A Brief Summary: WTC Destruction & High Temperature Aftermath:
ONLY Nuclear Bombs and the China Syndrome Fit All the Evidence
NOTE: PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS DEFINITIVE SUMMARY ON THE NUKING OF THE WTC AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE!
by The Anonymous Physicist
In
attempting to ascertain what caused the destruction of the WTC on
9/11/01, and the great heat and molten metal observed for up to six
months afterward, one must account for ALL the phenomena involved in WTC
destruction, and the aftermath-- and not just one or two factors. Only
nuclear bombs and the resulting China Syndrome can account for ALL
phenomena observed. The overview and numerous supporting articles on the
nuclear destruction of the WTC are here:
wtcdemolition.blogspot.com
But, at the outset, we should realize that there is an abundance of
evidence that the O.C.T. (Official Conspiracy Theory) is quite bogus.
For example,
sworn testimony from firemen/responders contains their witnessing of loud explosions from the onset of tower destruction. This alone destroys the OCT of gravity-driven, progressive collapse.
A brief summary of the nuclear aspects now follows.
1.
First, low yield nukes (mini-nukes or micro-nukes) are a proven fact
that the U.S Govt has admitted to since the 1950’s with their
Davey Crocket rifle, and more recently with
a physicist’s testimony to Congress. It is also documented fact that since the 1960’s, and
Project Plowshare,
low radiation nukes-- and later neutron bombs-- have been available,
and were planned for excavation projects and such. My “many small nukes”
WTC hypothesis indicates that numerous low yield nukes went off INSIDE
(near the center of) the towers. They vaporized anything near them (via
million degree temperatures and/or high neutron flux), but the yield of
these micro-nukes was deliberately small enough not to vaporize the
outer structure. This also ensured that any radiation was contained
during detonation. And Plowshare, and neutron bombs, prove low radiation
nukes have been available for decades.
2. MASSIVE EVIDENCE of
ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES (EMP) FROM NUKES. This includes the eyewitness,
sworn testimony of EMT responder, Patricia Ondrovic (and others)
SEE BELOW. She
reported that as WTC1 was beginning to be destroyed, she saw flickering
lights in WTC6 lobby where she tried to enter, but was stopped. And just
outside at that time, cars caught fire without any visible reason, and
one then had its car door explode off of it; and the door hit and
injured her as she began to flee the area. Exactly how EMP from nukes
did all this is explained
here, along with other evidence of EMP during tower destruction from nuclear bombs.
3. DUST PARTICLE SIZE WAS LESS THAN 2.5 MICRONS-- & LIED ABOUT by the
Gov’t’s main OCT (Official “Collapse” Theory) engineer/author.
You can think of a mortar and pestle, and grinding something large
into smaller and smaller pieces. It takes more and more energy input to
yield smaller and smaller pieces. A nuclear bomb is known to yield
particle sizes down to 10 nanometers. (1 nanometer is 1 billionth of a
meter). And Govt scientists had equipment to analyze the WTC dust down
to 10-nanometer size, if they wanted to, and should have. Unless they
did, and have refused to release this. What they (the U.S. Geological
Survey scientists) did was lump together all dust sizes less than 2.5
microns and released this data. (A micron is 1 millionth of a meter, and
a thousand times larger than 1 nanometer). Nonetheless, the Govt’s main
engineer/author, Z.P. Bazant, numerous times wrote papers that claimed
that 10 microns was the smallest sized particles created during WTC
destruction, and later collected by USGS scientists. For years he did
not cite the work that showed, this. Last year he did cite a reference,
and it led back to the 2.5 micron study, NOT to the 10 microns he
claimed as the smallest dust particle size! So he flat out committed
fraud here. He had to do this as his bogus papers claim that the
gravitational potential energy (height times weight) of the towers
accounted for the energy needed to create the smallest dust particle
size. And there isn’t enough energy from his theory to account for 2.5
micron size dust, let alone the much smaller dust sizes that the USGS
did not ascertain or release! The bogus physics and math from Bazant and
others is
here.
