102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers

by Dwyer, Jim

  At the Fire Department, Deputy Commissioner Frank Gribbon and former First Deputy Commissioner Michael Regan, former Deputy Commissioners Thomas Fitzpatrick and Lynn Tierney; Chiefs Joseph Pfeifer and Peter Hayden, and Chief Fire Marshall Louis Garcia were among those who were generous with their time. Former Commissioner Thomas Von Essen provided his perspective, thoughtfully and candidly. At his initiative, the FDNY took oral histories from more than 500 firefighters. The city has refused to make those documents public, but we were able to review about 100 of them, and not surprisingly, they provide essential views of what happened that day.

  At the Police Department, among those who helped were Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, former Deputy Commissioner Michael O’Looney, Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, Deputy Inspector Joseph Galluci, Deputy Chief Michael Collins, and Sam Katz of the Detectives Endowment Association.

  From the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States—also known as the 9/11 Commission—we thank John Farmer, Al Felzenberg, and Jonathan Stull.

  The distinguished work of Dennis Cauchon and Martha Moore, reporters at USA Today, fundamentally shaped the understanding of the events of the day; they were generous, too, with advice and leads for this book. The brave documentary film made by Jules and Gedeon Naudet serves as a source document for all who study the firefighting operations. The staff of Der Spiegel produced Inside 9/11, a useful reconstruction of the morning’s events. At the other New York area newspapers, we turned to the work of, among others, Patrice O’Shaughnessy, Michele McPhee, Russ Buettner, Joseph Calderone, Michael Daly, Dennis Duggan, Sean Gardiner, Bill Murphy, Graham Rayman, and Michael Kelly. We also thank Philip Wearme and Niall O’Dowd for their help, and Deirdre Maloney of Bloomberg L.P. Many others are cited in the notes; our thanks to them, as well.

  We thank Karen Preziosi and Janice Brooks for their help with Euro Brokers photographs.

  At The New York Times, many of our colleagues provided help and leads. Here is the short, and certainly not complete, list of those we thank: Carla Baranauckas, Jacques Steinberg, Kirk Johnson, David Halbfinger, Joyce Wadler, Corey Kilgannon, David Barstow, Michael Cooper, Anthony DePalma, Sarah Kershaw, Chris Drew, Elissa Gootman, Lynette Holloway, Michael Wilson, Melena Ryzik, Marcos Mocine-McQueen, Geoff McGhee, Steve Greenhouse, Jeff Roth, Donald Parsons, Nancy Weinstock, Bill O’Donnell, Sherri Day, Dan Barry, Nina Bernstein, Ed Wyatt, Jennifer Steinhauer, Jan Hoffman, Janny Scott, Dean Murphy, Chris Chivers, Al Baker, Willie Rashbaum, Wendell Jamieson, and Anne Cronin.

  All of this help has, we believe, drastically reduced our margin of error but not eliminated it; we alone are responsible for any mistakes in these pages.

  We thank Rick Atkinson, Pete Hamill, Robert Kurson, and Richard Ben Cramer for their kindnesses.

  From Kevin: I would like to thank my brother, Jim, for his clearheaded advice in so many matters that arose while writing the book and my mother, Margaret, for her constant support and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Mary, for her boundless patience, insight, and compassion. She and my children, Maggie and Kevin, afforded me the clearest perspective on what others had lost.

  From Jim: As this book was getting started in the fall of 2003, Carol Rigolot, Tony Grafton, and David Kasunic of the Council on the Humanities at Princeton University, along with other staff and a keen group of students, made a visiting journalist welcome to the campus. Friends and family, in one way or another, pitched in and kept me company; a short, if incomplete, list includes Julie Talen, Margaret Scott, Ray Schroth, Kevin Doyle and Mary Sullivan and their family, Bob Muir and his people, and the Jorisch family. Thanks, again, to Cathy Cipressi and her family, my parents, Phil and Mary Dwyer, and my brothers Pat, Phil, and John and their families. And first and last, Cathy, Maura, and Catherine, not only give me my daily bread, but forgive me my fairly frequent trespasses.

