9/11...The Tragic Story of the Day that Changed America: The Terror, The Horror and The Heroes

by Dean King

  It was NYPD’s responsibility to handle 911 emergency calls. It had about 1,200 operators, radio dispatchers and supervisors.

  The Fire Department of New York (FDNY)

  The FDNY consisted of 11,000 members and was under the supervision of a fire commissioner. A fire commissioner lacked operational authority. It was the chief of department who was in charge of operations.

  The FDNY had 205 engine companies and 133 ladder companies. Ladder companies had a captain or lieutenant and five firefighters while engine companies had a captain or a lieutenant and four firefighters. Engine companies’ primary role was to extinguish fires while ladder companies’ role was to conduct rescues.

  On September 11, companies and chiefs that responded to fires used analog, point-to-point radios. One disadvantage of point-to-point radios was that they have weak signals and could only be heard by personnel in the immediate vicinity.

  Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Interagency Preparedness

  The Mayor’s OEM was created in 1996 by Mayor Rudolph Guiliani. Primarily, its function was to monitor the city’s major communication channels and other data. A secondary purpose of OEM was to improve the city’s response to major incidents through planning and conducting exercises and drills. Lastly, the OEM was responsible for managing New York City’s overall response to an incident.

  Rescue Operations

  On September 11, just minutes after Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, the city’s 911 system was overwhelmed with eyewitness accounts. But it was not clear when the first building evacuation order was sent through the public-address system. The deputy fire safety director stationed in the lobby gave instructions for full evacuation 10 minutes after the explosion. He also immediately announced that all tenants must descend to points of safety, meaning at least two or three floors below the smoke or fire.

  Unfortunately, the public-address system was partially damaged by the impact of the plane, and the announcement for full evacuation did not reach all locations. But civilians were advised to stay low and remain where they are. At around 8:57, the PAPD and building personnel were advised to evacuate the South Tower as well, as it could be affected by the damage to the North Tower.

  Some civilians began evacuating without waiting for further instructions over the intercom while others remained to await assistance. There were Port Authority civilian employees who remained on upper floors to aid others who were trapped.

  But some civilians had difficulty reaching the exits due to damage to the floors. It was noted that some civilians jumped or fell from the building due to heat, smoke and fire.

  In the South Tower, the number of casualties was low compared to the North Tower. This was primarily attributed to the fact that after the North Tower was hit, civilians and officials in the South Tower evacuated. At first the civilians were unaware of the incident. Some people thought that the incident took place in their building while others knew that the explosion occurred on the upper floors of the North Tower.

  Those who had decided to leave the South Tower were thankful for their initiative to leave at the earliest possible time. Fire wardens had advised other civilians to evacuate immediately. Morgan Stanley, which occupied over 20 floors of the South Tower, asked its employees to evacuate as advised by the company security officials.

  Many tenants of South Tower abandoned any thought of evacuating due to announcements saying that the South Tower was safe. The South Tower’s deputy fire safety director followed protocol and told his counterpart in the North Tower that he would await further instructions from the Fire Department regarding evacuation. At the same time, tenants were told over the public-address system that the incident took place in the North Tower and that the South Tower was safe. Tenants could remain or return to their floors.

  In this announcement, the statement that the incident took place in the other building was consistent with protocol. But the expanded advice was not included in any written protocol. This only shows that those who were giving the announcements did not consider the idea that another plane might hit the South Tower. As a result, many civilians remained on their floors while those who were on their way to evacuate returned to their floors.

  Rescue in the North Tower

  FDNY’s Initial Response

  The FDNY responded five seconds after the crash. By 9:00, senior FDNY leaders, along with the Commissioner and his deputies and assistants, began responding from the Brooklyn headquarters. The Chief of Department and the Chief of Operations called for a fifth alarm. Before 10:00, 22 of the 32 senior chiefs and commissioners arrived at the WTC.

  By 8:52, a battalion chief and two ladder companies and two engine companies arrived at the North Tower and entered the lobby. There they met civilians who were badly burned. By 8:57, one engine and one ladder company took stairwell C. FDNY chiefs also commanded the evacuation of the South Tower because it might be affected by the damages in the North Tower. They probably did not consider the possibility that another plane might hit the South Tower.

  Peter Hayden, the Division Chief for Lower Manhattan, knew that they would lose firefighters, but there were somewhere between 25,000 to 50,000 civilians that must be rescued. As such, the chiefs concluded that they would do a lot of rescuing and not firefighting. But lack of access to the upper floors impeded any attempt to create a detailed mission. They also did not anticipate the possibility of a total collapse.

  NYPD’s Response

  Many NYPD officers witnessed the plane hitting the North Tower. At 8:58, the NYPD Chief of Department raised the mobilization to level 4, thus calling for all lieutenants, sergeants and police officers from all over the city. All in all, there were 922 officials who arrived at the scene.

  The NYPD officers who were stationed to West and Vesey were to direct the evacuation of civilians. The Aviation Unit had already dispatched two helicopters to report on conditions and assess the possibility of a rescue operation at the roof. The helicopter pilot reported that a rescue operation through the roof was not possible due to heavy flames and smoke.

