Staff of Life

Cops, firefighters, doctors: They are the pillars of America's civic dreamlife, and in times like these, one remembers why. What passed for humdrum routine in New York blew up last Tuesday, and on the following days, the individuals who make that routine possible—joined by local kids and visitors offering aid—thronged West, Greenwich, and Washington streets, in the rescue effort's staging area, looking for ways to help. For the medical personnel, the horror would lie in how few there were to save. For those responsible for restoring the basic infrastructure of daily life, the task would be monumental.

New York firefighter Jay Sepulveda (left), with Phyllis Magnussen and Stephen Peterson Jr. of the West Redding, Connecticut, fire department	Victor Flecha, Rich Kuskoski, Robert Mut, and Alfonso Guerrero Jr., of Clean Harbors Environmental Services
Tamara Dildy, M.D., specialist in emergency medicine, Mount Sinai	Specialist Arthur Krulowksi, Private Lorraine Fernandez, and Private Jacob Wilson, New York National Guard
Alice McCartney, Emily Forhman, social workers from Catholic Big Sisters	Detective Donald Graves, New York Police Department, Midtown South
Alex Fell, Chris Sullivan, Jason Iannozzi, Jason Fell, and Rod Groom, kids offering to pitch in with relief work	Joe DeBellis and Ed Kwan, plastic surgeons from Saint Vincents
Michael, Sean, Vinny, Joe, and Mark, Con Ed workers	Rabbi Bernard Freilich, New York State Police