INDIANAPOLIS–The dust from the twin towers covered everything at Ground Zero. As the firefighters looked for survivors and bodies and the dust and smoke filled their lungs with pollutants. Thursday and Friday a Hoosier firefighter who led the team from Indiana will be remembered.
Battalion Chief Mark Rapp, a retired instructor with the Indianapolis Fire Dept., died Friday, March 4, from the lung cancer caused by exposure in New York.
Rapp, known as “Bum” to his buddies (yes, Bum Rapp), did not complain about his cancer and was often quoted as saying “Not a thing. I love what I do”.
Indiana’s Task Force 1 was formed in 1995 and six years later they were activated by FEMA to serve in search and rescue operations at Ground Zero. Rapp led the team from Indiana. When they returned home some of them remarked about how great they felt being back where there was green grass, and not just dust and soot-covered steel and concrete.
Following the 9/11 era, Rapp helped new generations of firefighters learn the ropes, as an instructor. He retired in 2017.
A service, honoring Rapp as a firefighter who died in the line of duty is planned for Friday at 7 p.m. at Crown Hill Funeral Home. Visitation will be both Thursday and Friday at the same location. All are open to the public.
Rapp was 66.