4. MELTED, HANGING SKIN WITHOUT FIRE was reported by at least 4 known WTC survivors. This includes
WTC worker Felipe David, whose own words state this occurred without fire, but his story when told by another, has “fire” added. There are
also two women who reported (on the “Larry King Show”) that a similar thing happened to them,
and they don’t know why, because they too were not in any fire. And
there is also a security guard with a similar report. The security guard
and Felipe David had this happen to them in the lobby and the
sub-basement area of WTC1 respectively. Outside the towers,
firemen/responders also felt great heat on their skin without being near any fire DURING TOWER DESTRUCTION.
Only the thermal rays of a nuclear bomb can account for this. They go
out the farthest when a nuke goes off. And hanging skin was a common
occurrence in Hiroshima survivors. Note that the outside firemen feeling
heat on their skin (without fire near them) also disproves “DEW”, as
they are NOT in the towers nor right under them either, and thus if
“directed energy beams did it”, and these must be coherent, they would
not diverge and cause heat far from their target! So no “DEW” was
involved.
5. SUB-BASEMENT LEVEL, 50-TON STEEL PRESS & HEAVY
DOOR VAPORIZED. At the same time as Felipe David’s nightmare was
unfolding, and also in the sub-basement,
WTC engineer Mike Pecoraro reports going up a level and seeing that a sub-basement level was in shambles and was “just gone.”
Also he states a 50-ton press has also been apparently vaporized, and a
300 pound steel/concrete door has just been left shriveled up like
foil. The only things that could do this are the multi-million degree
temperatures, and neutron bombardment, from a nuclear bomb. Coupling
this with the four survivors who had melted, hanging skin at this same
time, we have evidence of blast, high temperatures, neutron bombardment
and thermal rays-- all virtual proof of nuclear bomb use.
6. HEAT GENERATION AT THE WTC FOR UP TO 6 MONTHS AFTER 9/11- -THE CHINA SYNDROME AFTERMATH (CSA) (see
http://wtc-chinasyndrome.blogspot.com)
No heat “lingers” for weeks and months, not alleged jet fuel, not
alleged thermite (which would have been used up either in minutes or
hours--or during its use as an explosive). We have
the
documented, witnessed, and well photographed and videotaped great heat
and molten metal for weeks, and indeed for up to six months underground
at the WTC-- until all radioactive fission fragments were carted
away. No heat lingers for that long; this could only have been heat
GENERATION. The evidence of great heat throughout much of the rubble
pile and even higher temperatures underneath the two towers and WTC7 is
massive. It included melted firemen’s boots, even dogs had to wear
special boots, a mass of congealed bullets in WTC6 going off weeks later
from heat, and many photos of steam emanation from the continual water
hosing of the “hotspots” all around the WTC. The China Syndrome HAD TO
ARISE because each of the numerous small nukes used up only 1-6% of its
fissile material-- which is standard for nukes. The remainder was then
available as radioactive fragments, releasing great heat for a long time
(until removed), as the half-life of Uranium 235 is 700 million years.
And it is likely that there were numerous, redundant nukes employed, and
the phenomena of "fratricided" and fizzled nukes may also have occurred as these are common with nuclear detonations.
These effects likely further exacerbated the China Syndrome. The
radioactive fragments were somewhat dispersed throughout the rubble
pile, and in greatest concentration underneath the towers and WTC7--
where water and sand treatments could not readily be employed. Note that
the alleged Tritium finding that the Govt released, may be a red
herring to fool people to look for top-secret unknown types of nukes,
which couldn’t have led to the CSA, which is what clearly occurred. The
ludicrous lying (“there never was any heat during or after WTC
destruction”) or the poor attempts to create new laws of chemistry and
physics by alleged 9/11truthers (“super nanocomposite thermite burns
forever”) only shows how desperate the Govt is to hide the China
Syndrome Aftermath.
7. THE MISSING PEOPLE, FURNITURE, steel &
other contents of the towers. Destruction of the towers vaporized many
of the nearly 3,000 people who died, as well as much furniture, steel
and other building contents.
