‘We did what we had to do’: 25 years on, 9/11 first responder reflects on duty, survival and family

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: © France 24 11:49 Issued on: 13/09/2026 - 18:18Modified: 13/09/2026 - 20:40 Jean-Emile Jammine is pleased to welcome LaZetta Duncan, Retired NYPD Detective, 9/11 First Responder. Duncan remembers Ground Zero not as a historical event frozen in time, but as living history whose consequences continue to unfold and evolve 25 years on. Her testimony traces a striking progression: from the confusion and urgency of the attacks, rescue and recovery, to the grim transformation of gathering human remains and evidence inside a burning toxic apocalyptic crime scene. And we now learn of the overwhelming health consequences borne by responders despite repeated assurances that the air quality posed no health threat. Keywords for this article