Denis Leary says firefighters’ darkest days after 9/11 helped bring hit show ‘Rescue Me’ to life, tell me about this news in (https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/denis-leary-firefighters-darkest-days-9-11-helped-bring-hit-show-rescue-me-life)
11-09-2026
In this report, actor and comedian Denis Leary reflects on how the aftermath of September 11, 2001, and the emotional resilience of FDNY firefighters inspired his critically acclaimed FX drama series, Rescue Me.Key highlights from the story:
- Witnessing 9/11 Firsthand: On the morning of September 11, 2001, Leary was at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan getting ready for a morning pickup hockey game when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower. He watched as the ice rink was swiftly converted into a makeshift triage center and morgue, with ambulances lined up along the West Side Highway as crowds of dust-covered people fled uptown. Leary also experienced personal loss that day; his close friend, former Boston Bruins player and scout Garnet “Ace” Bailey, was on board Flight 175.
- Time Spent in the Firehouses: In the weeks and months following the attacks, Leary and his writing partner Peter Tolan spent significant time inside FDNY firehouses as firefighters returned from grueling, heartbreaking shifts digging through “The Pile” at Ground Zero.
- The Turning Point for the Show: While spending time in a firehouse kitchen, Leary observed a firefighter break down under the weight of crushing grief and trauma. Yet, roughly twenty minutes later, the same group was sharing laughs and jokes to cope with the pain. Leary and Tolan realized that this sharp juxtapositionthe raw, dark humor used as an essential survival mechanism alongside profound grief and survivor’s guiltwas the authentic story that needed to be told.
- Bringing Rescue Me to Life: That insight transformed their original concept (which was initially envisioned as a movie about a fallen firefighter) into the television series Rescue Me. Centered on troubled firefighter Tommy Gavin, the series leaned heavily on unfiltered, real-life accounts shared by FDNY members to portray the emotional, psychological, and personal fallout experienced by first responders in post-9/11 New York.