| Bobby
Senn
- Fire
Department City Of New York (Retired)
- 9/11
Survivor
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Bobby Senn has 20 years of
experience as a firefighter and first responder,
13 of which he spent serving in Brooklyn for
the New York City Fire Department. Bobby was
one of many New York City firefighters to respond
to the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
His experience that morning, along with the
months and years following, brought Bobby to
deal with the effects of Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder, Depression and Anxiety. All of which
contributed to ending his career with the FDNY.
Since 2002, Bobby has addressed thousands of
fire service and law enforcement personnel in
regard to his experience. His goal is to inform
those that function in the same capacity as
he to understand and be aware of the emotional
trauma that accompanies such a vocation. His
presentation has drawn national attention from
major corporations, local and state government
associations and first response agencies. His
future goals include continuing to address these
entities in order to bring awareness, self care,
understanding and coping strategies to the forefront.
Bobby also hopes to continue to publish his
thoughts and experience as a first responder
so that his peers, those that provide the emotional
care and civilians can better understand the
process, prepare for and ultimately accept the
results as “normal” response to
abnormal events in the wake of tragedy. Bobby
earned a B.S. degree attending The New York
Institute of Technology, concentrating in Communications
and English. Bobby has been married to his wife
Christine since 1997. They continue to live
on Long Island.
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Workshops, Presentations
and Seminar Topics
9 / 11: A Survivor's Story:
Working in my Brooklyn fire station
on the morning of September 11, 2001, I soon found myself
crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan along
side many other members of the New York City Fire Department
(FDNY), with the hopes of helping people escape the
horror of the attack on the World Trade Center. Within
one hour the tragedy would deepen and my own mortality
would hang in the balance as the South Tower crashed
to the ground killing hundreds and burying me in the
Lobby of the adjoining North Tower. After disentangling
myself from the wreckage, I, and a small contingent
of others still alive, made our way to the street to
find the surrealistic event still unfolding. Within
moments of my escape from the North Tower, the unthinkable
happened once again. Standing within a few hundred feet
of the now collapsing North Tower and having no place
to seek refuge, I was once again subjected to the energy
of the collapse and was nearly buried alive in the street.
Following the collapse of these towers
were the grueling tasks of rescuing the injured, removing
the dead and recovering the lost in a process that took
almost nine months. The physical and emotional injuries
endured have taken a great toll on the firefighters
and the families of those that survived and those that
participated in the recovery effort.
Although unlike any other tragedy
ever before experienced in the U.S., the aftermath of
this event and the human consequences and challenges
faced are not entirely dissimilar to issues that arise
from almost any trauma and in perspective, help illustrate
the insignificance of “the small stuff’
we all tend to stress over while highlighting the importance
of life, love and family.
Through some never before seen photos,
video and mostly through my verbal account of September
11th, you will re-live each moment as it happened that
morning and throughout the months that followed. You
will learn about the emotions that continue to follow
and haunt many rescue personnel since this tragic event
while discussing the affect of Post Traumatic Stress
and how symptoms of this sometimes-stigmatized condition
can touch any of us. You will realize the importance
of disaster preparedness and better understand the impact
that disasters can have on society. Most importantly,
we will discuss the critical need for balance in everyday
life, the importance of family and the significance
of never taking even one day for granted.
PROGRAM LENGTH: 90 minute presentation
with additional time for Q&A
Following
is a partial list of organizations with whom Bobby Senn
has interviewed, consulted or trained:
| Los Angeles City
Fire Department
Orange County Fire Authority
Redondo Beach Fire Department
El Segundo Fire Department
Manhattan Beach Fire Department
Huntington Beach Fire Department
Long Beach Fire Department
El Camino College Fire Academy
Clarke County Fire Department(Nevada)
Twin Cities Security Partnership(Minnesota)
K-Mart Corporation
Office Depot
Dollar General
Saks Fifth Avenue
National Retail Federation
Target Corporation
Canadian Insurance Adjusters Association
Sorrento Cheese Corporation
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