PHOTO: Brother of Fallen Firefighter Recalls Morning of Sept. 11

When Bob Kelly went to work at his Glen Oaks, Queens firehouse on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, he said one of the first things he did was to check in on his younger brother Tommy, who had worked all night at his station in Park Slope.

After hearing on the radio that a plane flew into one of the towers at the World Trade Center,  Bob wanted to tell Tommy to “just be careful and take it easy out there,” assuming his company would get called in. He just missed him - his brother’s company had been called in, never to return home.

All seven members of Engine 219, Ladder 105 lost their lives during a rescue mission when Tower Two was struck.

Tommy, 39, was never found.

Kelly spent the next 72 hours amid the chaos and confusion at Ground Zero hoping his brother would surface and to this day remembers the last time he saw Tommy, who he said was a “funny guy who could light up a room.”

The previous weekend, the two were down at Reeves Beach, at the end of what is now Thomas Kelly Memorial Drive, known to many as Park Road.

“We were just enjoying the end of the summer together, you know?" Kelly said. "Pretty much, ‘I’ll catch you back at work.’”