On Sept. 10th, 2001, Tommy was at an annual softball game that Engine 79/Ladder 37 holds every September. He sat at a picnic table with his 18-month-old twin boys, Patrick and Pierce.
He had one boy on each knee and looked so proud and happy, it was a perfect picture of love. No one could imagine the nightmare that was right around the corner.
Tommy was a Lieutenant at Engine 6, which is located just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center. He had been assigned to Engine Company 6 a few weeks before Sept. 11.
The night of September 10th was a pretty quiet one at Engine Co. 6. FF Paul Beyer had made a delicious chicken dinner. Two firemen were studying for their upcoming promotional exam, tossing questions back and forth, and Tommy was giving them pointers on how to study.
On the morning of Sept. 11th, at 8:15 a.m., Engine 6 responded to a call. Upon returning from this call, while waiting at a stop light, they heard a very loud explosion. They looked up and saw a large hole in the north tower of the WTC. Engine 6 was one of the first units to arrive on the scene.
Lt. Tommy O’Hagan, along with his company, headed up the stairs of the North Tower to what would be their last call. No one who went in from Engine 6, made it out in time, except for one, FF Billy Green, who miraculously survived the collapse.
When Tommy was 7, he tried to stamp out a fire in the Bronx, but his pants caught fire. He ended up with second- and third- degree burns. "Even with all that," said his brother Raymond, "and all the pain that burns cause, Tommy wanted to be a fireman."
His wife says she has no doubt that her husband went into the WTC tower that morning with his usual take-charge attitude.