Wilmington fire chief remembers the Pentagon on 9/11

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — First responders, like Wilmington Fire Chief “Buddy” Martinette helped to save hundreds of lives September 11, 2001.

20 years later, Martinette is ending his firefighting career on a day that impacted the rest of his life.

While watching planes crash into the Twin Towers, the former Lynchburg Fire Chief remembers saying many firefighters were going to die saving lives.

He worked in the command and control group of Virginia Task Force Two. Martinette responded to the crash at the Pentagon in what he called the most diligent delicate effort of his career.

Put in charge of planning the D.C. search and rescue, his goal was to keep that loss of life from happening at the Pentagon, starting with taming the fire.

“They had a heck of a fire that they dealt with for the better part of 12 hours,” Martinette remembered. “You’ve got to consider a plane full of fuel went into that building.”

In his experience, building collapses from explosions have fewer survivors. Many, like one army officer they found in his Pentagon office, didn’t even have time to move.

“And he never got a chance to get out of his chair,” he remembered. “He was still sitting in his chair in a starched uniform. He still had creases in his uniform. And he had a key card in his hand.”

Martinette said he doesn’t like to dwell on that moment, but it has impacted the way he lives his life.

He continued, “You begin to develop a real appreciation for life and the time that God gives you to live here, because any of it can be taken away in a minute.”

After 11 days of 18 hour shifts planning how firefighters would recover victims, body parts, and evidence, Martinette boarded a plane home and immediately fell asleep.

“Yeah, I was exhausted. I do remember that. I remember I just want to go home. I want to be with my family.”

Now 20 years later, Martinette says he dreads every September, knowing he’ll have to tell his story again.

“Personal friends of mine and my family died in the World Trade Center collapse,” Martinette explained. “And every single 9/11… I’ve got to relive that.”

Retiring from the Wilmington Fire Department this September 11, Martinette hopes he can leave behind sad memories and focus ahead.

“I just wanted to do something that day that would remind of something that was happy…. you know?”

Saturday is Martinette’s last day with the Wilmington Fire Department. Though he’s retiring as fire chief, he’ll be the incoming president of two fire chief organizations. He hopes to spend more time on hobbies, like drumming, and more time with his family.