102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers (37 page)
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Authors: Jim Dwyer,Kevin Flynn
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A big group from the New York State Department of Taxation:
Ling Young, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
Ling Young, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
… Cowan pushed the button for the 97th floor:
Donovan Cowan, interview by Ford Fessenden, May 2002.
Donovan Cowan, interview by Ford Fessenden, May 2002.
Silvion Ramsundar and Christine Sasser:
Christine Sasser, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002.
Christine Sasser, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002.
Howard Kestenbaum, another Aon colleague:
Judy Wein, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002; interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
Judy Wein, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002; interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
He dived under his desk, screaming:
Stanley Praimnath, video statement and testimony before 9/11 Commission, May 2004; interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002.
Stanley Praimnath, video statement and testimony before 9/11 Commission, May 2004; interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002.
The time was 9:02:59 A.M.:
The times used here for both plane crashes are those established by the NIST, which based its readings on the moment power was lost to television broadcasters working on the top floor of the north tower. The NIST times are five seconds later than those established through seismographic records at the Columbia Lamont-Doherty Station in Palisades, New York. From the seismographic time, the moment of impact was calculated based on how long it should have taken the waves from the impacts to travel twenty-two miles to the station. The NIST times, while lacking the elegant arithmetical acrobatics, have the virtue of being directly fixed by the moment the broadcasters lost power.
The times used here for both plane crashes are those established by the NIST, which based its readings on the moment power was lost to television broadcasters working on the top floor of the north tower. The NIST times are five seconds later than those established through seismographic records at the Columbia Lamont-Doherty Station in Palisades, New York. From the seismographic time, the moment of impact was calculated based on how long it should have taken the waves from the impacts to travel twenty-two miles to the station. The NIST times, while lacking the elegant arithmetical acrobatics, have the virtue of being directly fixed by the moment the broadcasters lost power.
… across nine floors, from 77 through 85:
NIST, Interim Report, December 2003, p. 14.
NIST, Interim Report, December 2003, p. 14.
The wing of the jet was jammed into a door:
Praimnath testimony, 9/11 Commission, May 2004; interview.
Praimnath testimony, 9/11 Commission, May 2004; interview.
It was filled with people:
Michael Otten, interview by Lauren Wolfe, December 11, 2002.
Michael Otten, interview by Lauren Wolfe, December 11, 2002.
The plane’s speed was 545 miles per hour:
The speed of both airplanes is given in the interim report of NIST, June 2004.
The speed of both airplanes is given in the interim report of NIST, June 2004.
Donovan Cowan, one finger poised at the button:
Cowan, interview.
Cowan, interview.
… anothter twenty people were alive:
Wein, interviews.
Wein, interviews.
Reyher crawled across them:
Reyher account is drawn from the interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002, and Dennis Cauchan and Martha Moore, “Inches Decide Life, Death on 78th Floor,”
USA Today,
September 3, 2002.
Reyher account is drawn from the interview by Eric Lipton, April 2002, and Dennis Cauchan and Martha Moore, “Inches Decide Life, Death on 78th Floor,”
USA Today,
September 3, 2002.
Ling Young, who worked in the state tax department:
Young, interview.
Young, interview.
A sixth colleague, Mary Jos, had been knocked cold:
Mary Jos, interview by Ford Fessenden, April 2002.
Mary Jos, interview by Ford Fessenden, April 2002.
Ed Nicholls, thrown to the ground, saw a fire:
Ed Nicholls, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
Ed Nicholls, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 2, 2002.
… Michael Sheehan had been gazing at the airline itinerary:
Sheehan, interview.
Sheehan, interview.
On the 81 st floor, where part of the wing was lodged in the doorway:
Praimnath, interview.
Praimnath, interview.
They retreated to the stairs and began to head down:
Brian Clark, interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002; interview by Jim Dwyer, August 4, 2004.
Brian Clark, interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002; interview by Jim Dwyer, August 4, 2004.
Above them, Ron DiFrancesco had caught up:
Ron DiFrancesco, interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002.
Ron DiFrancesco, interview by Eric Lipton, May 2002.
Chapter 8: “You can’t go this way.”
Now that he was in the stairs, nothing would slow him:
Richard Fern, e-mail, September 2001, provided by Mr. Fern.
Richard Fern, e-mail, September 2001, provided by Mr. Fern.
