The 2,996 Project • Thomas W. Kelly, FDNY

At 9:03 a.m., September 11, 2001, the South Tower of the World Trade Center took a fatal hit from hijacked Flight 175. The North Tower had been hit fifteen minutes earlier. As the frightened and injured tried to get out, Ladder 15 -- and Tommy Kelly -- were trying to get in.

From The New York Times

Thomas W. Kelly: Sentimental and Dependable
Published: August 25, 2002

Firefighter Thomas W. Kelly, 50, wasn't one for telephone chit-chat — "Hihowareyo, here's Kitty" was his standard greeting as he turned a call over to his wife — but his actions shouted. He quietly stuck by his friends, worked a second job to help his widowed mother, and at Ladder Company 15 in Manhattan was known as Mr. Dependable, a mentor to the probies. But, his sister, Maureen Paglia said, "Tommy never wanted praise for anything."

Something else his actions shouted: this Sinatra fan and father of two sons had a big, squishy, sentimental streak. Raised in Brooklyn, he bled Dodger blue so truly that he paid $1,420 for an original seat from Ebbets Field. Firefighter Kelly, who lived in Staten Island, collected bats, cards, statistics and baseball caps from special events. He was so proud of his little brother Dennis that he saved his sports trophies, newspaper clippings and diplomas, from grammar school on, and presented them after the birth of Dennis's second child.

His wife saw that sentimental streak on their first date, in September 1971. Mr. Kelly, then a steamfitter, took her to his construction site, his grandest project: the 40th floor of 2 World Trade Center.

September 11. 9:21 a.m. A radio repeater transcript places Tommy Kelly in an elevator at WTC 2. At 9:27, he lets Battalion know that he has an engine company on 40.

On 40. His adult life began here. And, dear Lord, it ended here.

From The Staten Island Advance
10/01/01

Thomas Kelly, 51, a firefighter, had history with Trade Center

Livingston man took his future wife to landmark on their first 'big date' 30 years ago
Date of Death 9/11/2001

As a 20-year-old apprentice in the steamfitters' union, one of Thomas W. Kelly's first assignments took him to the World Trade Center. It was 1970, and what would become New York City's most prominent landmark was climbing upwards.

He was responsible for spraying asbestos to provide heat and insulation on the 40th floor of Tower 1 [this account differs from the Times']. He wrote his initials and 638, his United Association union local, in the stairwell. Next to it, he wrote "UA forever." In September 1971, he showed this marking to his future bride when he took Kitty Murphy out on their "first big date."

Mr. Kelly completed the circle on Sept. 11, returning to the place where his career began — only this time he was on a rescue mission as a firefighter with Manhattan's Ladder Co. 15.

His younger brother, Dennis, 43, exited a Wall Street subway station moments after the first plane struck Tower 1. Already, a steady stream of debris was falling from the sky. After the second strike, he immediately made his way to his brother's firehouse. He was told by Firefighters Arthur Barry and Eric Olsen that Mr. Kelly was already on his way to the scene.

After wishing his brother's comrades "Godspeed," Dennis Kelly boarded the Staten Island Ferry, knowing his brother was in the inferno that was blazing behind him. From St. George, he ran the 1½ miles to his brother's Livingston house, where the family was already keeping a vigil.

Mr. Kelly is listed among the missing victims of the World Trade Center disaster. He was in the middle of a 24-hour tour when he responded to the devastation. Olsen and Barry, both Staten Islanders, are also missing.

"He took me to the Trade Center on our first big date," Mrs. Kelly said. "We went to the Copacabana and after the Copacabana, we took a taxi to the Trade Center."

A $20 bill convinced the security guard to let the young couple upstairs. The security guard told Mr. Kelly "to put a hard hat on your young lady." After placing a hard hat on her head, the two rode the elevator to the 40th floor and to 30 years of happiness together. They married March 2, 1974 in Holy Cross R.C. Church, Brooklyn.

Mr. Kelly joined the Fire Department in 1984.

"He had a love of saving people," Mrs. Kelly said. "He was just looking for that."

He was a member of the department's Emerald Society. "He was sarcastic, funny, he was really a very interesting person and such a caring, loving man," Mrs. Kelly said.