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages of your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Entries in italics refer to diagrams and captions.

  Abelians, Ana

  Abruzzo, John

  Aguiar, J. J.

  air defense system

  airplanes, hijacked, not tracked

  air-traffic-control system

  Alcamo, Nat

  Alderman, Jane

  Alderman, Peter

  Al Qaeda

  Ambrosio, Michael

  ambulance staging area

  American Airlines Flight

  American Bureau of Shipping

  Amoroso, Christopher

  Andreacchio, Jack

  Andrea Doria (ship)

  Aon Insurance,

  Apocalypse Now

  Arce, David,

  Ardizzone, Lenny,

  Arnone, Victor J.

  Arrowsmith, Mary Jo

  Ascher, Tom

  August 6, 2001, memo

  Aviation 6 (police helicopter)

  Aviation 14 (police helicopter)

  Aviation Emergency Preparedness Working Group (1990)

  Aviation Unit, 1993 rescue and

  Aviles, Ezra,

  Aviles, Mildred “Millie”

  Baccellieri, Capt. Joseph

  Bailey, Brett

  Banks, Jerry

  Barnum, P. T.

  Bear, Stearns

  Beast Financial Systems

  Benfante, Michael

  Berry, Joseph

  Beyea, Ed

  Beyea, Janet

  Biegeleisen, Marion

  Biegeleisen, Shimmy

  bin Laden, Osama

  Billy, Rich

  Birns, Harold

  Bitwinski, Peter

  Bloomberg, Mayor Michael R.

  Bloomberg L.P.

  Boyle, Michael

  Brady, Greg

  Bramante, Anthony

  Bramante, Jack

  Braud, Roselyn

  Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute

  Brown, Lt. Raymond

  Bryan, Rick

  Bucaretti, Frank

  Bucca, Fire Marshal Ron

  building code

  of 1938

  of 1968

  of 1984

  roof access and

  Bukowski, Richard W.

  Burke, Capt. William, Jr.

  Burns, Deputy Chief Donald

  Bush, George W.

  Butler, Billy

  Buzzelli, Pasquale

  Byrne, Robert

  Caffrey, Phillip

  Cahill, Joseph

  Calderon, Ed

  Callan, Assistant Chief Joseph

  Camaj, Roko

  Canary Wharf bomb, City of London

  Cantor Fitzgerald

  Capriotti, Richard

  Carpio, Ivhan

  Carr Futures

  Carter, Abigail

  Castellanos, Elsie

  Cava, Raffaele

  Cerquiera, John

  Chanfrau, Nelson

  Charest, Steve

  Chase Manhattan Bank

  Cheney, Dick

  Cherry, Stephen

  Chiafari, Lt. Joseph

  Chuo Mitsui Trust

  CIA offices

  Ciccone, James

  Ciffone, Ed

  Clark, Brian

  Clearstream Banking

  Clinton, Hillary Rodham

  CNN

  Coll, Bobby

  commodities markets

  communication problems. See also radio

  between firefighters and commanders

  between firefighters and police

  lives lost by

  Connors, Jim

  Cosgrove, Joe

  Cosgrove, Kevin

  Cosmos International

  Coughlin, Dennis

  Coulthurst, Dana

  Cowan, Donovan

  Crédit Agricole Indosuez

  Crown,
Keating

  Cullen, Patricia

  Curci, Michael

  Curtin, Sgt. Michael

  Custom House (6 World Trade Center)

  Dack, Caleb Arron

  DeCosta, Carlos

  D’Agostino, Sal

  D’Allara, John

  Data Synapse

  Day, Jace

  Dechalus, Sarah

  “defend in place” strategy

  DeFontes, Dianne

  Delendick, Rev. John

  Delgado, Manuel

  De Leon, Marcia

  DeLuca, Peter

  De Martini, Frank

  De Martini, Nicole

  Demczur, Jan

  DeRiso, Will

  DeRosa, Deputy Chief Steven C.

