Rafael became an advocate for other immigrant workers who had become sick after working at Ground Zero. He died in 2011, ten years after the September 11 attacks.
The story of a Mexican firefighter who ran toward the World Trade Center, rescued a pregnant woman and later spent months helping at Ground Zero.
When people remember the heroes of September 11, 2001, they often think of the firefighters, police officers and first responders who rushed toward the World Trade Center.
Among them was Rafael Hernández, a Mexican firefighter and paramedic whose story represents the courage and sacrifice of Latino heroes on 9/11.
Rafael Hernández had served as a firefighter and Red Cross paramedic in Mexico before moving to New York. On the morning of September 11, he was in Queens when he saw the smoke rising from the World Trade Center.
While thousands of people were trying to escape Manhattan, Rafael headed toward the burning towers.
He knew people needed help.
Rafael Hernández at the World Trade Center
Rafael made his way to the World Trade Center and offered his experience as a firefighter and paramedic. He entered the North Tower and began helping people evacuate.
Inside the tower, he encountered a woman who was nine months pregnant. Her water had broken, and she was frightened and unable to make her way down the stairs alone.
She asked Rafael not to leave her.
He stayed.
Rafael helped the pregnant woman descend 28 flights of stairs and brought her out of the building to safety.
They escaped shortly before the North Tower collapsed.
For Rafael Hernández, however, the rescue was only the beginning.
Rafael Hernández and the Ground Zero Recovery Effort
After the World Trade Center towers collapsed, Rafael remained at Ground Zero.
For months, he worked alongside firefighters, police officers, paramedics, construction workers, volunteers and other rescue and recovery workers. He helped search through the ruins for survivors and human remains and participated in the enormous recovery effort following the September 11 attacks.
Many Latino workers were part of this effort.
Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Central American and other Latino first responders and workers helped New York recover from the tragedy. Some had lived in the United States for generations. Others were immigrants who had built new lives in America.
They worked together in one of the most difficult environments imaginable.
Rafael was exposed to the dust, smoke and toxic conditions at Ground Zero for extended periods.
The Health Cost of 9/11
The physical consequences followed Rafael for years.
He developed severe respiratory problems, and his health eventually deteriorated to the point that he needed a respirator to sleep.
Rafael became an advocate for other immigrant workers who had become sick after working at Ground Zero.
He died in 2011, ten years after the September 11 attacks.
His friends and fellow Ground Zero workers believed that his illnesses were connected to his exposure at the World Trade Center, although questions remained about the official classification of his death.
The Woman Rafael Hernández Saved
One of the most remarkable parts of Rafael’s story happened years after 9/11.
Rafael encountered the pregnant woman he had helped escape from the North Tower.
She had survived.
Her daughter had survived too.
The woman told Rafael that she had given birth to a healthy baby girl.
For Rafael, that moment offered something extraordinary after years of tragedy.
In the middle of one of the darkest days in American history, he had helped protect two lives.
A mother.
And the child she was carrying.
Remembering Latino Heroes of 9/11
Rafael Hernández’s story is bigger than one rescue.
It is part of the history of Latino Americans who served, sacrificed and helped rebuild New York after September 11.
Latino firefighters, police officers, paramedics, construction workers, volunteers and immigrants stood beside their fellow Americans during the attacks and the long recovery that followed.
Some lost their lives.
Others became sick.
Many never received the recognition they deserved.
The story of Rafael Hernández reminds us that heroism does not always come with a famous name or a uniform.
Sometimes it is simply a person seeing someone in danger and deciding to stay.
Rafael was a Mexican firefighter who ran toward the World Trade Center when others were running away.
Today, we remember Rafael Hernández.
We remember the Latino first responders and workers who stood with New York.
We remember the lives that were lost.
We remember the people who survived.
And we celebrate the courage, service and sacrifice of the Latino heroes of 9/11.
