Short answer:Daniel Suhr, a 37-year-old FDNY firefighter with Engine Company 216, is widely regarded as the first firefighter killed on September 11, 2001. Around 9:30 a.m., as Suhr and his crew rushed toward the South Tower, a person falling from the building struck and killed him instantly. The 9/11 Commission Report specifically documents this as the day's first FDNY fatality. His death — and his crew's decision to stop and try to save him — is believed to have delayed his firehouse from entering the tower, a delay that may have saved the lives of the 14 other firefighters in his crew.
Daniel Suhr's death, just minutes into the FDNY's response, is one of the day's most painful ironies: a random, split-second tragedy that likely spared the lives of the firefighters who stopped to help him.
Who Was Daniel Suhr?
Daniel Thomas Suhr was born in Brooklyn on August 21, 1964, and came from a firefighting family — both his father and his brother, Eddie, were also FDNY members. A standout athlete at James Madison High School, he served as captain of both the football and baseball teams, and later helped coach football at South Shore High School, which dedicated its 2001 season to him. Known by colleagues as "Captain America" for his constant focus on everyone's safety, Suhr was a 16-year FDNY veteran assigned to Engine Company 216 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He was married to his wife Nancy and had a two-year-old daughter, whom he had just dropped off for her first day of school that morning.
What Happened
Because Engine 216's firehouse sat close to the Williamsburg Bridge, Suhr's crew reached the World Trade Center quickly after the first plane struck. As Suhr and roughly 14 fellow firefighters approached the South Tower on foot, a woman who had jumped from an upper floor of the burning building fell and struck him, killing him instantly from the impact. The 9/11 Commission Report specifically records: "The first FDNY fatality of the day occurred at approximately 9:30 when a civilian landed on and killed a fireman near the intersection of West and Liberty streets."
A tragic delay that may have saved lives: When Suhr went down, the other firefighters in his crew immediately stopped to attempt to resuscitate him and get him into an ambulance, rather than continuing straight into the South Tower. According to his sister, Jean Suhr Ryan, that delay meant the rest of his crew was still outside — not inside the tower — when it collapsed less than 30 minutes later. Fourteen of the fifteen firefighters in his group survived.
His Legacy
Suhr is memorialized at the National September 11 Memorial's South Pool, Panel S-14. In 2021, retired FDNY Captain Paul Conlon — who commanded Suhr's crew that morning — published a book, Daniel Suhr: A Story of September 11th, drawing on firsthand memory of the day, with proceeds benefiting the FDNY counseling unit and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. His widow, Nancy, and daughter, Briana, have continued sharing his story publicly in the years since, often repeating one of his favorite phrases: "Life is good."
He never made it inside the tower he ran toward, yet his death, and his crew's decision to stop for him, is believed to have spared the lives of the firefighters who served beside him. For the full breakdown of the 343 FDNY members lost that day, see how many firefighters died on 9/11.
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