In the days and weeks following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, volunteers from all across the country leapt at the opportunity to help with rescue and recovery efforts at ground zero in New York City.
Before the first tower collapsed that day, Mesilla Fire Chief Kevin Hoban was on the phone — eager to volunteer. It began like an ordinary Tuesday morning for Hoban who, at the time, was a paramedic for American Medical Response. The radio alarm clock went off. It was tuned to KLYT-FM out of Albuquerque.
“I was about to get up and get ready to go to work,” he said. “And the DJ on the radio station I was listening to said they were getting reports about an aircraft hit one of the World Trade Center towers. So I got up and turned on the television and the first tower was on fire.”