The P🥂rince of Wales, 41, went to an FDNY fire station on Tuesday during his two-day visit to the city. While the majority of his overseas trip was focused on the Earthshot Prize and environmental matters, along with meetings at the 🧜United Nations, his visit to the fire station was about a cause that is dear to William's heart: the mental well-being of first responders.
The Ten House Fire Station is located downtown near the World Trade Center, and six firefighꦫters 💝from this station lost their lives in the 2001 terrorist attacks. Despite suffering significant damage, Ten House played a crucial role as a command center and recovery site in the days following 9/11. It took two years to fully rebuild the fire station. Upon his arrival, the Prince of Wales viewed the FDNY Memorial Wall on the west side of the building.
During a royal tour of New York City in 2014, Prince William a🌺nd Kate Middleton also visited the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
Prince William interacted with both new recruits and long-serving firefighters to learn about their experiences working in the city and discuss the importance of prior📖itizing their mental well-being. Hamza Ahmed, one of the firefighters who guided Prince William during the visit, mentioned that the royal showed a keen interest.
"He displayed great curios🐲ity, asking various questions. We talked about helmets, their origins, and the patches with embroidery,," Ahmed said. Ahmed demonstrated 🦂to Prince William how they organize their equipment for rapid response to emergencies.
Lt. Drew Kane, who is also a licensed social worker, shared that he provided Prince William with inf꧃ormational pamphlets on suicide awareness and PTS disorder.
"It was clear that he had a grasp of the subject," Kane remarked. "You could sense from his presence that he spoke from firsthand experience."
