Western PA Firefighters Share 9/11 Story of Service, Courage, and Brotherhood

If you’re from Western Pennsylvania, you may find yourself lucky enough to know Christopher Hykes, Kevin Beam, and Scott Lutz – local heroes who are far too humble to claim that title.

These three men, originally from Trafford, PA, were among the thousands of volunteers from around the country who flocked to New York City in droves immediately following the attacks on September 11, 2001. Twenty-four years later, the events that unfolded over their time at Ground Zero remain deep in the hearts and minds of these three… dare we say it… heroes.

You may be wondering… how did firefighters from Pitcairn, Trafford, and Arnold end up in New York? Well, word spread fast that more help was needed to help search for survivors and clear the debris – “We can use all the help we can get.”

“That’s the cool thing about firefighters. When you get the call, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter what your background is. We have a job to do, and we all go in together to get that job done.”

Their team left the night of September 12th, 2001 and returned the morning of the 15th. Scott drove the whole way – and boy did he drive fast. They drove through the night to arrive around 5am on the morning of September 13th and were immediately directed to the convention center.

“We were only at the convention center half an hour before they said hey, you’re going to Ground Zero. If you’ve got a vehicle, go.”

“We had a huge pickup truck… we had something like 22 people in or on the pickup. There was a guy standing on the running board holding on to the doorframe, the bed was full, probably 8 or 9 people in the cabin. That was how we made it from the convention center to Ground Zero.”

As they approached the site, they shared that it was extremely dark. It went from “sunny day to drab and dreary” as soon as they crossed the double yellow line. “Everything was covered in dust. The whole city was gray.”

When people ask about what they saw, heard, smelled… they chuckle. “I can tell you about it, but it doesn’t convey what it was like actually being there.”

“If you never saw the buildings standing, it’s hard to understand how big they were.”

One of their main jobs upon arrival was being a part of the ‘bucket brigade.’ Volunteers made long lines up on the rubble, passing buckets overflowing with debris down the line to make efforts to swiftly clear the area as they checked for survivors. The men also constructed hose ramps out of materials they found around the wreckage, with the help of local construction workers.

“The things that stick in my memory are those little pieces of people’s lives in those buckets. The handle of a coffee cup. One red boxing glove. An acrylic cylinder that was obviously part of a corporate award at some point, and now it’s garbage and going to a landfill. You have to wonder what happened to the people that had those things the day before.”

These men are a testament to the spirit of a helper. Wherever they saw a need for help, whether it was to build 16 wheelbarrows (with only two pairs of pliers and a hammer, no less!), rebuilding a fallen supplies tent, and sharing laughs when they could to get through each day.

“The best pizza I ever had in my life was delivered to Ground Zero.”

Listening to these men share their story, you understand their call to serve and help is a driving force in each of their lives. They are firefighters, fathers, artists, and helpers.

“We’ll go anywhere. It’s not for recognition – it’s to help out our brothers.”

As a final call to action, they hope people understand the power of a community united.

“It’s a shame that it takes a tragedy for people to actually come together.”