Limestone University Men’s Lacrosse Continues to Honor The Legacy Of Fallen New York City First Responders

The white sticker with the words in black ink are hard to miss: “RESCUE 1 F.D.N.Y.”

Saints fans and opponents have seen the sticker countless times on the backs of the Limestone University men’s lacrosse team helmets for the past three seasons, but some might not fully understand its significance.

Each Limestone player wearing that helmet is honoring the members of the Fire Department of New York Rescue Company One. The Saints are the only lacrosse team in the country to have been given the opportunity to wear that sticker.

FDNY Rescue Company One, commonly referred to as Rescue One, is one of five special operations rescue companies within the New York City Fire Department, serving all but the northern parts of the borough of Manhattan. The company has existed for over 100 years, responding to several large fires and other disasters within their history. Rescue One is most known, though, for its response to the attacks on September 11, 2001, when it lost half its company in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

One of those first responders, Gerard T. Nevins, was remembered in his obituary as both a firefighter and a farmer who “vehemently opposed ordering take-out food” because he thought that cooking together helped to cement the brothers’ bond. He even stocked the firehouse kitchen with produce from his own farm.

Members of the Saints lacrosse team, including assistant coach Kendall Collins who is from Hurley, NY, were able to visit the firehouse in Midtown Manhattan and listen to stories about Nevins while sitting in that very same kitchen.

“For those who were young at the time, you don’t really understand the full effect of all of it, but for those of us very close to New York City, it definitely impacted us and still does us to this day,” Collins said about those tragic events on 9-11. “Getting to go to the Rescue Company One station and learn even more about that time, to be in that kitchen, to learn from them and to hear stories about Gerry and to understand the legacy they all left behind, we want to uphold that the best we can.”

It is through Nevins that the Limestone men’s lacrosse team ultimately made its connection to Rescue One. Before coming to Limestone as a player, Collins grew up in the same neighborhood as Major Stephen Nevins, Gerard’s brother, in Upstate New York. Major Nevins, a retired New York State trooper, now visits the Saints each year at the completion of preseason training. Limestone’s coaches use that visit to encourage team building while keeping the sacrifice of Rescue One in the players’ minds.

“We’ve been creative the last couple of years, just so we aren’t doing the same things. We’ve incorporated some firefighter-aspects, like wearing equipment for some things,” Collins noted. “One year, we did hills for the flights of stairs in the two towers, and we’re just tying everything back to that date, to honor and remember the people who were involved.”

The training ends with an intra-squad scrimmage, with the winning team not only getting bragging rights, but a steak dinner. It is at this dinner that Nevins, alongside artist and public speaker David Lionheart, and lacrosse coach and volunteer firefighter Jeramie Collins give their speeches. The men discuss some of the more traumatic moments of their lives, including death, poverty, and abuse, encouraging the Saints players to open up to each other and use their shared experiences to form bonds of brotherhood that will allow them to achieve what they set their minds to, both on and off the field.

In addition to the helmet stickers, the team has many pieces of Rescue One memorabilia around their locker room, including equipment from the firehouse and a shirt with the names of the 11 first responders who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks. In that way, the players are constantly surrounded by reminders of the sacrifices of Rescue One, as well as the bonds they have formed with their teammates.

“We think this is a great way to honor them,” Collins said. “And we’re extremely grateful to be able to have this opportunity, because not everybody is able to have that.”