The medical examiner was unable to find or utilize any strands of DNA for over 1100 people.
The rubble pile from the two towers was only a couple of stories high
when it should have been several times higher from a “collapse,” or even
a conventional demolition. There is much missing mass from the
“extraordinarily high temperatures” as fire engineering Professor
Barnett declared after examining vaporized steel, that occurred during
tower/WTC7 destruction. Nukes vaporize matter near their hypocenter.
Thermite, thermobarics, etc. DO NOT. Contrary to what some claim,
neither thermite nor thermobarics could vaporize the missing people,
furniture, steel and other contents, as detailed
here.
8.
CLASSICAL GOV’T DISINFO METHODS ENSUED whereby their agents put out
supposedly “alternative theories” involving alleged “secret, new
technologies” that are either evidence-free and/or impossible. Space
Beams/DEW (Directed Energy Weapons), or
ludicrous “super nanocomposite thermite burns forever”
theories were created by the intel agencies to cover up the nuking of
the WTC, and the China Syndrome Aftermath. (Thermite cools off in
minutes or hours.) These “theories” desperately try to claim new
phenomena or new laws of physics and chemistry--as does the 9/11
Commission’s ludicrous “findings.”
9. More now on the issue of
Radiation: The #1 item above showed that the Govt has had mini-nukes,
and micro-nukes for decades, and that low-radiation yielding nukes have
also been around for decades as well. On the other hand,
the great heat and molten metal at, and under, the WTC for up to six months after 9/11,
indicates the existence of the China Syndrome Aftermath at the WTC;
whereby many responders and Metro New York residents may have been
exposed to some radiation from radioactive fission fragments that
resulted from the use of the many micro-nukes. We have much indirect
evidence of the effects of radiation poisoning among the 40,000
responders who were at “Ground Zero” in the weeks and months afterwards.
There have been hundreds of reported cases of blood, lymph and thyroid cancers among responders. These
types of cancers frequently arise from radiation exposure, and are much
less likely (unlike lung diseases) to arise from inhalation of toxins.
Also,
the teeth and hair falling out reported by several responders are also standard illnesses from radiation poisoning.
These responders’ doctors and lawyers are not telling these people that
radiation may have caused their illnesses, because the China Syndrome
Aftermath remains one of the Govt’s most closely guarded secrets.
However, we can see that the Govt itself was well aware of what it had
caused! Standard radiation-lowering methods were employed beginning the
very next morning-- 9/12/01! These
included water dilution/hosing down and sand/earth covering (and subsequent removal of this sand/earth) of the rubble pile.
These procedures continued for weeks and months precisely because the
rubble pile, and undergound areas, were replete with radioactive fission
fragments.
There is some general information on radiation
sources that needs elucidation. Due to absorption and other factors,
radiation levels can go down quickly-- unless radioactive fragments
(radionuclides) are released to the environment. Unless one is close
(like Felipe David, who appears to have received thermal radiation, and
not ionizing radiation)-- or the radiation is very intense-- enough
distance/air or most materials, will stop most forms of radiation. This
assumes one does not inhale or ingest radioactive particles or
radionuclides. The underground WTC areas-- which likely had the highest
radiation yields (and also heat)-- were off limits to all but a few
responders. Also,
as Hiroshima studies indicated, it took decades for many cancers and other illnesses to manifest.
Note that a Gov’t agency, FEMA, was/is in charge of any radiation data
for Ground Zero, and could easily have blocked release of any data that
found radiation.
The
U.S. Gov’t has a long, sordid record of lying about radiation exposure
to soldiers and citizens, as noted here when they nuked their own
soldiers during “atomic tests”.
