San Jose firefighter still suffering from health issues after responding to 9/11 attacks

Harold Schapelhouman was part of a search and rescue team sent to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

ByTim Johns KGO logo

Sunday, September 12, 2021

SJ firefighter still having health issues 20 years after 9/11

Harold Schapelhoumn was part of a California rescue team sent to New York City after the 9/11 attacks. He says 70% of the team have suffered health issues in the years that followed.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- For Harold Schapelhouman, it's been 20 years, but the memories are still vivid.

"The smells. Decomposition. Burning flesh. Smoke. Destroyed buildings," he said.

Back in September 2001, Schapelhouman was part of a California search and rescue team sent to New York City after the 9/11 attacks.

An experience, he says, is almost indescribable.

Something he's never been able to forget.

"The gates of hell is probably a good way to describe it. Or war of the worlds," Schapelhouman said.

But beyond the mental toll, for Schapelhouman and his teammates, there was also a physical price to pay.

Out of the 68 people on Schapelhouman's team, 47 of them, or about 70%, have suffered health issues in the years after 9/11.

VIDEO: 9/11 hero Mark Bingham: Family remembers last call he made to his mom from Flight 93

Bingham was one of four passengers on board Flight 93 who reached the plane's cockpit and wrestled with hijackers.

Those health issues, Schapelhouman believes, were caused by the so-called plume that engulfed the rubble of the World Trade Center for weeks after the attack.

"We realized then that we had gotten ourselves into something worse than anybody had anticipated," he said.

While the health problems have gotten better over time for some of his teammates, for others, including himself, Schapelhouman says they still persist to this day.

But despite the toll it took both mentally and physically, Schapelhouman says he wouldn't hesitate to do it all again.