Mr. Kelly left a wide circle of friends, who still can not comprehend that they will never see him again.

"You grab a stool, order a beer and wonder why Tommy is not here. Then the thoughts of that dreadful day bring on feelings of sadness and dismay," wrote close friend Charlie (Buddy) Hostetter in a tribute to Mr. Kelly. "You stare blankly into space knowing you'll never forget Tommy's face."

Barbara Freda said Mr. Kelly always rooted for the underdog.

"I met him 30 years ago," she said. "He's been a very close friend to me and we'll miss him dearly."

A player on Liedy's Shore Inn softball team, Mr. Kelly was an avid collector of Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia. He was also an expert in the kitchen and loved taking care of his four cats.

Born in Brooklyn, he moved to Livingston in 1983. He was a parishioner of St. Paul's R.C. Church, New Brighton.

In addition to his wife of 27 years, Kitty, Mr. Kelly is survived by two sons, Frank and Thomas; four brothers, William, Robert, Frank and Dennis, and a sister, Maureen Paglia.

Mr. Kelly would have celebrated his 51st birthday on Sept. 18, one week after the attack. On Sept. 25, two weeks after the attack, he would have celebrated the 30th anniversary of the day he met his wife. And tomorrow, three weeks after the attack, Mr. Kelly will be remembered by his family and friends in a memorial mass.

"To give closure to this, I wanted to do it on a Tuesday," Mrs. Kelly said. The mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. in St. Peter's R.C. Church, New Brighton. The Rev. Vincent Bartley, pastor of St. Paul's Church, will officiate.

At 9:36 a.m., September 11, Tommy Kelly was in position on the 40th floor when his Lieutenant called (Tommy is 15OV):

Ladder 15 Lieutenant: "Tommy, listen carefully. I'm sending all the injured down to you on 40. You're going to have to get'em down to the elevator. There's about 10 to 15 people coming down to you."

Ladder 15 Firefighter: "Okay."

Ladder 15 Lieutenant: "Ten civilians coming down. Fifteen to OV."

Ladder 15 Firefighter: "Got that, I'm on 40 right now, Lieu."

9:39 a.m.

Ladder 15 Lieutenant: "Alright Tommy, when you take people down to the lobby, try to get an EMS crew back."

Ladder 15 Firefighter: "Definitely."

At 9:49, Tommy hadn't been able to move his charges, because the elevator wasn't working.

Ladder 15: "Fifteen to 15 OV. Fifteen to 15 OV.

"Fifteen OV."

Ladder 15: "Tommy, have you made it back down to the lobby yet?"

Ladder 15 OV: "The elevator's screwed up."

Ladder 15: "You can't move it?"

Ladder 15 OV: "I don't want to get stuck in the shaft."

9:50 a.m.

Ladder 15: "Alright Tommy. It's imperative that you go down to the lobby command post and get some people up to 40. We got injured people up here on 70. If you make it to the lobby command post see if they can somehow get elevators past the 40th floor. We got people injured all the way up here."

Then, at 9:57:

Ladder 15 OV: "Fifteen OV to Fifteen."

Ladder 15: "Go ahead Fifteen OV, Battalion Seven Operations Tower One."

Ladder 15 OV: "Stuck in the elevator, in the elevator shaft, you're going to have to get a difference elevator. We're chopping through the wall to get out."

At 9:59, the South Tower collapsed.

Tommy Kelly's last recorded words show how tense the situation was. And how hard he was working to save those people that were with him. As his wife, Kitty, said, "he had a love of saving people." The words you come across over and over again in connection with Tommy are "love," "pride," "care." You can tell he had a huge heart.

What else can possibly be said? What would help us understand this level of loss? Five years ago, 2,996 Americans lost their lives in the space of about two hours. Two hours on one beautiful September morning. And we still feel the shock and horror. There are still no words for what was done to us. And nothing could possibly describe the anguish felt by the family and friends of those 2,996.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to become acquainted with Thomas Kelly. He lived with love, pride and strength. He died a hero.

Godspeed, Thomas.

• Visit the Ladder 15 Memorial site
• Visit Thomas Kelly's Guestbook at legacy.org