Ray_Downey1Ray Downey, FDNY Deputy Chief in charge of Special Operations Command, was one of 341 New York City firefighters lost on September 11, 2001.

Chief Downey was one of the nation’s leading experts on rescue operations at collapsed buildings having overseen search-and-rescue work after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

His wife, Rosalie Downey (above left), remembered him in a StoryCorps interview with their son, Joe Downey (above right), who is himself a Fire Captain.

Recorded December 20, 2006.

Photograph courtesy of the Downey family