Firehouse Loses a Spotted Symbol of Healing

On Sept. 11, 2001, seven members of Ladder Company 20 on Lafayette Street in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan were killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center, about a mile and a half away, along with seven members of Squad 18, which shared the firehouse at the time with the ladder company.

A few weeks later, during the period of mourning that followed, a purebred Dalmatian puppy showed up at the company’s doorstep.

The dog, a gift from two deputies with the Monroe County sheriff’s department in upstate New York, was given the name Twenty, after the ladder company.

Twenty immediately loved the fire truck, a classic Seagrave hook-and-ladder, and began accompanying the firefighters on all their calls, from raging blazes to false alarms.

“For 10 years, she never missed a run,” said Mike Toal, 60, who had been a senior chauffeur at Ladder 20 and often drove the truck.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/nyregion/firehouse-loses-a-spotted-symbol-of-healing.html