The background to the disaster that was 9/11 has been researched exhaustively, while the security and geopolitical outcomes — notably in Afghanistan, Iraq, the whole Middle East, and many other parts of the world — are evident, with many effects felt to this day. But the event itself has receded into the past, and for younger generations is but history. The reality of two planes flown maliciously into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan, and the attempt to fly one into the Pentagon in Washington DC, is unknown to many, undoubtedly outside the USA.
Brenda Berkman, the first female firefighter in the New York Fire Department, or indeed in the US, was there: she was a first responder. In a narrative often harrowing she recounts the reality of the day, in what was left of the World Trade Centre — as indeed the many months afterwards when the debris was cleared. From devastating detail and trauma of the event to ensuring the place of women in remembering 9/11, Brenda Berkman offers a gripping testimony to a day that changed world history. An important conversation!
This episode was recorded on 11 September 2026.
Chapters
- Brenda’s journey to becoming the first female firefighter in NYC
- Brenda recounts her experience on 9-11
- Health impacts and long-term effects on responders
- Lessons learned and the future of women in firefighting
- Brenda’s life after retirement and advocacy for women
Mentions
- YouTube — documentary Taking the Heat
- YouTube series — Pioneering Change as NYC’s First Female Firefighter
- Prints — Thirty-six Views of One World Trade Center
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum — Honouring Four Women of Ground Zero
Follow
- Brenda Berkman: website, Instagram, LinkedIn
- Ilana Bet-El
- Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
- Listen to this episode on our YouTube channel
Credits
- Production: Florence Ferrando
- Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll (License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT)
The European Leadership Network itself as an institution holds no formal policy positions. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the authors rather than the European Leadership Network or its members. The ELN aims to encourage debates that will help develop Europe’s capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time, to further its charitable purposes.
Image credit: Florence Ferrando