Honest people, not in
DENIAL, must see the analogy to the Reichstag fire set by the German
Nazis, in 1933, in Berlin. This was their seat of almost their entire
federal gov’t. And this fire/destruction was used as an excuse to
destroy their Constitution, and as an excuse for War on “terrorists,”
and then all of Europe. There was one difference with the Nazis,
however. They waited till the middle of the night, when there were no
inhabitants in the Reichstag building! Of course, that German Gov’t did
not admit they did it themselves, but that came out after they lost
WWII. If U.S. Govt agencies have certain types of proof that they nuked
the WTC, and thus its largest city; does any honest person think these
Govt agencies would ever release this data--unless a new Gov’t came
about? There is reason to believe that other crucial data such as WTC
rubble pile temperature (AVIRIS, 2nd set), and WTC destruction seismic
recordings were altered. This physicist hypothesizes that WTC
responders AND nearby Metro New York residents and workers, that were
exposed either the longest or to certain areas with the “hottest”spots
face the risk of getting cancer and other immune disorders from
radiation exposure in the years and decades to come. Sadly this will
prove the China Syndrome Aftermath in the worst possible way. Private
persons and institutions are urged to get and keep statistics on this,
as the Gov’t will likely cover this up.
===========
Patricia Ondrovic
9/11 Rescuer Saw Explosions Inside WTC 6 Lobby
In
an exclusive Killtown interview, Ground Zero EMT Patricia Ondrovic
talks about her harrowing day at the WTC on 9/11. Within minutes after
the South Tower collapses, she witnessed the WTC 5 blowing up, cars
exploding, and explosions inside the lobby of the WTC 6, all the while
narrowly escaping with her own life.
Arriving at the Scene
Killtown: Were you one of the Ground Zero rescuers on 9/11?
Patricia Ondrovic: Yes.
KT: What was your position and who did you work for?
KT: How did your day start off on Sept. 11 and when did you get called to the scene at the WTC?
PO: It started off like any other. I had dropped a patient off at Bellevue
and one of the Doc's asked if I was going to respond to the WTC. I told
him it was out of my area. I asked "why, what's going on?" He told me
they were getting reports that "a helicopter" had crashed into one of
the towers. I responded after both planes had hit. I was on scene approx
45 min before the first tower fell.
KT: Was the WTC area part of your regular route?
PO: No, I worked in the Times Square area. The WTC was far downtown from where I was.
KT: What did you immediately do once you arrived at the scene and do you remember where exactly you arrived at?
PO: I reported to a staging officer who told me to park the ambulance along Vesey Street.
I ended up parking along the street in front of the 6 World Trade with
several other ambulances. We were going to get any injured people who
were brought out of the burning buildings to transport to the hospital. I
don't remember where we entered from as I was not so familiar with the
area
Another Airplane Warning
KT: Did you basically stay around that area before the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 am?
PO:
Yes, we were staged waiting for the triage teams to bring us patients
when an officer in a white shirt and blue pants (don't know from what
agency) said that there was a radio transmission that stated, "Another plane was headed towards us!"
We were told to get to our vehicles and get ready to move fast, but it
wasn't fast enough. All of a sudden there was a lot of activity within
the several agencies there and everyone started to scramble to ready
their respective vehicles.
KT: When you were told another aircraft was approaching, was this right before the South Tower collapsed?
PO:
Maybe 3 to 5 minutes prior. I don't know if that estimation is correct,
but I remember we all had time to take a minute and look into the skies
all around to see if we could see anything.
KT: Did you see any planes in the sky?
PO: No, there was nothing in the skies at that time.
KT: Did you happen to see any helicopters, military or non-military, flying around?
PO: I didn't see any helicopters at the time either.
KT: Where did they want you to move your vehicles to, any particular spot, or just "away" from the WTC?
PO: "Just get ready to move fast" is the phrase I remember.
KT: Did they want you to move away from the area right away, or just get ready to move if another plane was coming in?
PO:
I don't know, they just told us to get our equipment, put it back in
the vehicles and "get ready to move...fast". At that point, they seemed
to realize it just wasn't a safe place to be.
KT:
In retrospect, did it seem a little too coincidental that they told all
of the rescuers to get ready to move out of the area minutes before the
Tower collapsed?
