On September 11th, the world changed right before our eyes. But amidst great tragedy arose great heroes. And people from all walks of life – across this country and much of the world – exhibited the virtues of strength, charity and goodwill.

As the ninth SHEROES of the season, the Miami SOL paid tribute to a group of local women, comprised of members of the Urban Search and Rescue Team and the City of Miami police department, who showed all of those qualities and made it their duty to help their fallen comrades. In addition to their work as firefighters, three of the SHEROES, Kim McKusker, Tanya Romero and Julie Padelford-Jansen, are part of the City of Miami sponsored Urban Search and Rescue team (Florida Task Force 2), which was activated after the World Trade Center attacks. The team’s mission lasted 15 days, and the FLTF-2 helped recover five firefighters and police officers during its time at Ground Zero.

Placing all personal danger aside, each one of these courageous SHEROES worked diligently to aid in the rescue and recovery of their fallen comrades – helping to bring closure to grieving relatives.