On the morning of 11 September 2001, a bright red fire truck blazed across the Brooklyn Bridge, heading straight into a skyline already smeared with smoke. Behind the wheel was a team of six firefighters from Brooklyn’s Ladder 118, determined to help as panic spread across New York. Caught mid-crossing by an amateur photographer’s lens, the image froze their bravery in time. No one knew then—it would be the truck’s final run, and none of the men inside would make it out alive.
The Morning Everything Changed
Aaron McLamb, a 20-year-old printing worker and hobby photographer, was standing near his 10th-floor window when the second plane smashed into the South Tower. Smoke billowed across the city like a horror film brought to life. He rushed for his camera, hoping to capture what he thought would be a historic but survivable moment.
Outside, the wailing of sirens echoed through the streets. Then came Ladder 118, tearing across the Brooklyn Bridge, red paint glinting under a choking sky. McLamb raised his camera and clicked the shutter.
He didn’t know that the six firefighters in that truck—Vernon Cherry, Leon Smith, Joseph Agnello, Robert Regan, Pete Vega, and Scott Davidson—were on a mission they wouldn’t return from. He had captured not just a photograph, but a farewell.
The Men Inside Ladder 118
Inside the truck were six everyday men with extraordinary courage. Cherry, nearly ready to retire, was known for his singing voice and his nearly 30-year firefighting career. Smith had been with the FDNY since 1982 and broke barriers as a proud member of the Vulcan Society, supporting Black firefighters.
Just shy of his 36th birthday, Agnello had two young sons waiting at home. Pena, a former civil engineer, had changed careers to be closer to his daughter. Vega served in the Gulf War and had recently completed a university degree. Davidson, known for his sense of humour and love of Christmas, was also the father of future “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson.
These men weren’t superhuman. They were fathers, husbands, and sons. What made them extraordinary was that they still went in.
The Marriott and the Collapse
After crossing the bridge, Ladder 118 reached the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel, tucked between the Twin Towers. As guests ran screaming, the six firefighters raced up the stairs. Witnesses later said they helped save hundreds of people, ushering them to safety with calm and determination.
But when the towers fell, so did the hotel. The firefighters of Ladder 118 never came back out.
In the months that followed, search teams discovered their bodies. Some were found just metres apart—together even in the end. Three of them—Agnello, Cherry, and Vega—were buried side by side in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery.
The Photo That Froze Time
A week after the attacks, McLamb returned to the firehouse on Middagh Street with his developed photos. The remaining firefighters recognised the rig immediately. One of them said it sent chills down their spine. Days later, the image was printed across the front page of the New York Daily News, becoming one of the most haunting visuals of 9/11.
McLamb, who once dreamed of becoming a firefighter himself, struggled with survivor’s guilt. He hadn’t just taken a photo—he had unintentionally captured the last living image of six heroes.
Their Legacy Lives On
The duty board at the Ladder 118 firehouse still shows their names in chalk. Portraits of the men hang on the walls, next to tributes for others lost that day. Pete Davidson wears his father’s badge number—8418—tattooed on his arm.
The photo of the truck remains a symbol of sacrifice. But more than that, the men inside remind us that heroism doesn’t wear capes. Sometimes it rides across a bridge, into fire, never to return.
