Remembering 9/11 and Brighton Volunteer Ambulance’s first responders

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — This Saturday marks 20 years since the September 11th attacks.

Almost 3,000 people were killed, and in the hours and days following the attacks, thousands of first responders from all across the state rushed to the scene to help. Many of those first responders were from right here in Rochester.

Brighton Volunteer Ambulance also sent two rigs, four paramedics and an urban canine search and rescue team. The team spent weeks at the disaster site.

Michael Pollock told us where they are 20 years later.

"The people that went down, are no longer in EMS," Pollock said. "I have to believe that part of it as you can only take so much, everyone has their limits."

While EMTs and paramedics can see death daily, this, as we all know, was different.

"It changes people when you go something really terrible, it changes you and to go down and see the destruction and devastation and know how many families were affected by this," Pollock said.

They didn’t know it while they were searching the debris, but EMTs and paramedics at Brighton Ambulance actually had a very close connection to one person who lost his life on 9/11.

A young man who they trained and worked closely with — a man who served this community before moving back to New York City. Zack Zeng, was an EMT in Brighton who had moved to take a big banking job near the World Trade Center.

He ran to the scene to see if he could help. Click here to read his story.