Keith Roma forgotton #344

[fire patrol nyc 153]

As we approach Sept.11th.  let us not forget Keith Roma NYFP #2...and all the brothers and sisters..who gave all....god save the USA

[velcroMedic1987 330]

A tragic loss for sure but not FD NY so that's why he isn't #344. 

[fire patrol nyc 153]

For your information he was a member of the IAFF local I-26...dues paying member....not remembered by them also.... since the Fire Patrol pre dates the paid FDNY...and it was on the recommendation of the Board of Fire Underwriters that a paid dept be formed...given all this,the courtesy could have been extended...and should have been.Not only my opinion  but also of many others....

[AFS1970 504]

I remember a campaign shortly after September 11, to increase the number to 345, to include 2 fire wardens who were recently retied FDNY FF's but as building fire wardens report to the command post and work withing the ICS structure. That campaign did not succeed, and did not include Kieth Roma. I have seen patches that have the state court officer patch on them and others that do not. Sadly this attack was such a tragedy that many inadvertently fail to remember the full scope of it. I don't think there is a concerted effort to not remember anyone.

[FFPCogs 863]

It is unfortunate that some are not "officially" remembered, but like Alan I don't believe that's because there's a concerted effort to omit them. Some may have been overlooked but the thing is they can really only be forgotten if we let them be, so let us promise ourselves that we will not let that happen. Of course the 343 hold a well deserved special place for us as firefighters and we should honor their sacrifice and their heroism until the day we die. But so too must we honor the other 2653 who perished along with them that day. All had their lives cut short for no other reason than they were at the WTC or the Pentagon or on flight 93 that fateful day. Every one of the 2996 people who were murdered on 9/11 had a family and friends and colleagues who were left with a huge unfillable void in their lives by these senseless deaths. Each and every one of those people deserves to be remembered not just as a statistic, but as a person with hopes and dreams and a destiny left unfulfilled. Kieth Roma is one of them and if he cannot be "officially" recognized so be it, but he and all of the victims can be remembered by each of us here. Whether we do it in public or in private, as long as we remember those lost they will all continue to live on.

 

What we do now, how we remember, becomes more important with each passing year. There will come a day when no one alive was alive on Sept. 11, 2001, so how we remember the events and victims of 9/11 today will be all that future generations have...let us be sure to leave them with something worthy of the lives that were taken.

 

 

 

 

 

[fire patrol nyc 153]

Thanks Peter for the kind words....I understand what you and Alan are getting at....still I will rest when at least the official IAFF total is 344....try to see it from my point of view.....FDNY can do as it pleases but the IAFF is supposed to represent all members...

[FFPCogs 863]

Frankly a dues paying member not getting the recognition he deserves is pretty disgraceful in my book. Rest assured FP Roma is remembered by this fireman

[AFS1970 504]

Revisiting this topic, from a discussion on another online platform. There were 8 EMS workers listed as KIA, 2 of them from FDNY are listed in the 343, the other 6 are not even though some of them were 9-1-1 providers and thus working under the command and control of FDNY. 1 was from an NYC VAC that responded. 

 

What was horrifying was that one poster in the conversation remembers treating a injured firefighter who had a 341 tattoo on his arm, because he was only counting the brother firefighters. He purposely left off the 2 FDNY EMS members. 

 

The lack of brotherhood has made me rethink my previous idea that there was no intentional effort to leave people off the list.

[fire patrol nyc 153]

Thanks Alan for the change of heart...I agree with your post absolutely...even though the Patrol was not FDNY...It was on the recommendation of the Board of Fire Underwriters that a paid FD was needed....the Patrol pre-dates the FD by Many years...but that's all water under the bridge....life's too short to hold a grudge....Keith will always be "344".........Joe Krasko FPNY 1974-closing   

[AFS1970 504]

He will always be #344 to me also, despite never having met him (or anyone from the patrol). The layoff/disbanding of the patrol was one of two things that lead me to switch my insert in my old department to a brown shield with our utility as the unit number. 

[10512 214]

My opinion.

 

It seems when it comes to this incident and numbers, people seem seem to get stuck with certain numbers. Not picking anyone out of the crowd, it seems everybody does it.

Take the Cops. There were 60 cops LODD. But, that is not how anyone usually refers to the numbers. They will usually say 23 NYPD LODD and 37 PA NY/NJ LODD. How often do you hear someone say 60 cops were killed? Rarely will anyone reference the "60" number.  It is almost always broken down by Department.

 

I do not know why people tend to break down the numbers that way, but they do. They have, it seems, almost from 9/11 itself.

 

Let the number "343" stand if you want the number to refer to the number of FDNY LODD.

But, if you are going to reference the number of firefighters LODD, that number should be "344".

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2018 by 10512

[fire patrol nyc 153]

I agree,the number of PD should be 60....Cops and Fire/EMS are all on the same team...

[AFS1970 504]

I agree that we get hung up on numbers. When the debate over what order to put the names on the memorial was going on, I always thought it was odd that few if any new stations quoted Cantor Fitzgerald employees survivors when that company lost over 700. Either way the number we should concentrate on is close to 3.000.

 

That is why I always think Charlie Daniels said it best dedicating the new (at the time) video he did for America. He dedicated it to the nearly 3.000 people who did nothing more than got up and went to work on Tuesday. That sums it up for everyone, public safety or not.

[kinkchaser 352]

Sadly, FDNY does not include Members who die later of WTC related illness as LOOD, they carry them under separate recognition and they are not included on the huge plaque with all other LOOD's from the beginning of time but a separate memorial. Their traditional 5-5-5-5 is not transmitted for them when passing either but an administrative 6-5-2 is transmitted,   What gives  ?????