Newspaper article on NYC Authority clean air projects in Queens,

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. . I actually thought a plane WaS COmlng because of th e viFhc*tt people really were saying run, run' c 3 o CT

Han&son We got In front of (lie — I bc- guys. We got to gut them out their hitndsets... command station. 1 was told they tohl us run away, you 24m Manhattan lieve it was the Marriott I hurt of there... 'There was so A couple guys were saying by someone who had actually have to evacuate inunedialely, Responded to Ooe World heard somebody yell, “RunT I debris on that street at all from that they were trapped, they witnessed the plane hitting it becausetoe secondbuildSHgis Trade Center and was on a tried to run... I woke up. I the first plane. 1 drove right up were buried, they couldn’t that it was ind^d a plane. Up going to collapse h floor in the 30s when the call partiaiiy underneath a — I demt there and then like I said, I bad breatte, they were running out until that point. 1 th^ght It We were like, ‘Oh, my God^ came to cv^uate; know. It had to be some type of just opened my door and the air, ft was pretty eerie to was a bomb... ft can’t be possible.’ Patients We w^u try’ing to formulate motor vehicle, because I could se<»nd ~ I thought it was the hear that over the department The only report that 1 ro- were already hooked into a {flan with the battalion chief see the exhauct and there was a secondary explosloD. I didn’t radio, something that I never member was that somebody, I their oxygen lines and their as to how we were going to get fireman dicing (out] my leg, know ft was another plane Io thought I would hear and I believe in the FBI, had a tele­ masks. They were strapped up somewhere around the because my legs got burled, the the south tower, became when never want to hear again. Who phone conversation with some­ into long boards and all (hat 9€>tii floor, being that we were rest of me was underneath the I heard it, I locked up and I those members were, I don’t body on the 51st floor report­ kind of stuff and there was too already exhausted at this point car... I remember he puiiexi me saw debris. It had to be debris know. 'What their outcome ing that there’s jet fuel on that many of them, so we had to ... I was in the vic’tojty of toe out and I aefoaliy thot^t a flying over from the south was, I don’t know. floor. It wa.sn't clear to us unstrap them, remove their battalion chief, who was on the plane was comw because of tower. Not much, but there ... 1 realized everybody that exactly what floor the ’impact face masks and just assist I command channel when I the roaring sound. That's when was enough coming down in had heard those transreussions was on, but I knew it was them as good as we could,: heard a mayday given over the he told me the lower collapsed. the slrcci where I took off and thought they were going into higher than that... becaiise there was too many command channel to evacuate I dtickcd Into a garage until it hell, basically.... I came in from the con­ for us. '^e are doing this or '■ ■ i I .. J (he building. He started to tell FoteMT Chief .cleared up. Ok of the funny things was course, and I don’t recall hav­ just let them die there. Believe everyone to evacuate, os I did. DanM Nigro After toe secondary explo- — I don't know if you’d want ing a problem entering with all me they rum ; ■ also. I saw all the units get up. Tomy si(Mi in the north tower, I Io say it wus funny. But I re­ the pwple exiting. It was nor As soon as wt let them go -a Everybody got their gear. recollection. didn’t taiow what the IieO — I member looking up at the an Issue I do remember civil­ they just disappeared.'as wc EverybtxJy started for the wo had didnl know it was another building and seeing the vol-. ■ ■ ians in the area exiting, but v did. 'Wc started nuintog and staiicases to evacuate. Ladder never put plane that had hit until I got ume of fire that ww in the ■' never Ute masses of people nuwingand runni^and 1 just . .... 51 know for a feci had been out a nre building, and I grabbed Mark that were cloffimg things. remember... lookup back ■. going down stairway B, which that involved Ferran by his turnout coat and The radio, that I carry is an and s^ing the doud. was in the elevator bank in the that many I pulled him ar me and I said. 800 inegahertz connected to First listening to this . •: • middle of the building. Engine floors in a “You know what. Chief, we’re the OEM channels. I was trans­ sound,.this thundering:. 3,3 ~~ Fm sot positive but I high-rise building In this city in a collapse zone hcre.’’He - mitting and receivir^ AU the sound .and then silence after . believe they went to stairway before I think more or less the looked at me and he .said, ■' Fire Department radios that I thaL-iike-eerie silence, until. C. which Lbelieve was the direction of — io both cowers “That’s not coming down”... was aware of were transmit­ the cloud caught up to us southwest comer. I wnt back ended up, evacuation was the goii^ to fte^ a lot of help A h’jsge cloud of I guess it ting, you know, you could hear and suxrounded us and you ' •••.'. to my men wth Ladder 20 to main, the initial concern. Gel aert. You better get some was just smoke from the col­ all the conversations gou^ on. could seo no more ., / stairway A Still in the hallway. as many people out of the more chaplains.'’ He smiled lapse itself shot out... It was We did hear the jumpers lump­ nw only thing I was able to; , rr,. •! ■ we heard a big shake in the building as wo could,” and said something. 1 forget easily 20,30 stories high, this ing. listen was to my breathir^. I • building. It’s my belief that what he said. I don’t remember cloud. So that brings us up, you mean it was — oh, my God, it ■ was the Tower Two coming Chief of Operations what he said. Thai was the last As you were ronnwg. you know, the next key point is v/its such a weird feeling. It down. Fm not positive, but you Salvatore Caosano time I saw Irino.” were watching the cloud catch- wlwin the next plane coanes. wasjpst lite hu, hu, hu. Slow could definitely feel an incredi- When the south tower col­ up to you... You didn't We heard the engines... You motion like in a tynnel. bteshake... lapsed, what we did was we Rte Lt. Brembn Wl^an know what was in it. if (here beard this thump and the rain r^pt on walking, running The chief had directed us. either ran, got blown or fell Engine Co. 35 rt M^riiattan was beat in h—actually I was of debris coming down.. .It and w^Wng. and running and after this big loud shaking, to down that garage, into that Recalling his jourcey to the thinking there was going to be was^pretty clear then that waliring, uaiU someone saw - get in the stairways... At that garage. That’s where we all World Trade Center from two huge boulders coming down these weren't acodests. ft me and pfcted me up. It was time I orefered my men, '"Let’s went. And after the dust and to three minutes north: r^t down West Street and also clear then that there an ambulance that was pick­ get out." So we started to gut smote cleared, someone On the way down, we beard basically knock us over like wasn’t any control of that up up emergency personnel. out.,. showed us an exit. 1 went up the upper collapse of the first bowUr^ pins. building, no elevators, ctmusu- Th^ wore plckiog ap para­ We went down stairway A. an exit stairway and came out buikling. That’s probably one nications above. medics and EMTs and police .... ...... We got down to the third the lobby of the building ... of the things that III never Capt. John Kevin Culley ofticefs and firefighters. They floor, and the third floor was 1 started to walk north to try forget, because after the mitial Office of Emergency Management Paramedic Nei Sweating took us to the — drop us at partially blocked by some to get people to set up a com­ collapse, there was total si­ Oa<« the plane hit. there We started running. People the bus terminal, somewhere Shcetrock. We started to move mand post farther nonh ... I lence on the radios, the depart­ was co debris, or it fell. What were diving into the back of on the West Side Midway. that when a firefighter... said realized we have people up ment radio. The next thing, we did have coming out of the ambulances that were open - to me that you can’t get down iberfi^bi the north towerl. The members that were trapped in txuiding'were people... and on the hoods of ambulanc­ eWef John Sarfnik that staircase, there’s no exit building is loaded with our' vehicles were screaming over Once I arrived at the fire es, cars. Anything that was I was trying to get account­ that way, and he needed help moving, they were tryii^ to ability of how many units we with a civilian ... He was on get into. There was one arobu- had on the scene responded to. the ground. We assisted him io k , lance, there must have been 25 an order from Chief Downey trying to remove this guy. We R people piled into the back of it: to ger five truck companies to made our way to staircase C, I I tiremen, policemen, civilians, to biro, and I guess he ■ i h EMS. gave them an order to go to ' ■We finally managed with' * fe We started running, but Tower 'Fwo, don’t know great difficulty to get this ^y down IO the first floor, and we were directed by Fort Authori­ I .Jt. ,K*\< : there was a woman on Vesey fc.- Street between the Fioanebi h Center and. ihc complex, like which oTCs those were,- It was •'• ■ > bnd of crazy at that point, :

