careers.
Congratulations to all.
Chief Byrnes Of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) 9/11 icon from the French video tape of that day passed away on Sunday, June 14, 2015 as a result of his efforts on September 11, 2001 from a 911 related illness.
On the famous tape by Jules Naudet showing a fire response for a manhole fire when the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC), Chief Byrnes is the one who comes into Battalion 1 quarters, grabs a chief’s bell cap off the bunker gear rack, and is ready to go. On the way out, the young probie ask the chief what he should do; the chief just says, “Stick with me, kid. Let’s go.”
Larry was instrumental in coordinating one WTC sector to get back on its feet over the next number of days. When a group of victims were discovered in a stairwell, the building blueprints did not match the stairwell identification number. Before GIS mapping was set up, a call was placed by FDNY Special Ops to the high-rise fire safety director’s association to reach out for the current blueprints showing the numerical stairs. A call was made to Chief Byrnes; this was Byrnes’s response district, and he knew the WTC like the back if his hand. He had a current set of plans and headed back into the city.
When asked a month or so later by a reporter why he responded after retiring, Larry simply replied: “Firefighters never retire, we just go away for a while.”
Battalion 1 Chief Larry Byrnes retired from the FDNY in 1999 after 42 years of service. Yet on 9/11 this did not deter him from responding.
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