Steve Buscemi on September 11: “It was almost impossible to deal with the enormity of what happened”

Steve Buscemi found it “almost impossible” to process what he saw after the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City.

The Reservoir Dogs actor was a firefighter in the city and answered a call for help at the World Trade Center site in 2001, and he admitted he was grateful that he had already had sessions with a therapist because it helped him speak through his feelings after a week of working to find survivors.

He wrote in an essay for TIME magazine: “It was really nice to be there. I was on the site for less than a week, but it wasn’t until I got home that the magnitude of it all caught up with me.

“Almost impossible”: Steve Buscemi found “almost impossible” to process what he saw after the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York

Always united: Jim Carry and Steve Buscemi during a concert organized a month after September 11

“I was already seeing a therapist, and while it was nearly impossible to deal with the enormity of what had happened, just having someone to sit down with all the feelings was a consolation. It’s not something that first responders usually get.

“Announcing vulnerability is a difficult thing for everyone, but especially for people whose main identity is that of protector.”

And although the Fargo star and his fellow firefighters found the dust from the fallen towers “more troublesome” than anything they found there, he shone the spotlight on the damage caused by toxic chemicals at the site.

He wrote: “The sprayed concrete and who knows what clogged a face mask, so fast you worked better without it,” Buscemi wrote. “Someone would say, ‘This is probably going to kill us in 20 years. ”

Death in flight: Buscemi said first responders at the time said: “This will probably kill us in 20 years”

“Some people had no choice”: Buscemi mentioned the slogan “never forget” and wrote that many first responders “have no choice”

“Well, it didn’t take 20 years. Chronic debilitating illnesses surfaced even before the battery was cleaned. Today, more people are believed to have died from toxic exposure at the 9/11 site than they died on that day.

“It was of course loaded with carcinogens. But if the truth had been shared with the firefighters, I’m pretty sure they would have continued to work.

Steve urged people to “never forget” what happened, especially because tragedy always has a serious impact on people’s lives.

He concluded, “’Never forget,’ everyone said. Some people have no choice. What is surprising is who needs to be remembered. Shortly after the attack, Congress established a victims’ compensation fund to help first responders deal with the aftermath of the day.

Support first responders: Buscemi wrote about the campaign to expand funding for first responders and their families affected by smoke after 9/11

“When the money started to run out, the survivors had to start a lobbying campaign for permanent funding, which finally arrived in 2019.

“It was an effort led by Jon Stewart and activist John Feal and supported by every former firefighter who can’t laugh without a cough, and every family member who pretends not to notice.

“Never forget, because people are always struggling. People are still dying, ”the actor said.

In 2019, the Senate passed a bill that extends funds for 9/11 victims, responders and their families for decades.