A Flatbush firehouse has put up a massive new mural on the side of its building to commemorate the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, just as the 20th anniversary of the tragedy looms.
The mural, by artist Joe Indart, is located on the side of the firehouse holding Engine 281 and Ladder 147, on Cortelyou Road between Argyle and Westminster Roads. The firehouse, which has housed both companies since 1914, along with the trucks and firefighters, is known colloquially as “Da Pride A Flatbush.”
Like so many other fire companies throughout the city, Engine 281 and Ladder 147 responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center. While it didn’t lose any firefighters working that day, it did lose alumni of the firehouse. A firefighter at the station house on Sept. 7 said that, 20 years on, no one working for Da Pride on 9/11 was still working at the station. (Firefighters are eligible to retire after 20 years of service.)
Still, the mural depicts the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center draped in an American flag, with three firefighter outfits, sans human, looking on. The outfits bear the names of three firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11: Mark Whitford, Timothy Stackpole, and James J. Corrigan. None were working at Da Pride on 9/11, but all had worked at the firehouse prior to their deaths.
Underneath the outfits, a message reads “In memoriam of the 343 F.D.N.Y. firefighters and all others killed on or as a result of September 11, 2001. NEVER FORGET.”
Beneath that, in cursive, reads “Da Pride A Flatbush.”
