As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Pipe Dream sat down with Paul Eliacin, an independent filmmaker who volunteered at Ground Zero during the 9/11 rescue efforts. His answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

In what capacity did you respond to the 9/11 attacks?

“Well, when 9/11 happened, I was actually home and watching television, and it came across my screen as breaking news, and then I saw the plane going into the Towers. So, I immediately called City Hall to try to go and help because I’m a welder by trade, and they said there were too many people there and that they didn’t need any more help. I’m an independent filmmaker, and I’m also a Theatrical Teamster. At the time, I was working for Law and Order: SVU television show, and one of my colleagues told me later on that my union local president, Thomas J. O’Donnell Jr., was volunteering the Teamsters for 9/11. So, I immediately put my name on the volunteer list. I was to meet a flatbed truck the next day on the West Side Highway, which is a highway that leads directly to the Twin Towers. So then, when I entered — I want to call it a ‘war zone ’ — I was given an all-access pass. And so our job was precisely what we do as filmmakers. We provided generators, cables, grip stands and movie lights, and pointed them directly at the ‘Pile’ so that the firefighters, the civilians and the police officers could dig in and save lives.”

What were your initial reactions after arriving on the scene?

“It was a mixed emotion. I initially started crying. On the way there, one of my colleagues saw me crying, patted me on my back and asked me if I was okay, and I told him that I would be okay. And when I got in, I had mixed emotions. I saw people just moving around, helping one another. It was like everybody was united as one. No matter what color, what creed, what nationality, everybody was helping one another. I saw a lot of jackets — FBI, Army, EMS, Sheriff, your everyday civilians. I even saw a prayer station for anyone that needed prayer, and a couple of rescue dogs on the ‘Pile’ searching through the rubble. So my reaction was pretty much a mixed reaction.”

Can you describe your experiences in participating in the rescue efforts?

“My job was to maintain the generator and the lights, and so I was standing next to the truck and I was handling the grip stand, giving it to Local 52. Local 52 is what makes up any film that you watch on TV or movies. It is made up of two unions, which is the Theatrical Teamsters Local 817, which I belong to, and then Local 52, which are the mechanics of filmmaking: the camera grip, electric props and set dressing. So my job was to maintain the lights that were going into the ‘Pile’ and standing next to the truck and feeding the cables and the grip stand to the Local 52 guys to put up the light and shine on the ‘Pile.’ I had 16-hour days there, and I spent two and a half weeks, every night, going there back and forth. The smell that I was getting there was very horrible. It was indescribable. When I got home, I had to throw away my clothes and put on new clothes. There were clothes donated to us: pants, jackets, shoes, gloves. So I would grab some of them and go home and change when I got home.”

How has that experience continued to affect you mentally and physically?

“I’m affected practically each and every day. The people that were there searching for their loved ones, and some of them I’m sure had their loved ones there. It’s a haunted memory to me. 9/11 itself, which is coming up on Friday, it’s a torture to me because of what I saw and because of what I was involved with. It led me to have PTSD. It led me to have mental health [issues]. I see a therapist every month. One of the horrific things that I saw was when the firefighters got tired and asked for every hand on deck. I got on the ‘Pile,’ and one of the firefighters yelled out to get a body bag. So that haunts me. I get nightmares, which is the reason why I’m seeing the mental health [specialist] for now. So a body bag went through my hand, came back full, and so [it’s on] my mind all the time.”

“I get a constant cough. I can get an attack because I’m talking to you now. I don’t know where it’s coming from or how it comes. It just comes, and it’s uncontrollable. Mental health, PTSD. I have sleep apnea. I have respiratory issues, and today I thank God that I’m here talking to you because a lot of us first responders passed away or are passing away, and there’s more of us now that have died than in the actual event itself. I don’t know when my time is up, but I am making a documentary entitled ‘The Lights of 9/11,’ and I want to tell my stories for the younger generation like yourself. Well, this is part of the story, because the areas that I filmed in which I had five hours of never seen before footage, and over 300 never-seen-before photos. The areas that I was filming news cameras were not allowed. So I have things that nobody has seen, which I’m going to release. Hopefully, when I enter into film festivals, so that the public could see the sacrifice that the first responders did during that horrific day.”

What does the phrase “never forget” mean to you, especially 25 years later?

“‘Never forget’ means precisely what the words say. Never forget. I believe that in every curriculum for the young generation like yourself, and every school in the United States should have this topic in the history classroom. Just like older generations, like myself, who had to be taught about World War II and Pearl Harbor, and I believe that should be taught to the young generation and to the young kids. So, ‘never forget’ should precisely mean never forget.”

What do you think is important for young college students to know and remember about the 9/11 attacks?

“I think you guys should remember the heroism that was done by every walk of life. I think you guys should remember the fallen heroes, the ones that went in and helped and now they are living with all types of sickness. There’s thousands of cancers that people are living with right now, linked to 9/11. I have sicknesses that I can’t even pronounce. I’m taking medications that I can’t even pronounce. So, I think during this time, the young generation should remember the heroism, the togetherness that everybody came as one to help the country in time of need and also to commemorate and to honor the fallen heroes, the families and the victims.”

Can you describe a little bit about what your 9/11 documentary is going to be about?

“My 9/11 documentary is going to be about the trials and tribulations of the first responders, and it’s going to be about honoring the families, all of the first responders, the victims during that horrific day. And it [will] also bring you deep inside Ground Zero that you don’t see in the everyday 9/11 stories that you get on other documentaries or you saw in television, you know? But it’s going to be mainly about heroism and togetherness as one during 9/11.”

Is there anything else you want to add?

“I want to say thank you to the congressmen and the senators that greenlit a bill that’s called the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, that provides us free medical treatment for a lifetime as long as it is 9/11 related. Without this bill, I may not be here talking to you now because these medications are life-saving medication, and it helps us.”