Photograph, Print
Firefighter Louie Cacchioli, FDNY Engine Company 47
- Description
- Life-sized Polaroid photograph taken by Joe McNally depicting FDNY Engine 47 firefighter Louie Cacchioli. Cacchioli is wearing his full bunker gear with his helmet tucked under his arm. His gear is covered in dust.
- Historical Notes
- Louie Cacchioli was a 20-year veteran with the FDNY on September 11. He had just arrived for his shift at Engine 47 in Harlem when he heard on the news about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. He witnessed Flight 175 crash into the South Tower on television. Shortly after, Engine 47 was dispatched to lower Manhattan. When Engine 47 arrived at the World Trade Center, they mistakenly entered the North Tower as opposed to the South Tower, where they were originally dispatched. Cacchioli was in an elevator on the 23rd floor when the South Tower collapsed, triggering a brief power outage which caused the elevator to become stuck. He and another firefighter extricated themselves and began evacuation via the stairwells. Cacchioli made it outside shortly before the North Tower collapsed. He was caught in the dust cloud but survived.
Cacchioli eluded death on 9/11 and later reunited tearfully with his wife and children in Queens; he and returned to Ground Zero day after day to assist with the recovery. For years he struggled with guilt, anger, and debilitating bouts of post-traumatic stress, including thoughts of suicide. Eventually, these lingering issues were eased by therapy, which he came to strongly endorse. Many years later, Cacchioli authored an autobiography about his career titled Soldier of a War That Never Ends: A Memoir of a 9/11 Firefighter.
Curator's Comment
In the weeks after September 11, LIFE Magazine photographer Joe McNally (b. 1952) invited rescuers, recovery workers, survivors, and bereaved family members to a studio in Manhattan’s Bowery district, not far from Ground Zero. Here, the participants were memorialized by a unique Polaroid camera—dubbed the Moby C—equipped with a lens from a U-2 spy plane. This room-sized instrument could capture an exposure of singular clarity on an eight-foot tall piece of film in the blackened studio. Each 90-second session required meticulous staging and absolute stillness. Whereas most photographers were concentrating on documenting the devastation of the attacks downtown, McNally was interested in recording the heroism and sorrow etched into the human faces at the center of this national tragedy. Those who faced the camera were mostly everyday people who sought no special recognition. “They came only with the intention of participating in a project, telling their story, and sharing in the telling of others,” McNally reflected.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum has enjoyed a long relationship with McNally's images. In 2006, McNally donated his portrait of FDNY Ladder 20 firefighter Adrienne Walsh to support the Museum’s nascent permanent collection. When the outdoor Memorial opened to the public in 2011, a selection from the series was borrowed from the photographer and rotated onto view in the temporary Visitor Center at 90 West Street. Annual acquisitions from the Faces of Ground Zero archive have continued, often as gifts arranged by McNally. In 2017, the Museum assumed custody of the remaining Polaroids in an agreement that will result in the collection’s completed donation by 2027.
The image in this record is the product of a color transparency from a Mamiya RZ 6x7 Pro II 120 format camera that McNally positioned to record a shot simultaneous with the Polaroid Moby C’s flash of light. The unique, original Polaroid exhibits a more subtle and creamier tonality.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum has enjoyed a long relationship with McNally's images. In 2006, McNally donated his portrait of FDNY Ladder 20 firefighter Adrienne Walsh to support the Museum’s nascent permanent collection. When the outdoor Memorial opened to the public in 2011, a selection from the series was borrowed from the photographer and rotated onto view in the temporary Visitor Center at 90 West Street. Annual acquisitions from the Faces of Ground Zero archive have continued, often as gifts arranged by McNally. In 2017, the Museum assumed custody of the remaining Polaroids in an agreement that will result in the collection’s completed donation by 2027.
The image in this record is the product of a color transparency from a Mamiya RZ 6x7 Pro II 120 format camera that McNally positioned to record a shot simultaneous with the Polaroid Moby C’s flash of light. The unique, original Polaroid exhibits a more subtle and creamier tonality.
- Accession Number: C.2021.24.1
- Dimensions: 109 in X 44 in X 0.08 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 276.86 cm X 111.76 cm X 0.2032 cm
- Source: Joseph McNally
- Credit Line: Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum. © Joe McNally.
First RespondersGround ZeroNew York City Fire Department (FDNY)Photographer and Videographer: ProfessionalRescue and RecoverySurvivors
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