NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

New York firefighters and police come to blows

3 Nov, 2001 11:47 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

NEW YORK - Firefighters and policemen, praised as heroes after the World Trade Center attack, clashed today near ground zero when firemen overturned barricades and punched police officers to protest cuts in the number of workers assigned to comb the rubble for remains.

Five policemen were assaulted and 12 firefighters
arrested when firefighters broke through police barricades near the site of their finest hour in protests over recovery personnel cuts the mayor said were needed for safety reasons but firefighters said were a matter of money.

Shouting "Bring them home", in a reference to their fallen comrades, about 1,000 city firefighters headed to the site of the collapsed towers where they held a brief prayer and then walked through Lower Manhattan to City Hall as onlookers cheered.

"There is no question that emotions are very, very high for all of us," New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani told a press conference.

"But the reality is the kind of conduct displayed today is unacceptable. You cannot hit police officers. You can't disobey the law."

Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen offered an apology on behalf of the department to the police.

"They have been our brothers in this tragedy since day one," Von Essen said.

The number of firefighters and police involved in recovering remains from the attack site, where officials estimate almost 4,600 people were killed, has reached into the hundreds. Under a new plan announced this week, that number would be reduced to about 100 uniformed personnel, working 24 hours a day.

"This is a war and we want to get our fallen brothers off the battlefield," said one member of Engine 42 company in the Bronx, who asked not to be named.

Several firefighters said the disaster site was safer now than on Sept. 11 and the reason for the personnel cuts was to save the city money as they shifted work at the ground zero to "scoop, dump, and sift for body parts".

"It's incredible that they would even think of doing this. The firefighters need closure and they are not being allowed to finish their job," said Houston fireman Raul Reyes, who went to New York to help in rescue efforts.

About 350 firefighters, who were dispatched to rescue the tens of thousands of people in the World Trade Center, died when the buildings collapsed after suicide plane attacks on Sept. 11. About 250 firefighters remain missing.

Mr Giuliani said safety experts warned him there was a disaster waiting to happen by having numerous firefighters and policemen searching for remains at the site while heavy equipment worked at removing more than 1 million tons of debris.

He said there were more and more recovery workers who were "standing around with nothing to do".

The risk to these people's lives increased as the recovery area grew smaller and the work of heavy equipment continued at its present pace, he said.

But retired nurse Anita Offner who was visiting the area said, "The firemen should get as many people as they can."

"We always have money for everything else. Why shouldn't we have money for the people who are our heroes?" she asked.

- REUTERS

Story archives:

  • Terror in America - the Sept 11 attacks

  • Bioterrorism

  • War against terrorism

    Links: Terror in America - the Sept 11 attacks

    Timeline: Major events since the Sept 11 attacks
  • Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.
    Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.
    Save

      Share this article

    Latest from World

    World

    'Unfair deal': Mexico, EU slam Trump's new tariff threats

    12 Jul 10:40 PM
    World

    Air India crash report is ‘cover-up’, say families of victims

    12 Jul 10:38 PM
    World

    'Trauma no doubt': Survivor's incredible tale after missing 12 days

    12 Jul 05:11 AM

    From early mornings to easy living

    sponsored
    Advertisement
    Advertise with NZME.

    Latest from World

    'Unfair deal': Mexico, EU slam Trump's new tariff threats

    'Unfair deal': Mexico, EU slam Trump's new tariff threats

    12 Jul 10:40 PM

    Trump cited Mexico's role in drug flow and EU trade imbalance for tariffs.

    Air India crash report is ‘cover-up’, say families of victims

    Air India crash report is ‘cover-up’, say families of victims

    12 Jul 10:38 PM
    'Trauma no doubt': Survivor's incredible tale after missing 12 days

    'Trauma no doubt': Survivor's incredible tale after missing 12 days

    12 Jul 05:11 AM
    38 killed in deadliest day of anti-Government protests in Kenya

    38 killed in deadliest day of anti-Government protests in Kenya

    12 Jul 04:31 AM
    Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
    sponsored

    Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

    NZ Herald
    • About NZ Herald
    • Meet the journalists
    • Newsletters
    • Classifieds
    • Help & support
    • Contact us
    • House rules
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Competition terms & conditions
    • Our use of AI
    Subscriber Services
    • NZ Herald e-editions
    • Daily puzzles & quizzes
    • Manage your digital subscription
    • Manage your print subscription
    • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
    • Subscribe to Herald Premium
    • Gift a subscription
    • Subscriber FAQs
    • Subscription terms & conditions
    • Promotions and subscriber benefits
    NZME Network
    • The New Zealand Herald
    • The Northland Age
    • The Northern Advocate
    • Waikato Herald
    • Bay of Plenty Times
    • Rotorua Daily Post
    • Hawke's Bay Today
    • Whanganui Chronicle
    • Viva
    • NZ Listener
    • Newstalk ZB
    • BusinessDesk
    • OneRoof
    • Driven Car Guide
    • iHeart Radio
    • Restaurant Hub
    NZME
    • About NZME
    • NZME careers
    • Advertise with NZME
    • Digital self-service advertising
    • Book your classified ad
    • Photo sales
    • NZME Events
    • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
    TOP