Excerpts of James Vaz oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, December 1, 2010

About

James (Jim) Vaz moved to Brookhaven, Long Island, from Jamaica and in 1986 became a volunteer firefighter and EMT. He was at his job at Brookhaven National Labs on 9/11 and realized the gravity of the situation when the second plane struck. As the 2nd Assistant Chief at the Brookhaven Firehouse, he initially waited for official orders, but by 9/12, realizing that Link, a fellow Brookhaven volunteer and Caribbean immigrant who worked for Rescue 2 (NYFD), was missing, he and four other volunteers drove to NYFD’s Engine 10 and volunteered. He describes how gray and surreal the City looked, the tension of working on the unstable pile amid “organized chaos,” and napping on subway steps. After about a week, he had to return to his Federal job. He tells how Link's body was found in November and how he was buried with honors in Long Island.

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

Licence or status

Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed