Jeffrey Olsen took the Fire Department test when he was 18. It took 10 years, but he finally got the call he was waiting for, the call he began to believe might never come.
Mr. Olsen was meant to be a firefighter and as soon as he knew he was in, he began counting down the days until his first day. He was working at St. Vincent's Medical Center, West Brighton, at the time and everyone in the hospital counted along with him.
"He loved the Fire Department," said his mother, Carol Olsen. "He worked so hard at his goal in life, which was to make a difference."
Mr. Olsen, 31, is among the missing victims in the World Trade Center attack. A member of Engine Co. 10, one of the firehouses closest to the Twin Towers, Mr. Olsen was detailed to the ladder company of the same house on the morning of Sept. 11.
"From what I could gather from talking to the guys he worked with, they were standing outside when the first plane hit," said Mr. Olsen's wife, the former Denise Caputo. "He loved fighting fires and he was saying, 'We've got a job to do, we've got work to do.' Then he hopped onto the rig."
She was told that he was on the 45th floor of Tower 1 when he was last heard from.
"When I hear people say that this whole incident was a senseless tragedy, I hope my husband's death wasn't senseless, and because it was so tragic, I hope it will change society's way of thinking and that he did make a difference," she said. "He has saved so many lives and he has given so many people life, besides his own children."
The Great Kills resident recently received a commendation from then-South Shore City Councilman Stephen Fiala for aiding in the rescue of a family from their burning Brooklyn apartment while he was on rotation with Ladder Co. 175 in East New York.
He also donated bone marrow to a 15-year-old boy, whom he didn't know. "He was our hero before September 11th," said his mother.
Mr. Olsen graduated the Fire Academy in 1999 and was assigned to Engine 10. After a rotation which took him to Engine Co. 246 in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn and Ladder 175, he returned to Engine 10.
The only thing Mr. Olsen loved more than fighting fires were his three children. He lived for Vincent, 8, Tori Rose, 3, and Noah, 19 months.
"He was a totally devoted father," his wife said. "He took them all fishing, he took them all camping. He is a nature freak, so we always had them outside doing something."
And the firefighter could even get into the "girlie things" with Tori Rose. He loved painting his daughter's nails and doing her hair.
"He tried to instill in them everything he loved in life," Mrs. Olsen said. "I tell my children that he is a hero and that 6,000 lives were taken, but it could have been 30,000 if the firemen didn't do such an incredible job."
The youngest of six children, Mr. Olsen was also a devoted uncle to his 12 nieces and nephews, many of whom live in the same neighborhood.
"He was just somebody who was charismatic to be around," said his sister, Cynthia Dinkins.
For Neil Olsen, his baby brother was also his best friend. Whether they were smoking cheap cigars at a campfire, standing waste deep in the Delaware River during a fly fishing trip or trading Star Trek trivia, the two were always sharing their hopes and dreams.
Described as Jim Carrey and Jerry Lewis rolled into one, Mr. Olsen was a magnet for people who were drawn to his sense of humor and love of life. "He was very loyal, compassionate and hysterically funny," his wife said. "One of his friends, another fireman, just said to me that to be a fireman, you have to be half compassionate, half comedian and all crazy. That was a perfect description of Jeff."
Born in Great Kills, Mr. Olsen was a graduate of Susan Wagner High School. Before joining the Fire Department, he was the supervisor of building services at St. Vincent's.
He enjoyed photography, fishing, camping and kayaking. He was also a Bruce Springsteen fanatic.
Staten Island Advance, 2001