FDNY Chaplain's Gear Dedicated at Fire Museum

For many of the items that were recovered following the collapse of the twin towers, it is a mystery how some made out unscathed while others were annihilated.

FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge's bunker coat somehow made it through all of the destruction that took place that day.

It wasn't until several months later that it was found at the bottom of the pile, under 110 stories that went down on it.

"It was a special gift that his bunker coat came out intact, after so much was vaporized and pulverized," FDNY Chaplain Chris Keenan said during the ceremony at the New York Fire Museum held on the tenth anniversary to dedicate Judge's helmet and jacket.

Judge was killed early in the event while giving a firefighter his last rites. The crew that found him stripped off the coat and left it in the rubble as they transported his body. Judge is the first official casualty of the attacks.

He made the trip to the twin towers from Engine 1/Ladder 24 that morning. The firehouse had the coat while Judge's sister donated his helmet.

"He was not only a priest, a spiritual leader, but he was a firefighter at heart," FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said. "(His helmet and coat) will be there for generations so that people know who he was and what he did that day."

He said that Judge was always there for people.

"It's only fitting that he led everyone up to a better place."

Chief of Department Edward Kilduff said Judge will always have a place in the hearts of the FDNY's members.

"His role, his function and his place on this department will always be enshrined in the museum," he said. "We didn't have father Judge (after 9/11), but we had him praying for us from above."