News Release

Hero of 9/11 brings his personal story to campus September 9

August 26, 2008

On that fateful morning of September 11, 2001, the firefighters of Ladder Co. 6 in New York City were among the first to rush to the World Trade Center.

Ladder Co. 6 Capt. Jay Jonas and his fellow firemen entered the North Tower and were in the process of rescuing a survivor of the flames and smoke when the tower collapsed. By luck or by fate, they were in the 5 th floor stairwell – the only part of the structure that did not give way – and were able to eventually escape.

Jonas, now a battalion chief, brings his remarkable story of the men of Ladder 6 to Penn State Harrisburg’s Morrison Gallery Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m. Jonas’ presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, phone 717-948-6273.

Jonas’ talk includes an account of the determination and heroism that day and stories of emergency personnel who perished. The catastrophe took the lives of 343 firefighters, but not any of the members of Ladder 6.

Chief Jonas was selected as the official representative from the New York City Fire Department, in attendance at President Bush’s address to the nation from the U.S. Capitol following the attacks.

He has been published several times in professional publications and is the author of procedures to rescue trapped firefighters. He appeared on NBC’s Dateline and The Miracle of Ladder Co. 6 and was featured in an ABC television documentary based on Dennis Smith’s book Report from Ground Zero.

Jonas was awarded the Bishop’s Cross from the bishop of the New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church, and a “Man of the Year” award from the Men’s World Day Organization in Vienna, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev and Paul McCartney. He was also the first recipient of the New York Post Liberty Award for Leadership, nominated by his fellow firefighters who worked with him on Sept. 11, 2001.