Thaddeus Carroll tcarroll@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Thaddeus Carroll Lt. Ray Thomas presented Floors Unlimited owner, Tim Coffey and his wife Deb, a piece of steel from the World Trade Center in honor of their contribution made to injured veterans. Floors Unlimited is part of Carpet One Floors and Home, which donated flooring to 46 “smart homes” for handicapped veterans.
A former member of the New York City Fire Department delivered a piece of the Twin Towers to a local business, Wednesday, in recognition for its service to wounded veterans.
Lt. Ray Thomas, a firefighter who worked as a part of the rescue and clean-up operation during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, visited Floors Unlimited to give them a piece of steel formerly a part of the World Trade Center.
“It means a lot to us for all the men and women women who sacrificed on that day,” store owner Tim Coffey said about having a piece of the fateful buildings in his store.
Floors Unlimited is a part of the Carpet One Floor and Home retailing group, which donated flooring for 46 different homes totaling $2.3 million on behalf of the Building for America’s Bravest program, building handicap-friendly homes for wounded veterans.
When buying a carpet from a Carpet One store, salespeople will ask for a donation to the foundation. Carpet One and Mohawk Industries then match that donation.
“If the salespeople don’t ask the customer they can’t say yes,” Thomas said.
Even though he was not a part of the military, Thomas feels a strong connection to the branches.
There were many reports claiming other planes were being hijacked on-course to attack New York, so Thomas felt “anxious” and was unable to focus on the daunting task at hand, but then he saw an Air Force fighter jet streak across the sky.
“I can’t tell you the relief I felt,” Thomas said. “Also I know a lot of young men and women joined the military in response to the attacks.”
Thomas, a 24-year veteran of the fire department, was off-duty in upper Manhattan when he got the call of the attack on the U.S. He worked on the rescue team for a week straight before going home and then back to Ground Zero for five more weeks after that.
“My biggest frustration is that there was no one to save,” Thomas said, “There was nothing left.”
Thomas has visited several stores throughout the state this week and finds it to be therapeutic.
“It is still, to this day, difficult for me to talk about it, but when they asked me to come out and do this, me, my wife and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea,” said Thomas. “Keeping it inside is not healthy.”
Thomas is visiting these stores on behalf of the Stephen Siller Foundation.
The Siller Foundation, named for a firefighter who died while rescuing others during 9/11, hosts many efforts helping the military and our country’s first responders. Anyone can donate to the foundation at tunnel2towers.org.