  Devery, Fire Marshal Jim

  DeVona, Sgt. Al

  DiFrancesco, Ronald

  DiFulco, Pasquale

  DiGiovanni, John

  DiMola, Frank

  Dinkins, David N.

  Dolan, Brendan

  Dowdican, Dennis

  Doyle, Frank

  Doyle, Kimmy

  Drinker Biddle & Reath

  Drohan, Gerry

  Duch, Elaine

  Dunn, Chief Vincent

  Eckert, Beverly

  Edelstein, Ed

  Egan, Cardinal Edward

  Eisenberg, Eric

  Eisenhardt, Robert

  Eisenstadt, Bob

  elevators

  blind shafts and

  building codes and

  cars found working

  doors don’t open

  failure of

  fireballs through

  people stuck in

  rentable space vs.

  sky lobbies and

  Emergency Medical Services

  emergency response

  failures of communication and coordination and

  hearings on, of 2004

  Emergency Services Unit (ESU police)

  Emery, Ed

  Emery Roth & Sons

  Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield

  Empire State Building

  Eng, Doris

  Engel, Rev. Paul

  Engeldrum, Christian P.

  Ensler, Keith

  Equitable Building fire of 1912

  Erdey, Richard

  Esposito, Chief Joseph

  Euro Brokers

  evacuation chair (evac-u-chair)

  Evans, Robert

  Fabiano, Michael

  Falco, Tommy

  Farrell, Kristen

  Farrell, Sgt. Tim

  FBI

  Feaser, Tom

  February 26, 1993 bombing

  building collapse threat and

  communications failures and

  De Martini and

  danger of attack considered after

  drills ignored after

  elevator blind shafts and

  evacuation and

  evacuation orders criticized after

  evacuation through shopping concourse and

  evacuation uncertainty and

  evac-u-chairs and

  fire wardens and

  helicopters and

  KBW and

  memories of, and south tower evacuation

  memories of, jolted when first plane hits

  Mizuho evacuation and

  OEM bunker and

  Sandler O’Neill and

  stairways and

  uncontrolled evacuation and

  Federal Aviation Administration

  Feeney, Garth

  Feeney, Judy

  Fern, Richard

  Fetchet, Bradley

  Fetter, Rich

  Fiduciary Trust

  fire alarm system, automated

  fire command centers

  exterior

  interior

  West Street

  fire command desks, in lobbies

  fire command post, near fire

  Fire Department of New York (FDNY)

  communication and information problems

  coordination problems with NYPD

  deaths in

  evacuation order authority and

  February 1993 bombing and

  firefighters unaware of situation before collapse

  helicopters not controlled by

  impossibility of fighting fires in WTC and

  interagency radio problems and

  manual, on controlling evacuation

  nomenclature and rank

  oral histories

  roof access and

  roof rescues and

  tall building safety problems and

  WTC safety and

  Fire Engineering magazine

  firefighters. See also Fire Department of New York; and specific firefighters

  aggressiveness of response of

  climb up, during evacuation

  communication failures and

  equipment carried by

  floors collapse and

  lack information from high floors

  lack way to reach people on higher floors

  in north tower

  ordered out of north tower

  from outside Manhattan

  respond to distress calls and evacuate floors

  in south tower

  fireproofing

  building code and

  early debate over

  evacuation policy and

  federal investigation of 2004 and

  tests on, apparently not done despite concerns

  “fire tower,” code of 1938 vs. 1968

  fire vehicle staging area

  fire wardens

  Fischer, Lt. John

  Fitzpatrick, Deputy Fire Commissioner Tom

  Fitzpatrick, Mike

  5 World Trade Center

  booster installed at

  PAPD calls, and instructions to people in south tower

  police desk in

  Flaherty, Liam

  Flores, James

  Foodim, Anne

  4 World Trade Center

  Frank, David

  Fred Alger Management

  Fredericks, Susan

  Freeman, Tamitha

  freight elevators

  Friedenreich, Harry

  Frost, Frederick G.

