For many, 9/11 not so far away

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http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/brooklyn/nyc-now0814,0,6892867.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-brooklyn

For many, 9/11 not so far away

The Fire Department personnel who gave oral histories of Sept. 11 almost four years ago are in some ways not very far removed from those days, not physically and not emotionally.

Some are still on the job but have moved up the promotion ladder. Others have retired, for a variety of reasons.

Several interviewed Friday and Saturday could still recall with great detail what happened that day. Some said they could remember more as time wore on and the frentic days of rescue work, and later, recovery work, settled into memory.

Firefighter Armondo Reno of Whitestone was buried alive in the debris of Ground Zero for four hours and he still feels pain from his injuries: massive bruises to the back and neck, broken left ankle and shoulder, teeth knocked out, and fragment of cheekbone driven into his skull.