Danny Suhr was the recipient of many nicknames. Captain America was one. Whenever he went out with friends, he would point to exit doors and tell them where to meet him if anything happened. He loved his job at Engine Company 216.
Danny was the first firefighter killed on 9/11. The firefighters of Engine 216 were some of the first responders to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. They were setting up near the south tower when a body jumping from Tower Two struck and killed Danny, who had been a firefighter since 1983.
Seven firefighters came to Suhr’s aid. Just minutes after he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, the tower came crashing down. Danny and his fellow firefighters would have been in that tower if he had not been injured.
“He kept everyone safe,” said his wife, Nancy. “The other 7 firefighters stayed with him because they wouldn’t leave him behind,” his wife said. “Because they didn’t go in, he saved their lives.”
“We’re alive because of Danny,” firefighter Tony Sanseviro said. “It was almost like he knew,” firefighter Chris Barry said. “He didn’t look scared, but he knew it was bad.” Before Suhr died, he was the captain for the FDNY football team and the Brooklyn Mariners, a semi-pro team.
Danny’s father was a firefighter. He has a brother who was a firefighter. A sister who was a cop. We are talking about a very tough, very brave, very dedicated family here.
Danny left behind his wife, Nancy, whom he began dating in grammar school and their daughter, Brianna, then 2. Even though he was considered this big, brave firefighter, he could get fairly mushy over his 2-year-old daughter, Briana. He was terrified when she did things like run toward him too fast. “He loved her more than life itself,” Nancy said.
Shared from WOD