  Two NYPD officers climbed to the 20 th floor of the North Tower, then moved up to the 29th floor. They urged civilians to evacuate, but they were not able to find a group of civilians trapped on the 22nd floor. Other officers helped injured civilians and assisted others in evacuating the area. Several officers put themselves on the line and entered the plaza and rescued civilians.

  PAPD’s Response

  A Port Authority police officer climbed stairwell C in the North Tower while other officers performed rescue and evacuation operations on the ground floors. There was no coordination of PAPD’s overall response due to lack of written standard operating procedures during a major incident and lack of adequate radio frequencies. At 9:00, the commanding officer assigned to the WTC ordered an evacuation of all civilians.

  Some officers were already assigned to aid in stairwell evacuations while others were dispatched to aid evacuation in the plaza. A PAPD superintendent and an inspector walked up stairwell B to assess the damage there. Other PAPD officers responded on their own.

  OEM Initial Response

  The officials in OEM headquarters on the 23rd floor of 7 WTC had, by 8:48, called all agencies including FDNY, NYPD, Department of Health and the Greater Hospital Association to send their representatives to the OEM.

  Rescue in the South Tower

  Between 8:46 and 9:03 AM, the largest rescue operation ever was mobilized in New York City. More than 1,000 responders were deployed to carry rescue missions. It was decided that the fire could not be fought. Everyone was busy with his task that it took them by surprise when the second plane hit the South Tower.

  Before the South Tower was hit, civilians were waiting to be evacuated.

  The express elevators were packed. When the plane hit, many civilians were instantly killed. Some were injured, while others were unharmed. One civilian took the initiative to instruct the able civilians to walk to the stairs while others should hel
p the ones in need of assistance.

  Some civilians remained alive in or near the impact zone. There was one survivor from the heart of the impact zone, who described that 81st floor as a demolition site, saying that the smell of jet fuel was suffocating. He was rescued by a civilian fire warden who had descended from an upper floor.

  About four people descended stairwell A from the 81 st floor. The stairway was dark and difficult to navigate as a result of the damages. About 100 people were alive on the 88th and 89th floors, and some were able to call 911 for assistance.

  At about 9:35, the West Street lobby of the South Tower was crowded by injured people. The able ones were directed to take the north or east exit through the concourse and out of the WTC complex.

  A small group of civilians was trapped on the 83 rd floor, not knowing whether the fire was above or below them. 911 operators were not much of help, primarily because they did not know about the incident. As a result, the callers were transferred from one operator to another and were told to remain where they were. These civilians did not make it out of the WTC.

  FDNY’s Response

  An FDNY company was able to rescue the trapped civilians on the 22 nd floor of the North Tower. Fire companies had also ascended stairwell B. They had met a large number of descending civilians. The firefighters noted that the civilians were not panicking; they were, in fact, composed and orderly. The civilians, on the other hand, were comforted by the sight of the firefighters.

  These firefighters checked that each floor they passed were empty of people. The ones they found lingering to retrieve personal belongings were told to evacuate immediately.

  A little before 10:00, one engine company in the North Tower had reached the 54th floor; at least two companies of firefighters were in the sky lobby down on the 44th floor and other units were between the 5th and 37th floors. Further rescue missions were carried out as firefighters rescued civilians trapped in elevators.

  Between 9:45 and 9:58, the battalion chief led FDNY operations on the upper floors of the South Tower. An FDNY ladder company found numerous civilians who were seriously injured on the 70th floor. Another FDNY company located civilians trapped in an elevator on the 78th-floor sky lobby.

  Evidence showed that none of the chiefs on the site believed that a total collapse was possible. But one senior chief considered the possibility that the upper floors could collapse in a few hours and that firefighters must not climb to the upper floors. Sadly, this was not conveyed to the chiefs assigned to the North Tower and to the South Tower.

  NYPD’s Response

  After the second plane hit, the Chief of Department ordered a level 4 mobilization, and this brought approximately 2,000 officers to the site. At 9:37, a 911 operator received a call from a civilian on the 106th floor of the South Tower that a lower floor was collapsing. The operator was not able to convey this information correctly to an NYPD dispatcher. And when the dispatcher conveyed the call to NYPD officers at the WTC, he said that the 106th floor was crumbling.

  The Collapse of South Tower

  At 9:58, the South Tower collapse, instantly killing all civilians and emergency personnel inside, and several individuals in the concourse, in the Marriot, and on streets near the site. South Tower collapsed into itself, unleashing a massive windstorm and debris cloud. Even the Marriot hotel was damaged as a result of the collapse of the South Tower.

  Civilians in the North Tower became more desperate as they learned of the neighboring tower’s collapse. There were still survivors in certain floors, including the 92nd and the 79th floors. There were civilians below the impact zone who were able to exit the tower. The ones descending the stairwell C were assisted by NYPD, FDNY, and PAPD personnel.

