![]() ![]() The truck shook, and when I looked out the window, it seemed like I was in a snow blizzard at night. Now alone and looking out the front window, I could see this massive cloud coming my way, I just stood there, frozen, thinking of the best place to be in the truck for structural support, as I waited for a large piece of the Tower to land on me. As I saw the antenna on the North Tower along with the top floors coming down, it dawned on me that I was way too close and jumped back into the fire truck. This was the scariest one because I could see it coming down, whereas the South Tower I could not see. Just when I was able to see something outside the window other than white dust, we emerged from the truck, and everything was covered just like it snowed.Īs people were getting their composure back, the North Tower came down. As I looked out the window, I could not see anything but a white cloud, which seemed like it took forever to clear up. I ran into the truck along with a few police officers to try and protect the special equipment located in the resource area of the truck. ![]() ![]() It was the sound of the South Tower collapsing. I just thought it was the aftermath of the explosion of another plane, but it was not a plane that made that roaring sound. Next thing you know, there is this plume of white smoke and debris heading up the West Side Highway along with debris falling from the sky. I was distracted by this roaring sound, which got louder and louder, which I thought was another plane picking up speed before crashing into one of the Towers. ![]() The department's first member died by a jumper. Our fire trucks were left within 300 feet of the North Tower, and I made the decision to move both of our trucks one block north up the West Side Highway, just north of Vesey Street, a move which saved my life and possibly the lives of some police officers.Īfter repositioning the last truck, I could not help but stand motionless, which seemed like forever, staring up at the North Tower and watching people free-falling from 100 stories up, knowing that they were not going to survive. While I was preparing things on the truck, other members of my unit headed across the street to the command post for orders. The job entails getting additional equipment warmed up and ready, communications, obtaining information, processing it and being ready. My job that morning was the resource man, a position hated the most in our house. We made it down to Manhattan from Queens in 28 minutes during rush hour - about 40 minutes before the South Tower collapsed. Within a minute, 14 members were responding on three fire trucks to Manhattan. Nobody believed him, so we went outside to call his bluff. 11, I was due to get off my 24-hour shift in 15 minutes, when one of our now missing firefighters was looking at the New York City skyline and yelled to all of us in the firehouse that a plane just hit the Trade Center. He did not wish to be identified by his last name. 11, Anthony of the Bronx is the only survivor. (Editor's Note:) Among 20 members of Squad 288 and Hazardous Materials Company One in Maspeth, Queens who were called to the Twin Towers Sept. World Trade Center attack, a first-person account Maspeth firefighters lost in rescue efforts Sept 11. ![]()
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