Smithsonian Photo Editor Jeff Campagna Curates 15 Firefighter Photographs Spanning 2001 to 2025
Jeff Campagna, a photo editor at Smithsonian magazine, has put together a collection featuring 15 striking images of firefighters, with the assistance of intern Jess Daninhirsch. The collection begins with the tragic events of September 11, 2001, when more than 1,400 firefighters responded to the World Trade Center and Pentagon, leading to the loss of 343 FDNY firefighters. Volunteer fire departments were first established in 1736 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. Among the notable images are Mike Hall's duplex fire in Olathe, Kansas (2025), Adra Pallón's depiction of a firefighter in Lugo, Spain (2022), and scenes from the Dixie Fire in California (2021) and FDNY gear in Brooklyn (2023). This collection was released on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Key facts
- 15 firefighter photographs were assembled by Smithsonian photo editor Jeff Campagna
- The first American volunteer fire department was established in Philadelphia in 1736 by Benjamin Franklin
- More than 1,400 firefighters and rescue workers were on scene during the 9/11 attacks, and 343 FDNY firefighters died
- Mike Hall photographed a duplex fire in Olathe, Kansas, at six degrees Fahrenheit in 2025
- Joshua Sweeney documented the collapse of the 1892 Columbia Hotel onto a fire truck ladder in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 2012
- Daniel Brown photographed the Park Fire in Mill Creek, California, in 2024, the largest wildfire of California's 2024 season
- The Dixie Fire near Janesville, California, covered over 963,000 acres in 2021
- Memorial stair climbs replicate the 110-story height of the World Trade Center towers
Entities
Artists
- Jeff Campagna
- Jess Daninhirsch
- Mike Hall
- Adra Pallón
- Talbot Brooks
- Adam Schierberg
- Erik Espinosa
- Joshua Sweeney
- James Yule
- Katherine Dugger
- Daniel Brown
- Hillary Lee
- Patrick Cashin
- David Elkins
- Ty O'Neil
- Benjamin Franklin
Institutions
- Smithsonian magazine
- FDNY
- FDNY 281 Engine Company
- Mississippi State Fire Academy
- Cincinnati Fire Department
- World Trade Center
- Pentagon
- Columbia Hotel
Locations
- Olathe
- Kansas
- United States
- New York City
- New York
- Washington
- Philadelphia
- Courel Mountains
- Lugo
- Spain
- Cleveland
- Mississippi
- Cincinnati
- Windsor Heights
- West Virginia
- Leominster
- Massachusetts
- Worland
- Wyoming
- Martin
- Tennessee
- Mill Creek
- California
- Austin
- Texas
- Brooklyn
- Janesville
- Lake County