He did not let go of the fire, but also of the three firefighters.
The monument was built on the photo of Raising the Flag at Ground Zero. Indeed, there are three white people, Wikipedia knows their names. But the monument did not want to be made as a monument to these three firefighters who heroically saved people, but as a monument to the victims of the September 11 terror attacks. That’s why they wanted to make a white, black and Mexican there, because the tragedy affected everyone. What caused the public debate (unwise, if you change the characters, where are the Chinese, women, children, disabled people, foreign tourists and everyone else who also suffered?) In 2001, the project was not implemented.
However, in 2007, a small monument was installed "To Lift a Nation", based on the same photo, the same 3 people stand in the same poses. It is dedicated to the firefighters who died on September 11 and generally all the firefighters who die every year in rescuing people.

So calm down, you are right.