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Into the Muster Room is Gordon Spitler, current Key Biscayne, Florida Police Officer, and former Hialeah, Florida homicide detective. Spitler talks about his time as a Florida cop and his former gang case that was featured on the A&E’s “The First 48.”

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This week in the Muster Room we have former NYPD Harbor Officer Ben Reiver.

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Sergeant Terrence Carraway was shot and killed while responding to assist three Florence County Sheriff's Office deputies who had been shot and wounded while serving a sexual assault warrant in South Carolina. His widow, Allison Carraway joined the Muster Room to talk about the pain of losing her husband and the purpose she’s found since his death.

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In this week's return to the Muster Room, the guys talk to Johnny Moore, a retired Irish police officer, about his time as an officer and how it's prepared him for the current phase of his life as a New Yorker bar owner.

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Law Enforcement Officers Weekend (LEO Weekend for short) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to help the families of fallen law enforcement officers. In the six years of operation, the organization has assisted nearly 50 families affected by line-of-duty death or critical injury. In this episode, we sit down with vice-president Zach Grunther. 

The organization is wrapping up its second-ever event in Key Biscayne, Miami, and has a full schedule of events in store for 2023. Check out this great organization and sign up for next year's cruise!

Sign up from the cruise now: https://leoweekend.com/cruise

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Today in the Muster Room we have something a little different than normal. Eric Potts is solo today discussing his background as a police suicide prevention counselor and his struggle with suicidal intentions during his time as a police officer and how he overcame it. September is suicide prevention month and this episode is especially timely given that the NYPD is currently dealing with its fourth officer suicide of 2022. 

Please know that you’re not alone. Services are out there. Check out the link below if you or someone you know is struggling.

• Blue Help
• SAFLEO
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center
• Early Alert for LEO

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On the morning of 9/11, Scott Strauss was on the train home when he heard over his Walkman that a plane struck the World Trade Center. Strauss said. He grabbed some clothes, said goodbye to his wife, and raced back into Manhattan. Assigned to a rescue team, Strauss reached the World Trade Center moments after the North Tower collapsed. For the next several hours, he joined in the arduous task of searching for survivors in what would become known as “the pile.” 

Early that evening, Strauss was notified that Port Authority Police Sgt. John McLoughlin and rookie Officer Will Jimeno were found in the debris field. They survived the collapse of the towers but were trapped 30 feet beneath the pile, injured, and unable to escape. It was up to Strauss and his team to rescue them. The team began the perilous journey to reach the officers, crawling over hot steel and squeezing through narrow, smoke-filled spaces. It took more than three hours to pull Officer Jimeno to safety. Sgt. McLoughlin was rescued a few hours later. 

If you haven't done so already watch last week's episode where we talked with Will Jimeno about his experience trapped under the rubble.

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On the morning of September 11, 2001, Will Jimeno, a rookie officer with the Port Authority Police Department, was just beginning his shift in midtown Manhattan when news of the terrorist attacks broke. Just nine months earlier, the former U.S. Marine had graduated from the police academy during a ceremony held at the World Trade Center’s Marriot Hotel. After seeing the towers aflame on television, Will boarded a bus full of police officers headed downtown. Upon arriving at the World Trade Center, Will joined Sgt. John McLoughlin and several other officers in collecting specialized rescue equipment to aid in the evacuation. 

As the team made their way through the shopping mall beneath the buildings, suddenly and without warning, the South Tower began to collapse above them. When everything settled, Will found that he had managed to survive, and was trapped 30 feet beneath the pile of debris. It would be hours until Will was found and a daring rescue to free him and Sgt. McLoughlin would commence. Detective Scott Strauss of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit crawled into the hole with Will, with no way out until he could be dug out with Will, and began the long process of freeing the trapped officer. 

Listen to this week's episode to hear Will's perspective of the rescue and join us next week when we talk to Detective Strauss!

IMPORTANT LINKS:

• The 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Voices Center for Resilience (VOICES)
• World Trade Center Survivors' Network
• World Trade Center Health Program at Mount Sinai

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Today on the Muster Room Podcast we welcome Jessica DuLong, the former chief engineer of the retired 1931 New York City fireboat, John J. Harvey. After the boat was sold into private hands in 1999 for preservation, DuLong joined the crew in February of 2001. As the events of September 11, 2001, were unfolding, the John J. Harvey was again pressed back into service to help rescue people trapped in the largest sea-born rescue in history before being called on to help fight the fires that ragged at the World Trade Center site. On September 12th DuLong arrived at the Harvey and operated the engine room and kept the historic fireboat pumping water for nearly 80 hours.

In this episode of the Muster Room, we discuss the Harvey’s role on 9/11 and how the aftermath of the tragedy impacted DuLong. If you want to learn more about Jessica DuLong she has two excellent books out now. Her latest book, SAVED AT THE SEAWALL: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift (previously released as DUST TO DELIVERANCE), is the definitive history of the largest ever waterborne evacuation. Her 2009 book, MY RIVER CHRONICLES: Rediscovering the Work that Built America, won an American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award for Memoir.

This episode is the first of a series we’ll be putting out with stories from 9/11, told by the heroes that lived them.

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Today in the Muster Room we have the Acting Nassau County Commissioner of Emergency Management, Richard Corbett. Commissioner Corbett is previously the Chief of Department of the City of Long Beach Fire Department. Among his many challenges in emergency service was Superstorm Sandy. The storm wreaked havoc on Long Island and the entire New York City metro area. Being on the barrier island, Long Beach was directly in the storm’s path and posed one of the largest challenges ever in the Fire Department’s history.