Oversaw WTC Memorial: Fire Chief Finally Takes Exit

Oversaw WTC Memorial
Fire Chief Finally Takes Exit

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

For Fire Chief Harold Meyers, retirement has been a privilege put on hold.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow FOND TIMES IN THE TINHOUSE: Chief Harry Meyers earned several department commendations, numerous public-service awards, a master's degree from Columbia University and the respect of his colleagues as he ascended the ranks of the FDNY, but his favorite memories involve his days as a young firefighter in The Bronx, 'riding the back step of Engine 85.' The veteran Chief, who's served as Manhattan Borough Commander since 2002, first thought he would step down in December 2001. Those plans were laid to waste three months earlier. In the wake of 9/11, Mr. Meyers took over as Operations Chief for Ground Zero rescue and recovery efforts.

Sense of Duty Held Him

Another opportunity came 10 months later, when the FDNY halted those efforts. But the department, already diminished by the loss of 343 members, had begun to hemorrhage its cumulative experience as hundreds of older firefighters bowed out to gain larger pensions based on hefty overtime earnings. Chief Meyers stayed.

In 2003, with the FDNY finally refortified, retirement beckoned again. By then, however, Chief Meyers was deep into a project so consuming that everything - including some long-anticipated time with Cecelia, his wife of 45 years - had to wait.

Officially, Chief Meyers left the department July 3. But by his measure, his career cap came June 10 - the day the FDNY 9/11 Memorial Wall was unveiled.

"I just couldn't see myself clear to retire until it was done. I needed to see it up and in place," said Chief Meyers. "I am delighted that everyone now has a place to go - that's what it's there for."

'It Draws You In'

The Memorial Wall, a bronze monument that depicts the activity surrounding the World Trade Center on 9/11 just as the second plane hit, has garnered rave reviews for the precise detail that depicts the horror of the day's events amid glimpses of heroic and sorrowful human response.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'COULDN'T RETIRE UNTIL IT WAS DONE': Chief Meyers ended his 38year-career with the FDNY after witnessing the successful installation of the FDNY 9/11 Memorial Wall next to the firehouse at 124 Liberty St. He called the memorial a 'living tribute to the firefighters who died Sept. 11 and all who carry on - after Sept. 11, today, tomorrow, and those 100 years from now who will still be carrying on.' "If you stand right here, about a half step away, and you look right, and then you look left, can you see how it draws you in?" asked Chief Meyers, positioning himself in front of the panel's center to demonstrate how the raised bas-relief carvings created an elongated three-dimensional effect.

"Why is there a Crown Vic car in the panel?" he asks rhetorically. "Because we know that Chief [Peter] Ganci, Chief [Gerard] Barbara and Chief [Donald] Burns drove up in a Crown Victoria that day."

Pointing to a trio of figures clustered around an FDNY Command Board, used by officers to deploy firefighters at emergency scenes, Chief Meyers asked, "Who is this one? Whichever one you want it to be."

It's not surprising that he knows all the memorial's secrets. For 3-1/2 years, Chief Meyers made regular trips to the artist's studio to look at half-size drawings that, if approved, went full-size, and then, if approved again, became plaster casts. Once those were given a final sign-off, they became full-size molds to be filed with boiling bronze at a Greenpoint foundry.

One figure in the panel, Chief Meyers said, underwent 27 changes until he was satisfied all the details were correct - down to the "scrambled eggs" on the hat, the clip on the tie and the microphone cord curling up from a radio.

Firm Partner Died

The idea for a memorial was suggested by the law firm Holland and Knight, which has offices near the World Trade Center at 195 Broadway.

One of the firm's partners, volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Service Technician Glenn J. Winuk, died on 9/11 at the foot of the South Tower after he ran from his office to help evacuate the buildings. His colleagues took up a collection and raised a million dollars to build a memorial that would honor him and all those who died in the line of duty.

Brian D. Starer, the law firm partner who became director of the project, said, "My appreciation for firefighters, not just those in the FDNY but any firefighter, was really enhanced on 9/11. Then when I realized the extraordinary loss not just to us, but also to the department, I had a compelling feeling that something had to be done."

Mr. Starer said that there were times when the firm despaired of getting the memorial built. Politics, red tape and financing issues all threatened to derail it.

'Meyers Was Always There'

"We never gave up, but if you ask me, 'Would this have gone up without Chief Meyers?' I'd say, 'Absolutely not,''' Mr. Starer said last week.

"I really believe the Fire Department, from the Commissioner down to the probies, wanted this up, but it was Chief Meyers who stood by our side night and day, day and night. He came to our meetings, he went to the studios, he helped us with fundraising. He was someone to call - all I can say is, he was there, he was there, he was there," Mr. Starer continued.

Some finishing touches remain before what Chief Meyers considers his crowning achievement is complete. A rack of nine lights has yet to be installed above the 56foot sculpture, and 11 blocks of granite have yet to be installed along the sidewalk in front of the triptych - what Chief Meyers calls the "space of contemplation."

"Those are very important elements that haven't quite been finished, and we are also going to place the plaque from Holland and Knight that's on the wall next to the sculpture into the contemplation space," he said.

Still Involved

Although he's retiring, Chief Meyers said he'll be keeping an eye on the implementation of the final elements.

The former Marine might also find some time for a trip to his "alma mater" - Parris Island - and to do "some substandard carpentry and brickwork" around the house.

Chief Meyers, who is fully trained as a Commander of the FDNY's All Hazard Federal Incident Management Team, gained a highly-placed friend in the days after 9/11 when he led President Bush on a tour of Ground Zero. The President, accompanied by Governor Pataki and then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani, asked what he could do to help Chief Meyers as he grappled with rescue efforts.

"I said, 'Yeah, there is something you can do for me - you can put my son to work,''' recounted Chief Meyers, with a chuckle. "Pataki and Giuliani were looking at me in shock, totally aghast that I was asking for a job for my kid at a time like that. And then I said, 'He's in the Air Force and he flies F-15s. And I'm asking you to put him to work.'''

Convention Reunion

Chief Meyers apparently made an impression on Mr. Bush. Three years later, as FDNY Incident Commander for the 2004 Republican National Convention, he had a second, televised encounter with the President.

"I was in the auditorium running some last-minute checks and the President was on stage practicing his speech. I guess he remembered me because he waved me up and we enjoyed a nice 10-minute talk," said Chief Meyers. "CNN had a camera there and broadcast the whole thing, with the commentators wondering on-air what we could be talking about for so long."

And what were the two men discussing?

"He was asking me about national defense," deadpanned Chief Meyers. "No, really, we were just chatting. He's a very personable guy."

No Successor Yet

The FDNY hasn't announced a replacement for the outgoing Manhattan Borough Commander, and rank-and-file members who grew to appreciate Chief Meyers' "consistent, firm and fair" approach bemoaned his retirement.

His no-nonsense style might have cost him in other places, however. A top finisher in several Chief of Department civil service exams, Chief Meyers was always passed over for the job.

"That's a position I would have liked only if I could have done it on my own terms," he said, adding that was probably "precisely why" he never got it.

His fondest memories as a firefighter are "riding on the back-step of Engine 85 in The Bronx," and bringing his four boys to "the Tinhouse" where he was first stationed for Christmas parties.

The oldest, Harry, is now an Air Force Major; Michael is an FDNY Captain; Dennis is an FDNY Lieutenant; and the youngest, Gregory, formerly a Sergeant with the Police Department, just transferred to the Nassau County P.D..