A " ** 'W* So after Tower Two start-...... ty police officers to die lobby g- the plaza, and she got hit with ed coBiuig down everybody area of the north side of the ? ■* something. She just went reaiy pretty much took . ! M 'lYade Center, which was a down like a shot She got up becliic into the garage area couple of doors fight in the • and tried to nm and just col­ where we were operating middle. 'Wc had two officers lapsed again. You could see anybody who was operating there who said, “Hold up. that she had snapped her leg, near that command post or There's people jumping out of ■ her ankle.,. The poor woman al the command post most toe bttiWing and there’s a lot of B was trying to run. got out didn’t see where debris coming down." They were actually looking up oul- • -I It John Nevins everybody went but know a lot of guys took cover down slde the building wheo wc & Fire (derations below ... were still in the lobby. They >-« << Just prior to the collapse of So 1 went out the way 1 said it was OK to go. and wc started to bring this guy I ( Two'%'orid Trade Center fihe south tower I, probably 5 to 10 minutes. Chief Fr^ Vilbtu came. There was some de­ bris that 1 was able (o get across.” over. Before I knew it, I was * ’ arrived at our location and he walking up the ramp again. I EMTW^bm'hvocoKo was transiiioning into taking kind of assumed I was out­ Battalto 26 ki tte Bronx over the staging at that loca- side and I kept walking and Was at Liberty and West It Lion. walked into tree. T'bat w^s streets heading for the Marri- Ac that point Two World it. I got out there. There oitr Trade Center began to coi- was nothing, it was total There was people running all <1 bpsc. I was directed by Chief silence. No .sign — I mean > over die place. A lot of emergen- ViUani to run ... you couldn’t see anything, g cy vehicles going back and ftnth. Following the collapse, we but there was no si;^ or <’ !^x>ple almost getting hit by X*. ”, . ■ r’' . attempted to regroup, shuttle anything beiog around there police ears and everything A,H, wTiviMAOK>»Moio; ambulances down to North of what was left of the com- 'rtwSQAVmvi'v^taaHi MttsA around overthere... . An exhausted firefighter rests on the back of a flatbed truck on Sept. 14.2001 End and re-establish the stag- maad post,” Emergency perscnmel search the ruins for vlctuns and fight fires at Ground Zero on Sept 11,2001.