After The Fall: Remembering The Men Of Maspeth By LIZ GOFF Once each week, Janice Waters leaves her Glendale home to bring her husband a cup of coffee. The task itself it not unique – it is Waters’ destination that makes it an act of enduring love. This Maspeth Firehouse is home to the FDNY's HAZ MAT Co. 1 and Squad 288. The units lost a total of 19 men on September 11. "He always had a cup of coffee in his hand," Janice Waters said. "There is a story in one of the firehouses where he worked, about how the men always knew which officer was working by how much coffee was brewing. He always had two pots brewed," she said. So each week, Waters – coffee in hand – visits her husband’s grave, where she leaves the steamy brew for the man she married almost 20 years ago. Waters’ husband, FDNY Special Operations Captain Patrick Waters perished on Sept. 11, while helping victims escape from the south tower of the World Trade Center. Patrick Waters was one of 19 men from the Maspeth firehouse who rushed to their deaths on Sept. 11. Queens Haz Mat Co. 1 (which Waters commanded) and Squad 288 suffered the greatest loss of any firehouse in New York City when the Twin Towers collapsed. Captain Courageous Patrick Waters’ dream of becoming a New York City firefighter came true in 1983, when he left a lucrative job with an insurance company to "step up" to the challenges faced by New York’s Bravest. Captain Patrick Waters He was awarded a departmental medal in 1997, after he jumped into a frozen East River to rescue seven people when a Greenpoint pier collapsed. And in his final moments – caught on video – he entered the South Tower just moments before it collapsed and headed up a staircase, as terrified victims fled to the safety of the street. Waters was one of the rescue workers whose final moments were caught by French filmmakers and broadcast as part of the CBS TV documentary "9/11." Janice Waters viewed a four-minute clip of the documentary that showed her husband entering the tower. The filmmakers sent a separate clip to each of the rescuer’s families to view in private, before the show was broadcast. The clip was difficult to watch – especially the first time, Waters said. But she had to view it before she showed it to her sons, Daniel, 10 and Christopher, 14. "I had to prepare myself to show it to them," she said. "They had to see it. I had to prepare them for the day after the documentary aired – for discussions at school and questions from their friends." Patrick Waters loved sports – and volunteering to work with children. "If it needed to be done, he did it," Janice Waters said. He coached ice hockey, basketball and baseball teams in his son’s schools, local church teams and teams sponsored by the 104th Precinct Community Council. Lt. John Crisci "He loved being involved with the boys’ teams," Waters said. "And he was an avid Yankee fan." Waters spoke with gratitude about the men of Haz Mat and Squad 288 who have stepped up to fill the void in her sons’ lives. "The guys make a point to show up at their games," she said. "It was really important for my little son to see them there, just to be there for him." She said, "We’re never really alone. We live close enough to show up at the firehouse whenever the boys need to be with the guys. They talk to them, draw them out, and help them deal with their loss." When Janice Waters received World Series tickets to the Oct. 31, 2001 game, she took her sons to the Bronx to watch the fall classic that their father loved. "That afternoon, the boys said they wanted to take their dad to the game with them," she said. "They had made a huge poster with his photo and the words ‘Captain Pat Waters – Yankee Fan To The Very End" written on it,’ Waters said. "I think it was their proudest moment – when they held up that sign at Yankee Stadium." Squad 288 Squad 288 shares the Maspeth house with the Haz Mat unit. On Sept. 11 the two units responded together. Squad 288 boasted 25 men prior to Sept. 11, including one captain and three lieutenants. Today, the squad is operating with 17 men. One man is still listed as missing – his remains either buried beneath the rubble at Ground Zero or among those yet to be identified by the City Medical Examiner’s Office. McArdle said the men of Squad 288 are trained in both hazardous material removal and counter-terrorism: i.e., the Bomb School, nerve agents and biological warfare. Haz Mat Of the FDNY’s elite Haz Mat rescue units who raced to the Twin Towers after the first plane struck, Lieutenant Philip McArdle said. "They were exceptional people, they worked hard and trained hard and were, without exception, completely dedicated and committed to their specialized fields." clockwise: Thomas Gardner, John Giordano, John Hohmann, Thomas Moody, clockwise: Dennis Carey, John Crisci, Martin Demeo, John Fanning, clockwise: Dennis Scanso, Kevin Smith, Pat Waters, The photo to the right of Capt. Waters shows an angel hovering over an anonymous firefighter and is a tribute to all lost on Sept. 11 and part of the firehouse’s memorial to those lost. clockwise: Ronald Kerwin, Adam Rand, Brian Sweeny, Timothy Welty, clockwise: Peter Brennan, Ronnie Gies, Joseph Hunter, Johnathan Lelpi. HAZ MAT Co. 1 and Squad 288’s lost heroes.

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