The FDNY promoted 97 firefighters Tuesday — including three Bravest whose fathers were either killed on 9/11 or died from exposure to toxins at Ground Zero afterward.
John Bergin Jr., James Dowdell and Christopher Higgins — the sons of the Sept. 11 fallen — were each promoted to lieutenant during the ceremony held at the Ocean Breeze Track and Field on Staten Island.
Another 14 members of the department were elevated to lieutenants, and 64 lieutenants were made captains.
John Bergin, whose father also died at the attacks, was promoted to lieutenant. Paul MartinkaAn assistant chief, four deputy assistant chiefs, five deputy chiefs, four Marine wipers and two supervising fire marshals were also promoted.
“I see years of experience and hard work and expertise,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said in addressing the crowd during the morning event. “I see faces weathered by hard times and by good times, and I see a collective desire to serve.
“You are all leaders now, and you’re all going to inspire generations of firefighters for years to come.”
Dowdell attained the same rank his father, Lt. Kevin Dowdell, held when he was murdered by terrorists who flew two commercial jets into the Twin Towers.
Kevin Dowdell spent 21 years with the FDNY. AP
James Dowdell attained the same rank as his father, Lt. Kevin Dowdell, who was killed on September 11, 2001. Paul MartinkaThe senior Dodwell was a 21-year department veteran when he died Sept. 11, 2001. He was 46.
“It’ll be a challenge to always keep the family name, my dad’s name, standing high,” James Dodwell, a member of Rescue Co. 4 in Queens, said in an Instagram post on the agency’s page.
“You just hope that my effort and experience will keep moving us forward. Everyone who came before is what makes the job great. We all try to carry, whether it’s a family name or the tradition of the Department, forward. Keep learning and instill the values and traditions onto the next generation.”
Christopher Higgins, whose father Lt. Michael. J. Higgins died of a 9/11 illness, was promoted to lieutenant. Paul MartinkaJames Dodwell was also honored on the same day of what would have been his father’s 70th birthday, according to the FDNY.
Bergin Jr.’s father John was a firefighter with Rescue 5 when he was killed in the attack. Bergin, who was 9 at the time, works at Ladder 157 in Brooklyn.
Bergin was 9 when his father John died. Robert Miller“I wanted to be a firefighter for as long as I can remember,” Bergin Jr., 32, said, in a post on the FDNY’s Instagram page.
“We stopped by my father’s firehouse while he was working, or he took us to work or the firehouse picnics. As long as I can remember, that’s what I wanted to do. So, I am lucky enough that I get to do that.”
Higgins continues to honor his father’s legacy by serving in the same company: Ladder 19 in The Bronx.
His father, Lt. Michael Higgins, died from 9/11-related illness in July 2022, according to the FDNY.