  After South Tower’s collapse, an evacuation order was released to the personnel in the North Tower. The chiefs on different floors acted with urgency, instructing firefighters to begin evacuating the tower. But there were some firefighters who had no idea about the evacuation instruction, mainly because they did not hear the transmission.

  By 10:24, about five FDNY companies reached the bottom of stairwell B and entered the North Tower lobby. A firefighter who saw the South Tower collapsed told them to leave, as the North Tower could also collapse. They were on their way to exit onto West Street when the North Tower collapsed. Some of the men were killed.

  As the South Tower collapsed, many NYPD officers were in the concourse. Many died there. Those who survived groped in the darkness and attempted to assist the civilians out of the concourse.

  The Collapse of North Tower

  At about 10:04, the NYPD aviation observed that the top 15 stories of the North Tower were glowing red, and that a collapse was imminent. Four minutes later, a helicopter pilot reported that the North Tower would not last longer.

  The ESU team on the 31 st floor began to evacuate upon hearing of South Tower’s collapse. As they descended stairwell B, they saw firefighters resting on the floor. The team advised the firefighters to evacuate, but they were not acknowledged.

  Another ESU team on the 11 th floor descended stairwell C upon receiving the evacuation order. They remained for a few minutes in the mezzanine level in case civilians were descending the stairs.

  A few minutes before the tower’s eventual collapse, there were still firefighters and police officers at the upper floors. Those who received the evacuation ordered descended through the stairs, checking each floor for survivors. Once safely out of the tower, both the officers and the civilians had difficulty going to safe locations because of falling bodies and debris.

  At 10:28, the North Tower collapsed, instantly killing all civilians on upper floors. There were also civilians and first responders who died below. Among those who died were the FDNY Chief of Department, the Port Authority Police Department Superintendent and other senior staff. 12 firefighters, a PAPD officer and 3 civilians who descended the stairwell B of the tower survived.

  The Pentagon

  The incident at the Pentagon was a combination of a plane crash, fire, and partial collapse of the building. This called for the Arlington County Fire Department to be the incident commander. The severity of the impact required for a major rescue, fire and medical services from the Arlington County. The Department of Justice was also the lead federal agency in charge.

  Unlike the rescue operations in the North and South towers of the WTC, the rescue at the Pentagon was successful for the following reasons:

  • The strong professional relationships and trust between emergency responders.

  • The Incident Command System was adopted.

  • The pursuit of a regional approach to response.

  Aside from these, the fire and police agencies had worked together before on training exercises.

  The first responders included the local, regional, state and federal agencies. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Fire Department, Fort Myer Fire Department, the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the FBI, FEMA, a National Medical Response Team and other agencies and personnel were among those that responded to the crisis.

  At 9:55, the incident commander ordered evacuation of the impact area due to an imminent collapse. It collapsed two minutes later; no responder was injured.

  Those that responded did not have much difficulty as experienced by the responders in the WTC. First, there was only one incident at the Pentagon. Second, the incident was not 1,000 feet above ground. Third, the site was relatively easier to secure and contain. Fourth, there were no other buildings near the site. And fifth, there was no collateral damage beyond the Pentagon. This was not to say that the response at the Pentagon was without difficulties. In fact, the teams experienced problems with self-dispatching and communications.

  As firefighters were extinguishing the fires, they were wary of the building. They knew it was going to collapse based from the weird sounds and creaking. Some officials observed that a cornice of the building
moved, and they immediately called for evacuation.

  At 10:10, the upper floors of the damaged building collapsed. Those who were on the fourth and fifth levels were able to evacuate safely before the building gave way. The fires intensified after the collapse and spread through five floors. The firefighters were unable to reach the fire to extinguish it so they made firebreaks to control the spreading. The following day at 18:00, it was announced that the fire was controlled but not entirely extinguished.

  Search, Rescue and Recovery After 9/11

  The rescue and recovery operations continued for days and months, with personnel and volunteers searching the rubble for any signs of life, or bodies. The operations lasted until May 2002.

  A day after the 9/11 attacks, there were 11 people rescued from the rubble. Six of these were firefighters and three were police officers. A woman was rescued near the original location of the West Side highway pedestrian bridge while two Port Authority police officers were also rescued. These police officers spent nearly 24 hours beneath 30 feet of rubble.

  Notably, several firefighters and civilians who survived made cell phone calls through the void beneath the rubble. It was difficult for rescue workers to get to them, and by Wednesday night, the officials of New York City confirmed 82 deaths.

  The search and recovery missions were a combined effort of engineers, ironworkers, electricians, asbestos workers, heavy machinery operators, insulation workers, steelworkers, riggers, machinists, American Red Cross volunteers and many others. Aside from these workers, there were also 400 working dogs that worked day and night in search of survivors.

  At the Pentagon, it was confirmed on the first day of search and rescue that no one remained alive in the damaged section of the building. News reports indicated that about 800 people died. Army troops from Fort Belvoir confirmed the presence of human remains. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue teams along with Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue were among the ones to scour the site of impact.