Rescue and recovery

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Rescue and recovery efforts

Rescue efforts

On the day following the attacks, 11 people were rescued from the rubble, including six firefighters and three police officers.[1] One woman was rescued from the rubble, near where a West Side Highway pedestrian bridge had been.[2] Two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, were also rescued. Discovered by former U.S. Marines Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes, McLoughlin and Jimeno were pulled out alive after spending nearly 24 hours beneath 30 feet of rubble.[3][4] Their rescue was later portrayed in the Oliver Stone film, World Trade Center.

Some firefighters and civilians who survived made cell phone calls from subterranean areas beneath the rubble, though the amount of debris made it difficult for rescue workers to get to them.[5]

By Wednesday night, 82 deaths had been confirmed by officials in New York City.[6]

Recovery efforts

The search and rescue effort in the immediate aftermath at the World Trade Center site involved ironworkers, structural engineers, heavy machinery operators, firefighters, police officers, asbestos workers, boilermakers, carpenters, cement masons, construction managers, electricians, emergency medical technicians, insulation workers, machinists, plumbers and pipefitters, riggers, sheet metal workers, steamfitters, steelworkers, truckers and teamsters, and many others.[7]

Security

Lower Manhattan, south of 14th Street, was off-limits, except for rescue and recovery workers.[8]

Organization

Volunteers quickly descended on Ground Zero to help in the rescue and recovery efforts. At Jacob Javits Convention Center, thousands showed up to offer help, where they registered with authorities.[9] Ironworkers, welders, steel burners, and others with such skills were in high demand. By the end of the first week, over one thousand ironworkers from across North America had arrived to help, along with countless others.[10]

The New York City Department of Design and Construction oversaw the recovery efforts. Beginning on September 12, the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) became involved in the recovery efforts, bringing in experts to review the stability of the rubble, evaluate safety of hundreds of buildings near the site, and designing support for the cranes brought in to clear the debris. The City of New York hired the engineering firm, LZA-Thornton Tomasetti, to oversee the structural engineering operations at the site.[11]

To make the effort more manageable, the World Trade Center site was divided into four quadrants or zones. Each zone was assigned a lead contractor, and a team of three structural engineers, subcontractors, and rescue workers.[11]

  • AMEC - North Tower along West Street
  • Bovis Lend Lease - South Tower along Liberty Street
  • Tully Construction Company, Inc. - Eastern portion of the WTC site
  • Turner/Plaza Construction Joint Venture - Northern portion and 7 World Trade Center

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Army Corp of Engineers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) provided support.[11]

A nearby Burger King was used as a center for police operations.[12]

Debris removal

"The Pile" was the term coined by the rescue workers to describe the tons of wreckage left from the collapse of the World Trade Center.[12] They avoided the use of "ground zero," which describes the epicenter of a bomb explosion.

Numerous volunteers organized to form "bucket brigades", which passed 5-gallon buckets full of debris down a line to investigators, who sifted through the debris in search of evidence and human remains. Ironworkers helped cut up steel beams in to more manageable sizes for removal. Much of the debris was hauled off to the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island where it was searched and sorted.[12]

Hazards

Hazards at the World Trade Center site included a diesel fuel tank buried seven stories below.[7] Approximately 2,000 automobiles that had been in the parking garage also presented a risk, with each containing, on average, five gallons of gasoline. Once recovery workers reached down to the parking garage level, they found some cars that had exploded and burned.[7] The United States Customs Service, which was housed in 6 World Trade Center, had 1.2 million rounds of ammunition and weapons in storage in a third-floor vault, to support their firing range.[7]

Morale

Morale of rescue workers was boosted on September 14, 2001 when President George W. Bush paid a visit to Ground Zero. Using a bullhorn, Bush addressed the firefighters and rescue workers, and thanked them.[13] Bush remarked, "I'm shocked at the size of the devastation, It's hard to describe what it's like to see the gnarled steel and broken glass and twisted buildings silhouetted against the smoke. I said that this was the first act of war on America in the 21st century, and I was right, particularly having seen the scene."[14]

At some point, rescue workers realized that they were not going to find any more survivors. After a couple weeks, the conditions at Ground Zero remained harsh, with lingering odors of decaying human remains and smoke. Moral among workers was boosted by letters they received from children around the United States and the world, as well as support from thousands of neighbors in TriBeCa and other Lower Manhattan neighborhoods.[15]

Debris found

  • Sections of the two jetliners that crashed into the buildings were also recovered, including wheels and pieces of the cockpit.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "America Under Attack: The Aftermath, Larry King Live", CNN, September 12, 2001 - 21:00 ET.
  2. ↑ McFadden, Robert D.. "Stunned Rescuers Comb Attack Sites, But Thousands are Presumed Dead", The New York Times, September 13, 2001.
  3. ↑ Murphy, Dean E.. "A DAY OF TERROR: THE HOPES; Survivors Are Found In the Rubble", The New York Times, September 12, 2001.
  4. ↑ Filkins, Dexter. "AFTER THE ATTACKS: ALIVE; Entombed for a Day, Then Found", The New York Times, September 13, 2001.
  5. ↑ Greene, Ronnie. "Searchers Sift Through Grim Scene", The Miami Herald, September 13, 2001.
  6. ↑ Zucchino, David. "Agonizing Search for Survivors; New York: Rescue efforts continue on thin hopes. Residents offer aid, look for loved ones.", Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2001.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 A Dangerous Worksite. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
  8. ↑ McCoy, Kevin and Donna Leinwand. "Digging into rubble yields bit of hope", USA Today, September 13, 2001.
  9. ↑ Stamey, Mark. "Volunteers are Lining Up by the Thousands", The New York Post, September 15, 2001.
  10. ↑ Hetter, Katia. "Ironworkers Offer Help at WTC", Newsday, September 15, 2001.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Domel, Jr., August (November 2001). World Trade Center Disaster: Structural Engineers at Ground Zero.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Hamill, Denis. "Rescue Workers Keep Up Quest for Signs of Life Ruin All Over, But Not One Unkind Word", Daily News (New York), September 16, 2001.
  13. ↑ "President tours disaster scene; Bush calls New York rescue workers; heroes in the eyes of American public", The Globe and Mail, September 15, 2001.
  14. ↑ Zucchino, David and Stephen Braun. "Bush Tours 'The Pit,' Vows Action; Aftermath: Rescuers are cheered by a visit that's marked by a patriotic rally. The president is shocked by the enormity of the devastation.", Los Angeles Times, September 15, 2001.
  15. ↑ Sutherland, Ann DeStefano and Tim Baney (2003) Up From Zero, Production Link LLC
  16. ↑ Rescue hopes rise and fall; Bits of good news scant as emergency teams keep digging The San Diego Union-Tribune September 14, 2001

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