People all across the Bay Area came together on Sunday to honor the lives lost and reflect on the tragic events that unfolded on September 11, 2001.

  • September 11, 2001 - 15 years later
  • Nearly 3,000 people died during the attacks
  • New York firefighter Lt. Mickey Kross was in the North Tower as it collapsed

Curlew Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor hosted its fifth annual remembrance ceremony where retired FDNY Lt. Mickey Kross shared his story of survival.

"It was just a horrific scene. I actually thought for a few seconds it was a movie shoot. I really did because I was in disbelief," Lt. Kross said.

Lt. Kross was on duty a few miles from the World Trade Center when the first plane hit. He said he can't shake the vivid memories of what happened next.

"When I saw it, I saw the building with the huge, gigantic hole and the fire and said 'Oh my God' and at that very moment we were right next to the South tower and the second plane hit the south tower," Lt. Kross said.

Lt. Kross said at that moment, he knew our country was at war. As dozens and dozens of people poured out of the building, Lt. Kross went in and up to the 23rd floor. On his way back down, he said the North Tower started to collapse.

"The stairway started rocking and then stuff started falling. That's when I grabbed my helmet and just ducked in a corner," Lt. Kross said.

"I was buried and I couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, couldn't feel my body I thought I might be dead," Lt. Kross said.

Everything surrounding Lt. Kross was destroyed but he and 13 others nearby survived.

"When you look at the statistics, the chances of surviving were very slim but this is what happened. You just accept it, this is what happened to me and I'm grateful for that. When I have a grouchy day, I always think man I shouldn't be, I'm here, so I get out of the grouchiness that way," Lt. Kross said.

Lt. Kross has made it his mission to honor the thousands of civilians and first responders who lost their lives by keeping the memory of 9/11/2001 alive. He said he's proud of how far our nation has come since that fateful day.

"We've become I think pretty resilient. I think our enemy was trying to destroy our society that day, we came right back," Lt. Kross said.

After 9/11/2001, Lt. Kross volunteered to do search and recovery missions at the site, and worked there for many months.