Police officers, firefighters from eastern Ontario raced down to join rescue effort.
From left to right, Ottawa firefighters Brian Foley, Steve Carmichael, Gordie Thorpe and John Hamilton near the World Trade Center site days after 9/11.(Alistair Steele/CBC)
By 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, roughly one hour after the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in that morning's second slow-motion cascade of dust and debris, Ottawa firefighter Barry Blondin was already heading for the nearest border crossing.