Fern would navigate this line down the next 1,512 steps:
E-mail correspondence with Alan Reiss, January 15, 2004. There were nine steps per flight, two flights per story, with occasional deviations from this pattern as the staircase neared the lobby.
E-mail correspondence with Alan Reiss, January 15, 2004. There were nine steps per flight, two flights per story, with occasional deviations from this pattern as the staircase neared the lobby.
Puma spoke to a reporter:
Conversations with James Gartenberg and Patricia Puma, by Jim Dwyer, September 11, 2001.
Conversations with James Gartenberg and Patricia Puma, by Jim Dwyer, September 11, 2001.
“The time and place to ensure life safety in high-rise buildings”:
Chief John T. O’Hagan,
High-Rise/Fire & Life Safety
(Saddle Brook, N.J.: Pennwell Publications, 1977), p. 243.
Chief John T. O’Hagan,
High-Rise/Fire & Life Safety
(Saddle Brook, N.J.: Pennwell Publications, 1977), p. 243.
The first plans for the trade center:
James Glanz and Eric Lipton,
City in the Sky
(New York: Times Books/ Henry Holt, 2003).
James Glanz and Eric Lipton,
City in the Sky
(New York: Times Books/ Henry Holt, 2003).
… the trade center would be built according to the city code:
Richard Bulowski, “Analysis of Building and Fire Codes and Practices” (presented at meeting of National Institute of Standards and Technology, December 2, 2003), minutes of meeting.
Richard Bulowski, “Analysis of Building and Fire Codes and Practices” (presented at meeting of National Institute of Standards and Technology, December 2, 2003), minutes of meeting.
… The New York Times
noted that the trade center was an example:
Glenn Fowler, “Broad Revisions of Building Code Proposed to City,”
New York Times,
July 9, 1965, p. 1.
noted that the trade center was an example:
Glenn Fowler, “Broad Revisions of Building Code Proposed to City,”
New York Times,
July 9, 1965, p. 1.
… it would make the trade center much cheaper to build:
Ada Louise Huxtable, “A Code for the 20th Century,” and editorial, “A City Is for Building,”
New York Times,
July 9, 1965, p. 12.
Ada Louise Huxtable, “A Code for the 20th Century,” and editorial, “A City Is for Building,”
New York Times,
July 9, 1965, p. 12.
“The proposed code more accurately evaluates the hazards”:
Harold Birns, address to the Board of Governors, New York Building Congress, January 28, 1965.
Harold Birns, address to the Board of Governors, New York Building Congress, January 28, 1965.
An article in the
Times
took note of the flexibility:
Glenn Fowler, p. 1.
Times
took note of the flexibility:
Glenn Fowler, p. 1.
… the new code significantly lowered the requirements:
H. S. Lew, Richard Bukowski, Nick Carino, Dat Duthinh, “Analysis of Building and Fire Codes and Practices,” National Institute of Standards and Technology, December 3, 2003.
H. S. Lew, Richard Bukowski, Nick Carino, Dat Duthinh, “Analysis of Building and Fire Codes and Practices,” National Institute of Standards and Technology, December 3, 2003.
… it forced buildings to be far sturdier and heavier than needed:
Dudley Dalton, “Savings Expected in Building Code,”
New York Times,
March 15, 1964.
Dudley Dalton, “Savings Expected in Building Code,”
New York Times,
March 15, 1964.
“After fighting high-rise fires in midtown Manhattan”:
Vincent Dunn, “Why Can’t the Fire Service Extinguish Fires in High-Rise Buildings?,”
Fire Engineering
magazine, December 1995.
Vincent Dunn, “Why Can’t the Fire Service Extinguish Fires in High-Rise Buildings?,”
Fire Engineering
magazine, December 1995.
“The antiquated towers of commerce will fail”:
Joseph P. Fried, “Building Code Expected to Spur Change in City’s Appearance and Dimensions,”
New York Times,
October 27, 1968, p. R1.
Joseph P. Fried, “Building Code Expected to Spur Change in City’s Appearance and Dimensions,”
New York Times,
October 27, 1968, p. R1.
That was worth about $1.8 million annually in 1968:
“Low Sees Savings under New Code,”
New York Times
, October 20, 1968, p. 64. The Pan Am building, just north of Grand Central, later was renamed the MetLife building after the airline fell on hard times.
“Low Sees Savings under New Code,”
New York Times
, October 20, 1968, p. 64. The Pan Am building, just north of Grand Central, later was renamed the MetLife building after the airline fell on hard times.
The previous generation of skyscrapers:
New York City 1938 Building Code.
New York City 1938 Building Code.
The image of young girls, leaping to their death:
David Von Drehle,
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
(New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003).
David Von Drehle,
Triangle: The Fire That Changed America
(New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2003).
In January 1912, the Equitable Building:
Chief John T. O’Hagan,
High-Rise/Fire & Life Safety
(Saddle Brook, N.J.: Pennwell, 1977).
Chief John T. O’Hagan,
High-Rise/Fire & Life Safety
(Saddle Brook, N.J.: Pennwell, 1977).
The
Titanic
had space in its lifeboats for fewer than half:
Michael Davie,
Titanic: The Death and Life of a Legend
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987); Tom Kutz, ed.,
The Titanic Disaster Hearings: Official Transcripts of the 1912 Senate Investigation
(New York: Pocket Books, 1988); Walter Lord,
A Night to Remember
(New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1955).
Titanic
had space in its lifeboats for fewer than half:
Michael Davie,
Titanic: The Death and Life of a Legend
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987); Tom Kutz, ed.,
The Titanic Disaster Hearings: Official Transcripts of the 1912 Senate Investigation
(New York: Pocket Books, 1988); Walter Lord,
A Night to Remember
(New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1955).
Not only the fire towers disappeared:
NIST, “Progress Report on the Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster,” June 2004, Gaithersburg, Md., pp. 55–61.
NIST, “Progress Report on the Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster,” June 2004, Gaithersburg, Md., pp. 55–61.
… “as remote from the others as is practicable”:
NYC Building Code, Subarticle 602.0, effective December 6, 1968.
NYC Building Code, Subarticle 602.0, effective December 6, 1968.
Although the lifeboats had space only for about half:
Davie,
Titanic
.
Davie,
Titanic
.
That was 21 percent higher than the best yield:
Peter Tyson, “Towers of Innovation,” Nova Online,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wtc/innovation2.html
.
Peter Tyson, “Towers of Innovation,” Nova Online,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wtc/innovation2.html
.
Since then, the Port Authority had spent $2.1 million:
Alan Reiss, testimony before 9/11 Commission, May 18, 2004.
Alan Reiss, testimony before 9/11 Commission, May 18, 2004.
One of these detours ran from the 82nd to the 76th floors:
This was first reported by Dennis Cauchon and Martha T. Moore in “Machinery Saved People in WTC,”
USA Today,
May 17, 2002. It was also described by Alan Reiss, former director of the world trade department for the Port Authority, in April 2002 and August 2003, in interviews with Jim Dwyer.
This was first reported by Dennis Cauchon and Martha T. Moore in “Machinery Saved People in WTC,”
USA Today,
May 17, 2002. It was also described by Alan Reiss, former director of the world trade department for the Port Authority, in April 2002 and August 2003, in interviews with Jim Dwyer.
A few floors down, most likely on the 82nd floor:
Richard Fern, e-mail correspondence with Eric Lipton, April and May 2002. At first, Fern recalled leaving the stairway at the 78th floor, but later said he was unsure, and that it might have been higher. Stairway A shifted at the 82nd floor.
Richard Fern, e-mail correspondence with Eric Lipton, April and May 2002. At first, Fern recalled leaving the stairway at the 78th floor, but later said he was unsure, and that it might have been higher. Stairway A shifted at the 82nd floor.
He thought he would collapse:
Fern, e-mail correspondence.
Fern, e-mail correspondence.
Keating Crown of Aon:
Keating Crown, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2004.
Keating Crown, interview by Eric Lipton, April 2004.
A 911 operator typed up a summary:
Brian Clark, testimony, contained in 9/11 Commission, “Emergency Preparedness: Staff Statement No. 13”; interview with Jim Dwyer, August 4, 2004.
Brian Clark, testimony, contained in 9/11 Commission, “Emergency Preparedness: Staff Statement No. 13”; interview with Jim Dwyer, August 4, 2004.
Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath departed for the lobby:
New York Police Department, “SPRINT summary,” 911 phone calls, September 11, 2001. (SPRINT is a computer system that logs 911 phone calls.)
New York Police Department, “SPRINT summary,” 911 phone calls, September 11, 2001. (SPRINT is a computer system that logs 911 phone calls.)
… three stairways were not sufficient to accommodate:
Glenn Corbett, testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, November 19, 2003.
Glenn Corbett, testimony before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, November 19, 2003.
Chief Donald Burns had noted in a report:
United States Fire Administration,
The World Trade Center Bombing: Report and Analysis,
1994 report, p. 55.
United States Fire Administration,
The World Trade Center Bombing: Report and Analysis,
1994 report, p. 55.
Nat Alcamo, a fifty-six-year-old former Marine:
the accounts of descending the stairs from Alcamo, Richard Jacobs, Edgardo Villegas, Robert Radomsky, Sean Pierce, Louis A. Torres, Louis Lesce, Norma Hessic, Richard Wright, and others are from interviews conducted on September 11, 2001, by numerous members of the
New York Times
staff, including Joseph Treaster, Denise Grady, Lynda Richardson, Jennifer Steinhauer, Rosalie Radomsky, Jennifer Lee, Felicity Barringer, and Stuart Elliot.
the accounts of descending the stairs from Alcamo, Richard Jacobs, Edgardo Villegas, Robert Radomsky, Sean Pierce, Louis A. Torres, Louis Lesce, Norma Hessic, Richard Wright, and others are from interviews conducted on September 11, 2001, by numerous members of the
New York Times
staff, including Joseph Treaster, Denise Grady, Lynda Richardson, Jennifer Steinhauer, Rosalie Radomsky, Jennifer Lee, Felicity Barringer, and Stuart Elliot.
Steven Salovich had been herded off Euro Brokers’ 84th floor:
Steven Salovich, written account provided to Eric Lipton, May 2002.
Steven Salovich, written account provided to Eric Lipton, May 2002.
Terence McCormick, who worked for Kemper:
Terence C. McCormick, statement submitted to the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History exhibit, “September 11: Bearing Witness to History” (
www.americanhistory.si.edu/september11/collection
).
Terence C. McCormick, statement submitted to the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History exhibit, “September 11: Bearing Witness to History” (
www.americanhistory.si.edu/september11/collection
).
Sharon Premoli, an executive with Beast Financial Systems:
Sharon Premoli, interviews by Kevin Flynn, April 2002, January 2004.
Sharon Premoli, interviews by Kevin Flynn, April 2002, January 2004.
Elaine Duch, who had been burned on the 88th floor:
Gerry Gaeta, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 25, 2003.
Gerry Gaeta, interview by Jim Dwyer, August 25, 2003.
Another ailing person from the 88th floor:
Jeff Gertler, interview by Jim Dwyer, January 13, 2004.
Jeff Gertler, interview by Jim Dwyer, January 13, 2004.
John Labriola came down from the 71st floor:
John Labriola, statement submitted to the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History exhibit, “September 11: Bearing Witness to History” (
www.americanhistory.si.edu/september11/collection
).
John Labriola, statement submitted to the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History exhibit, “September 11: Bearing Witness to History” (
www.americanhistory.si.edu/september11/collection
).
Theresa Leone, who worked in a law firm:
Theresa Marino Leone, “Rosary Beads and Sensible Shoes,” as told to Roy Peter Clark, Poynter Institute,
www.poynter.org
, September 13, 2001.
Theresa Marino Leone, “Rosary Beads and Sensible Shoes,” as told to Roy Peter Clark, Poynter Institute,
www.poynter.org
, September 13, 2001.
Michael Benfante and John Cerquiera:
Michael Benfante and John Cerquiera, interview by Joyce Wadler, September 11, 2001; interview by Jim Dwyer, November 2001.
Michael Benfante and John Cerquiera, interview by Joyce Wadler, September 11, 2001; interview by Jim Dwyer, November 2001.
… Hoey called the Port Authority police desk in Jersey City:
Port Authority radio transcripts, Central Police Desk, Channel 24, September 11, 2001.
Port Authority radio transcripts, Central Police Desk, Channel 24, September 11, 2001.
Chapter 9: “The doors are locked.”
At 9:05 A.M., Peter Mardikian called his wife:
Corine Mardikian, interview by Kevin Flynn, May 2002.
Corine Mardikian, interview by Kevin Flynn, May 2002.
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