Ten years later, we look back and remember. In , there were approximately ambulance tours every day for a city of more than eight million residents and countless tourists. Assuming each unit had a minimum two-member crew on board, nearly EMTs and paramedics were on site when the towers fell. The 6. The Capitol could fit into any one of the five wedge-shaped sections.
It has stairways, 19 escalators and 16 parking lots. Although the death toll at the Pentagon was less than that at the World Trade Center, the same command and control, firefighting and associated physical and emotional stressors were present in the Arlington, Va. Because of all the partners that were going to be there, he knew this particular incident was going to need a senior adviser.
Plaugher notes that because of the Pentagon and other government facilities located in the Arlington and the metropolitan Washington, D. One of the first things Plaugher did when he arrived on scene at the Pentagon was requisition a U. Park Police helicopter to do a thorough aerial survey of the damage and determine the true scope of the incident.
It was an action that helped him understand the extent of damage that occurred as a result of the attack and helped him formulate a workable incident operation plan with the operations chiefs on scene.
Arlington Fire Rescue crews were also confronted with spectators that simply abandoned their vehicles on the adjacent highways, military personnel and others who self-dispatched to the scene and the rumors and reports of additional planes en route to the Pentagon. These factors forced emergency personnel to rapidly evacuate their patients and crews on more than one occasion during the incident. They started transporting burned and traumatized patients to nearby hospitals. They dodged the falling bodies of people who elected to jump more than stories to their deaths rather than die in the fires that raged on the upper floors of the north and south towers.
The responders who were there that day, say that the sound of those bodies crashing to the ground will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Searing hot and acrid, it could barely be called air. Kim had been walking toward the lobby of the South Tower when it started to fall. Like many at the scene that day, he mistook the roar of the tumbling building for the third plane that was reportedly heading to New York.
He dove under a New York Presbyterian Hospital sport-utility vehicle for protection. When he finally emerged, a thick blanket of gray dust blocked the sun and covered everything within his limited eyesight. The eerie silence was pierced by a single sound—the PASS alarms of hundreds of firefighters. It was a sound he had never heard before—and never wants to hear again. Testing completed by the EPA in the days following the collapse of the towers revealed a complexity of chemical compounds and particulate structures unlike anything ever encountered.
Dust particles, especially those in the air immediately following the collapse of the buildings, were measured at 10 microns or less; particles so small that they are capable of doing damage regardless of the chemical content because of their ability to be inhaled and transferred deep into the lower lungs.
For years, first responders fought for health benefits to help pay for the expensive tests and treatments they required. On Jan. This is a help, but due to the slow-moving wheels of bureaucracy, it comes very late for responders who had already endured years of fiscal, physical and emotional hardship.
Some have already died. Emotional Toll Even 10 years later, many of the responders are haunted by quirks of fate that day. If the building had held up for just a few seconds longer, another person wondered if they would have made it into the lobby and certain death. The decision not to take shelter in a subway stairwell or simply to run left instead of right, made the difference between life and death that horrible day.
Some say they have a tendency to hurry their patient out of high rises and into the confines of their ambulance located on the firm ground below. Some are still being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. A number of them no longer work in EMS.
Some have sought professional counseling. Others wish they had. His body, identified with DNA match, was found with his medical bag and identification in the North Tower rubble. Hamdani is listed on panel S , the north edge of the South Memorial Pool, an area for people who worked in or were visiting the South Tower or other areas of the complex.
He appears on panel S with two other court officers. This year and in the years ahead, I will pause to silently remember and reflect on the selfless service of Quinn, Lillo, Fairben, Santoro, Schwartz, Merino, Pearlman and Sullins.
And I will also remember Simpson, Hamdani and Wallace as caregivers who undoubtedly were serving others. Note: this article was updated on October 11, with additional information about Mohammad Salman Hamdani. Greg served as the EMS1 editor-in-chief for five years. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's degree from the University of Idaho.
He is an educator, author, national registry paramedic since , and a long-distance runner. Greg was a recipient of the EMS 10 Award for innovation. He is also a three-time Jesse H. Connect with Greg on Twitter or LinkedIn and submit an article idea or ask questions with this form. You must enable JavaScript in your browser to view and post comments. More EMS1 Articles. Studies have shown that those exposed to World Trade Center dust were more likely to develop lung problems, respiratory symptoms, sinus problems or asthma.
Slideshow photos by Jack Montgomery. Many more are battling illnesses believed to stem from the contaminated air at the site. Research has found thyroid, colon, prostate and blood cancers more prevalent among FDNY members who served at Ground Zero than those who did not. He recently shared some staggering statistics with us, including:.
Being on a high floor of the World Trade Center, evacuating late or working for an employer that sustained fatalities. These groups were especially at risk:.
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