Listen to the survivors who escaped down the staircases of the doomed World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, and expect to be overwhelmed by the aching appreciation for the faces on these pages.

For thousands of horrified office workers who fled the terrorist attacks, the most remarkable sight during their descent was the wave of determined firefighters advancing toward the burning sky.

"One fireman stopped to take a breath, and we looked each other in the eye," said Louis G. Lesce, who was on his way down from the 86th floor of 1 World Trade Center, the first tower hit. "He was going to a place where I was damn well trying to get out of. I looked at him thinking, 'What are you doing this for?' He looked at me like he knew very well. 'This is my job.'"

In all, 343 firefighters were reported missing or were identified among the dead. The number of casualties was staggering. Entire companies were lost. The previous biggest loss of life for the Fire Department was in 1966, when 12 were killed in a fire on East 23rd Street.

But the numbers tell only a fraction of the story. The faces and names say far more. A father and son. A chaplain. A commander. A rookie. Strangers to most of those they passed on Sept. 11, but heroes to them all.

"They were perspiring profusely, exhausted," said David Frank, a salesman who escaped from the 78th floor of 1 World Trade Center. "And they had to go all the way to the 90's - straight into hell. This was not lost on the crowd. We all broke out into applause at one point. It was a wonderful moment."

Abbreviations:
A.C., assistant chief; Bat., battalion; B.C., battalion chief; Cmd Ctr., command center; Div., division; D.C. division chief; Dep. Comm., deputy commissioner; Eng, engine company; F.M., fire marshall; H.M. hazardous material unit; H.O., hazardous
operations; Lad., ladder company; Sqd., squad; Res. rescue unit;
(D) confirmed deceased.