On 9/11, Clarence Singleton was retired from the FDNY. But he ran towards the fires
These days, Clarence Singleton spends life after the New York Fire Department (FDNY) taking scenic strolls, maintaining his garden and attending church services virtually. Such leisure wasn’t always the case.
A former fire lieutenant, Singleton retired from Bushwick’s Engine 218 in August 2000. Both his sons were in college and he was working part-time as a mortgage inspector. But on his way to the job on a September day that next year, he heard over his car radio that a plane had crashed into the Twin Towers. He initially assumed a small aircraft had veered off course.
But the broadcast reported a second plane had also hit the towers. Singleton realized it wasn’t a simple accident. And he was no stranger to heroics at the World Trade Center—while still in the FDNY, he and his unit responded to the 1993 bombing.
So he went back to the house, threw on his FDNY t-shirt along with boots and a pair of jeans and hopped onto the subway as he couldn’t get across the bridge due to traffic traveling from Flatbush. When Singleton arrived close to the scene, he saw commissioners of the uniformed agencies caked in dust. But it didn’t dawn on him yet that a tower had collapsed.
“My mind just wasn’t grasping the moment [and] the situation,” Singleton said. “So I came to an engine company and the chauffeur was trying to connect to the hydrant so he could put some water on some vehicles that [were] in proximity to the North Tower because it was still standing. As I walked past them, my intention was to go over to the opposite side of the tower—I assumed that’s where the command post was, and I was going to check in with the [fire] chiefs and tell them to use me in any way you want.”
Clarence Singleton keeps room in remembrance of 9/11. Credit: Courtesy of Clarence Singleton
But he heard the firefighters ask a civilian to open a fire hydrant valve. Seeing the perplexed civilian staring at the hydrant in bewilderment, Singleton knew then this was where he was needed, and went into action to help extinguish nearby ambulance fires. As the North Tower collapsed. Singleton dislocated his shoulder and was enveloped in dust.
He was treated for his short-term injuries. Long-term in the extended mourning period, there was mental and emotional damage to deal with. The day undoubtedly stuck with him, and he knew going back to a low-stakes job in mortgage inspections wouldn’t be enough. Singleton, a Purple Heart recipient, sought out the Brooklyn Veterans Affairs office to treat his depression brought on by the trauma of 9/11. He credits those meetings for helping him get out of bed.
In 2005, Singleton moved to Midlothian, a suburb of Richmond, Va. to ameliorate his post-traumatic stress. Early on, he was afraid to lie down for prolonged periods in fear of falling back into depression.
Today, storytelling keeps him grounded. Singleton says he enjoys speaking with young people about his experiences on 9/11. But woven into those accounts are conversations about mental health and vulnerability.
“We’ve had kids follow me [and] my wife out to the parking lot asking questions and they just want to know more,” Singleton said with a laugh.
He also wrote a book, “The Heart of a Hero,” to share his story in another medium, joking that he gives away more copies than he sells. Singleton also sits on the board for the Freedom Flag Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the remembrance of 9/11 through a symbolic flag.
“It’s my belief that we don’t truly die until we stop being remembered,” Singleton said. “And if we can feed this information to our kids who weren’t born at the time, it keeps the memory of all who perished on Sept. 11 alive.”
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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