Family and loved ones gathered inside a firehouse on Thursday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Black Sunday.

Back on Jan. 23, 2005, six firefighters were forced to jump from a fourth-floor window after being trapped by fire in an illegally converted Bronx apartment--two of them lost their lives and another died of injuries related to that fire years later.

Carrying on the legacy of Lt. Curtis Meyran is his son, Dennis, who recently became one of the bravest himself.

"He was my best friend. We were..we were inseparable. I loved him very much," said Dennis Meyran.

"My partner that day, he was there. He said, 'Throw me the rope.' And quick argument. He goes, 'You've got a wife and kids. You go first.' And I took on one end of the rope and I wrap the other end around me, and I rolled out the window. Probably 15 feet off my fall and broke every bone in my body," said retired Rescue 3 firefighter Jeff Cool.

The department says this tragedy was a blueprint for their future.

"Everybody really coalesced to make this happen, to make sure that every New York City firefighter has a personal rope and to learn from this day," said Tom Currao, assistant chief of Fire Prevention.