![\"<p>Students](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/911watch04_lg.jpg\" "\\"Students")
<\/a>On Sept. 11, 2001, he was in charge of New York Harbor as acting battalion chief for the FDNY Marine Division when the first plane hit the north tower. He immediately surrounded lower Manhattan with three fire boats, and responded on another fire boat to a command post near the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cA second plane flew over my head and turned as I was responding,\u201d Fuentes recalls. \u201cI just couldn\u2019t believe it. All of a sudden, I hear the engine roaring and he banks his wings and crashes into the south tower when I\u2019m right at the lower tip of Manhattan. It was so vivid. A fireball erupted and I realized we were being attacked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concerned that there would be at least 10,000 to 15,000 civilians trapped above the impact zone, Fuentes banked his boat on the Hudson River side, and reported to the command post.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my worst memories is \u2013 and still is to this day \u2013 the way the civilians were jumping,\u201d he says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe the landscape \u2013 it was a combat-like landscape. People were running west to the river; they were running north to Chambers Street, running away from the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fuentes did what he could to get into the south tower. He survived the south tower collapse, and then went to what was left of the Marriott, a 24-story steel frame building located between the twin towers, where he could see some civilians were trapped.<\/p>\n
As the north tower began to come down, he found he was unable to walk through the debris. \u201cI bent down on my knees, put my hands over my head, and started saying the Hail Mary. I guess I lost consciousness. I was buried for two hours,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Fuentes was rescued by two firefighters who heard his radio crackling under the rubble. \u201cThey looked into a hole, saw the yellow reflective stripe on my bunker gear, and were able to dig me out,\u201d he says. \u201cThey transported me by fireboat to a triage center on the Jersey shore, where a priest gave me the Last Rites.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Road to Recovery<\/h3>\n
Fuentes\u2019 injuries were extensive \u2013 both lungs were burned, his left lung had collapsed, he had nine broken ribs, and the rubble had torn away half of his scalp. He underwent a tracheotomy, was put into a drug-induced coma for three weeks, later spent some time in a pulmonary intensive care unit, and had about seven more operations.<\/p>\n
When he finally went home, he had to be in a recliner for about nine months.<\/p>\n
After a couple of years on medical leave, he was told the fire department could no longer use his services because of his injuries. \u201cI was officially retired on Feb. 1, 2003,\u201d Fuentes says.<\/p>\n
But as his recovery progressed, he was determined to stay involved in the work he loved. He discovered UConn\u2019s master of professional studies in homeland security leadership, a program offered through online courses supported by residential immersion sessions on the Storrs campus.<\/p>\n
The program admits a cohort of 20-30 students each fall. Students follow a prescribed course of study for two years. Fuentes began taking classes in fall 2006 and graduated in August 2008.<\/p>\n
Online Learning<\/h3>\n
He especially enjoyed learning online, with the opportunity to interact with students from different backgrounds. \u201cWe had people from Alaska, Chicago, Ohio, New York \u2013 military people, first responders, and individuals from private organizations,\u201d says Fuentes. \u201cIt was fantastic to hear someone else\u2019s responses to questions. You would hear from somebody in the military, I would talk from a local jurisdictional point of view, then someone would come in and give a different point of view. You\u2019re really learning from each other \u2026 not just from the bias of your own point of view, of what you\u2019ve been used to individually in your career.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a former firefighter, Fuentes learned new ways of thinking. \u201cI\u2019m an operational individual, so in my mind, I\u2019m thinking tactics: we have to put this here, we have to set up this situation,\u201d he says. \u201cThe coursework was geared at thinking strategically: what do we need to do to fix these problems? Learning about strategic thinking and policymaking made me think at a higher level.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also enjoyed the residential sessions, which gave him the chance to meet faculty and get to know his classmates.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur classes ended at five o\u2019clock and then we went to dinner and continued talking on our own,\u201d he says. \u201cI would talk about my 9\/11 experience and mistakes that we made, because a lot of mistakes were made on 9\/11. My presence there brought it home to them, and the friendships we built were terrific.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capstone Project<\/h3>\n
To earn their master\u2019s degree, students must complete a capstone project that demonstrates their ability to identify strategic solutions to deal with a major issue, problem, or opportunity within the field. Fuentes\u2019 project focused on challenges during catastrophic events with 911 dispatchers. He developed the idea for his project after listening to the FDNY\u2019s 911 tapes of seven mothers who had lost sons who were firefighters.<\/p>\n
After listening to the tapes, he realized how critical the 911 dispatchers were in the communications loop. \u201cThey\u2019re talking to the individual who\u2019s trapped on the 106th floor and they\u2019re also talking to first responders, so they\u2019re getting tremendous information regarding logistics, and the situations people are in. My capstone focused on utilizing the 911 dispatchers to get more intelligence for the first responders team, and also using communications like text messaging, phone pictures, and videos.\u201d<\/p>\n
In memory of the 343 FDNY firefighters who died on 9\/11, Fuentes formed a non-profit organization known as the Patriot Group, which assists first responders with planning for and managing crisis situations in urban settings. All proceeds from his memoir, American By Choice<\/em>, are donated to the group.<\/p>\n Fuentes says earning his master\u2019s degree in homeland security leadership has enhanced his career. He now leverages the knowledge gained at UConn, together with his own experience, to provide consulting services to organizations throughout the U.S., including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.<\/p>\n \u201cTo say I have my master\u2019s legitimizes everything,\u201d Fuentes says, \u201cespecially from an institution like the University of Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n