At FDNY’s Historic ‘Ten House,’ Lone 9/11 Veteran Sal Argano Carries the Torch 25 Years Later

Nearly a quarter of a century after the catastrophic attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the bustling firehouse situated directly across from the World Trade Center site continues to balance its active municipal duties with its role as a sacred space of remembrance. Inside the firehouse known throughout New York City as "Ten House," 65-year-old firefighter Sal Argano reports for duty each shift, standing as the final active member on the station's roster who was stationed there on the morning the Twin Towers fell.

For Argano, a veteran of Ladder 10, surviving the deadliest single day in American emergency response history came down to an unexpected assignment elsewhere in the city. On that clear Tuesday morning in 2001, he had been temporarily loaned to a Brooklyn firehouse on rotation rather than reporting to his regular post directly opposite the World Trade Center complex.

When hijacked commercial airliners slammed into the skyscrapers, Argano immediately rushed back to lower Manhattan to assist his unit. Upon his arrival, he discovered the Ten House facility heavily damaged by the collapse of the nearby towers, though its structural core remained upright amid the devastation. He soon learned that six members of the firehouse were among the 343 New York City Fire Department personnel killed in the disaster.

The realization of how close he came to sharing their fate has stayed with Argano across decades of service. Reflecting on the twist of scheduling that kept him out of the immediate line of fire, he acknowledges that had he not been sent across the river on rotation, he likely would have perished alongside his colleagues, a reality he still contemplates constantly.

Today, Ten House operates in a world vastly different from the smoky ruins of late 2001, functioning as a vibrant intersection between municipal public safety and international commemoration. The facility houses both Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10, where firefighters regularly pivot between responding to urgent urban emergencies and accommodating the thousands of tourists who gather outside its bays each day.

The high profile of the firehouse requires a distinct disposition from the personnel stationed there. Capt. Terence Brody, who commands Ladder 10 and has worked at the facility since 2016, notes that serving in the company demands a willingness to engage warmly with the public, as visitors from across the globe regularly stop outside to pay their respects and greet the on-duty crews.

Brody, now 55, carries his own vivid memories of that historic day. On Sept. 11, he was an FDNY academy cadet who was suddenly loaded onto a bus with his classmates and dispatched directly into the unfolding crisis at Ground Zero. He recalls the stark transition from a bright morning to an apocalyptic scene where falling pulverized debris choked the air so heavily that it resembled a heavy snowstorm.

In the critical weeks following the towers' collapse, the battered Ten House became a central operations hub. The building served as an emergency command post as well as a vital haven where exhausted rescue workers could rest, regroup, and seek respite away from the active search and recovery efforts across the street.

Over the ensuing decades, the station's members witnessed the protracted and complex rebuilding of the lower Manhattan skyline. Firefighter Robert Favata, now 46, joined Ladder 10 in 2008 immediately after graduating from the fire academy, arriving at a time when the surrounding landscape was dominated by a vast construction crater and continuous heavy machinery.

That empty expanse has since transformed into the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Today, two massive reflecting pools sit within the footprints of the original towers, bordered by bronze parapets engraved with the names of nearly 3,000 victims, while modern skyscrapers once again soar above the plaza. Beneath the surface, the museum preserves poignant physical remnants of that day, including mangled structural steel beams and a crushed fire engine.

The firehouse itself has become a staple stop for tour groups and visiting first responders from around the world. Tour guides frequently gather outside the station to share historical accounts of the initial response, including the sacrifice of Daniel Suhr, recognized as the first firefighter to die during the World Trade Center operation. International visitors, such as French volunteer firefighter Laurent Cosenefroy, frequently journey to the station to connect with its members.

Passersby and tourists heading toward the memorial plaza frequently pause at the facility's exterior, snapping photographs alongside the gleaming trucks of Engine 10 and Ladder 10 or viewing the large bronze relief mounted along the building’s facade, which memorializes the fallen firefighters by name.

Through every transformation of the surrounding neighborhood, Argano has remained a fixture at the station, representing a direct, living link between the department's past tragedy and its contemporary service. As the station continues its daily operations near Ground Zero, his presence serves as an enduring reminder of survival, sacrifice, and the enduring legacy of the FDNY.