At Ypsilanti area fire stations, rescue workers started the day Monday gathered around the television and scoured the Internet as news of the death of Osama bin Laden dominated headlines.

At the Ypsilanti Township Fire Department, Lt. Keith Harr and his colleagues recalled feelings of helplessness during a similar scene on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We reflected back on the feeling, the gut feeling, the helplessness, watching the planes go into the side of those buildings,” Harr said. “And we certainly took a moment to pause.”

“It was not a celebration per se, but it was a positive start to the day,” said Capt. Max Anthouard, a firefighter for the city of Ypsilanti. Two City of Ypsilanti firefighters volunteered at Ground Zero following the attacks, Anthouard said.

John Kinzinger is the post commander of the Graf’O’Hara Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 423 in Ann Arbor, which counts veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan among its members.

The Vietnam veteran welcomed the news, cautiously, and wondered what retaliatory acts it might bring from al-Qaida. He had doubts the death would impact al-Qaida’s future plans.

“We can claim victory, for a moment,” he said. “We’ve got to be on guard.”

The post gathers and ships care packages to local members of the American armed forces serving in Operation New Dawn in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan every other month, and will continue to do so, Kinzinger said.

News of bin Laden’s death has not led to changes in training plans for the 1st Battalion 125th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan Army Guard, which includes infantrymen from Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw and Big Rapids, said Adam Betz, executive officer in charge of training for about 200 officers for Headquarters Company, based in Flint. Next week, they’re heading to Camp Grayling for training, said Betz, of Ypsilanti. About 1,200 soldiers will deploy to Afghanistan over the summer, including about five or six from Washtenaw County, Betz said. A few officers are University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University graduates, he said.

At the University of Michigan, incoming Muslim Student Association President Eman Abdelhadi said the news of bin Laden's death was welcome, but the organization is also concerned about the broader effect of United States operations in Pakistan. U.S drone attacks, which have killed dozens of people, have caused concerns among Pakistanis and human rights organizations, she said.

"We are glad that the United States was able to capture someone who for so long has caused so much damage to human lives," said Abdelhadi of Columbia, Mo. "We can certainly be happy when a step is taken that actually produces results, but we have to be cognizant of all the side effects of all the tactics that we use."

Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter