Firefighter Michael Thomas Weinberg

Engine 1, FDNY

Firefighter Weinberg's Act of Heroism

Over 400 first responders lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Heroically performing their sworn duty, these firefighters, members of the NYPD and PAPD, and numerous other rescue workers will forever be remembered for their sacrifice.

My Hero

Michael Weinberg was relaxing on vacation, just a few minutes from tee time, when he got news the World Trade Center - where his sister worked - had been hit by an airliner.
Weinberg sped toward the city, both worried about his sister on the 72nd floor and called to duty professionally. Weinberg, 34, was a New York City firefighter. "He always did the right thing," said his father, Morty. "He was there to be helpful."

Weinberg, from Maspeth in Queens, drove to the station house, then went to the Twin Towers with Fire Department chaplain Rev. Mychal Judge and Capt. Daniel Brethel, his father said. As the towers collapsed, Weinberg and Brethel tried to find shelter under a firetruck. Weinberg's family was told he died instantly. His sister, Patricia Gambino, escaped before the building's collapse.

Weinberg was a talented athlete who attended St. John's University on a baseball scholarship and played minor league baseball with Detroit Tigers farm teams in Niagara Falls and Fayetteville, N.C. He was a lifeguard, personal trainer and gifted golfer who considered someday joining the senior pro tour, his father said. Still, he loved being a firefighter, his father said. "He liked the action, the camaraderie. He liked everything about it."

Many of the young men Weinberg grew up with in the neighborhood joined the department too. Many are now missing. "There's so many guys like him who lost their lives," his father said, adding he was lucky enough to get his son's body back. "It's unbelievable. I can't get over it. I never will."

Profile courtesy of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
Information courtesy of the Remember 9/11/2001 memorial site on legacy.com