How a 20-year-old amateur photographer captured the defining photo of FDNY bravery on 9/11

10 Sep 2026 • 9:20 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

How a 20-year-old amateur photographer captured the defining photo of FDNY bravery on 9/11

  • Aaron McLamb, a 20-year-old volunteer in Brooklyn on September 11, 2001, photographed a lone fire truck crossing the Brooklyn Bridge toward the burning World Trade Center.
  • The image captured the Ladder 118 fire truck, whose entire six-member crew died shortly after while evacuating people from the Marriott Hotel when the South Tower collapsed.
  • McLamb took the photograph from the top floor of a 10-story building before the collapse generated a massive dust cloud that forced workers to close all windows.
  • Days after the attack, McLamb brought his photos to the Middagh Street firehouse, where surviving firefighters used a magnifying glass to confirm the vehicle was Ladder 118.
  • The iconic photograph was featured on the front page of the New York Daily News less than a month later under the headline 'The last run of Ladder 118.'

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