  Fuji Bank. See Mizuho Capital Markets/Fuji Bank

  Fuller, Irma

  Fusco, Chief Anthony L.

  Gabrielle, Monica

  Gabrielle, Richard

  Gaeta, Gerry

  Galvin, Deputy Chief Tom

  Ganci, Chief Peter

  Garban ICAP

  Gartenberg, James

  Gentul, Alayne

  Gentul, Jack

  George, Linda

  Geraghty, Battalion Chief Ed

  Gertler, Jeff

  Giardina, Anthony

  Giuliani, Mayor Rudolph W.

  Gladstone, Dianne

  Goldwasser, Nathan

  Gomez, Manny

  Gorsuch, Jennifer

  Goya, Yuji

  Greene, Ken

  Griffin, John

  Grogan, Thomas

  Guzman, Genelle

  Hachinski, Katherine

  Hagerty, Karen

  Hall, James

  Halper, Sean

  Hanley, Christopher

  Hanna, Mak

  Hansen, Tina

  Hansson, Lt. Gregg

  Harris, Josephine

  Harvey, Emeric

  Hayden, Deputy Chief Peter

  Hayes, Det. Timothy

  Hayes, Phil

  Heeran, Bernie

  Heeran, Charles

  helicopters

  communication failure and

  February 1993 rescue and

  firefighters and coordination problems and

  information on status of towers and

  lack of, for roof rescue

  predict collapse of north tower

  told not to allow plane to hit towers

  Herold, Gary

  Hessic, Norma
<
br />   High Rise/ Fire & Life Safety (O’Hagan)

  Hingson, Michael

  Hoerner, Ron

  Hoey, Patrick

  Holder, Eric

  Holland, Joe

  Hult, Bill

  Hurley, Michael

  Hutton, Elnora

  Ill, Capt. Fred

  I.Q. Financial Systems

  Ito, Akane

  Iyer, Shivam

  Jacobs, Mike

  Jacobs, Richard

  Jacobson, Steve

  Jakubek, Mark

  Jimeno, Allison

  Jimeno, Bianca

  Jimeno, Will

  Johnson, Ann

  Johnson, Eric

  Johnson, Scott

  Jonas, Capt. Jay

  Jos, Mary

  Judge, Rev. Mychal

  Julian Studley real estate

  Kahane, Meir, assassination of

  Kane, Howard

  Kane, Lori

  Karnes, Staff Sgt. David

  Keane, Sue

  Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW)

  Kelhetter, Yvonne

  Keller, Joe

  Kelly, Kathleen “Kitty”

  Kelly, Pat

  Kelly, Tom

  Kelly, Vickie Cross

  Kelly, William

  Kemper Insurance

  Keslo, Edward

  Kestenbaum, Howard

  King, Robert, Jr.

  Kirkpatrick, Bob

  Knapp, Steve

  Komorowski, Matt

  Kopytko, Scott

  Kornblum, Barry

  Koskuba, Stephanie

  Kravette, David

  Kravette, Janice

  Kross, Lt. Mickey

  Labriola, John

  Laden, Osama bin, see bin Laden, Osama

  La Guardia Airport traffic controllers

  Langer, David

  Larsen, Scott

  Lasar, Rita

  Lawrence, Vanessa

  Leavey, Lt. Joseph

  Leclaire, David

  Lee, Stuart

  Leone, Theresa

  Lesce, Louis

  level 4 mobilization

  Levin, Neil

  Levy, Malcolm P.

  Lillo, Carlos

  Lillo, Cecilia

  Lim, David

  Lipson, Moe

  Local Law

  Lombardi, Frank

  Los Angeles roof rescues

  Low, Robert

  Lower Manhattan Cultural Council