Former FDNY battalion chief recalls responding to 9/11 attacks

Wasatch Back resident and former New York City Fire Department battalion chief Bob Keys recounts the response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center, the loss of colleagues and the tough job of notifying two families of firefighters who had died. Keys says he was off-duty and getting ready to go sailing when the attacks occurred. He returned to New York after the fire department issues a total recall of it's 11,000 firefighters. As the only chief on duty, he was first sent to Brooklyn to respond to emergencies there. He later learned that his friends and fellow firefighters Danny Brethel and Andy Desperito had died and had to notify their families. Keys later spent many days at Ground Zero. He notes the bravery of the 343 firefighters who died there and his commitment to remembering them. He says that despite the passage of 25 years, the 9/11 attacks feel like yesterday. He says it was the hardest day of his life and calls those at the towers who saved thousands of lives his idols.