PO:
It was a bit eerie at the time as well. In that job, when someone tells
you to "just move fast" there's nothing to question, you just move. We
had been on scene for a while before just setting up and waiting for
patients and all of a sudden there was so much activity. It did seem odd
that after being there for some time all of a sudden everyone had to
get ready to get out. I personally never expected the buildings to come
down.
KT: Did you receive any direct warnings or hear any rumors that any of the towers might be coming down?
PO:
We were not told the building was possibly going to collapse. I did not
hear any rumors about a building collapse. I never heard anyone say
anything to the effect that any of the buildings in the area were not
stable at the time. We were simply told to get to our vehicles and get
ready to move.
KT: Was Vesey Street blocked off between Church St and West St?
PO: Yes, I think all that were there were fire, police, EMS, and OEM [Office Emergency Management].
KT: Did you ever see any videos or cameras being confiscated from anyone that day?
PO: No.
KT: Did you see any newscasters or any other media people on or near Vesey taking any footage?
PO: No, none that I could see.
Cars Blowing Up
KT: What did you do when the South Tower started coming down?
PO:
I didn't know what was happening, but there was a loud "roar" -- lots
of crashing sounds. I was attempting to put my stretcher back into the
vehicle. The ground was shaking and I saw a sea of people, mostly the
various agencies on scene, Fire, Police, EMS, all running towards me. I
had no idea what they were running from, but I decided I'd be ahead of
them and just started running west towards the river. As I was running,
parked cars were blowing up and some were on fire, the street was
cracking a bit as well. Very shortly after I started running, everything
became one big black cloud. I was near the West Side Highway and I
couldn't see around me anymore.
KT:
Before you heard the loud rumbling which was the South Tower coming
down, do you remember hearing any strange noises like gunfire or
crackling sounds?
PO: No.
PO: Yes.
KT: Can you estimate how many vehicles blew up around you?
PO:
At least three and some were on fire as I was running by. I was still
on the south side of Vesey running west. The burning cars were between
my ambulance and about the middle of the 6 World Trade where the lobby
doors were at.
KT: Where you running on the street, or up the sidewalk?
PO: Up the sidewalk.
KT:
When these vehicles blew up, was it kind of like what you would see in
the movies where the vehicle pops up in the air when it explodes with a
fireball coming out?
PO:
I remember parts flying off -- I think I got hit with a car door. I
remember they were also on fire, but I don't specifically recall the
movie type fireball, but there was a loud bang as the door flew off the
one car I was running past.
KT:
Do you have any idea what was causing these vehicles to catch on fire
and/or explode? Was the air temperature really hot as you were running
by these cars?
PO:
I don't know what was causing them to blow up. I didn't know at the
time that I was trying to outrun a skyscraper falling on me, but after I
found out what I ran from. I figured it was the impact of the building
falling and residual effect. I am not an engineer, so I can only guess
at a probable cause. I don't remember feeling any extreme heat.
KT: Could you tell if the vehicles blowing up on the street were only parked next to the WTC 6?
PO:
I was only paying attention to my immediate surroundings, if there were
any vehicles not near me blowing up, I wasn't aware of them, just the
ones closest to me.
KT: What type of vehicles were they (cars, SUVs, trucks -- civilian, non-civilian) that were on fire or had blown up?
PO: They were unmarked cars, most likely privately owned. I didn't see any SUVs, trucks or any "official" vehicles on fire.
KT: Were these cars all parked next to each other?
PO: They were parallel parked. There was no discernable order to what was on fire. It was all very chaotic.
Explosions Inside WTC 6 Lobby
KT: You mentioned you were running west on Vesey Street, what happened after that?
PO:
I just kept running. I was aware there were other people running as
well. After passing the cars on fire, I was trying to find someplace
safe. I tried to run into the lobby of 6 World Trade, but there were
federal police -- maybe 4 to 6 of them -- standing in the open doorways.
As I tried to run in, they wouldn't let me, waving me out, telling me
"you can't come in here, keep running." As I turned to start running
west again, I saw a series of flashes around the ceiling of the lobby
all going off one-by-one like the X-mass lights that "chase" in pattern.
I think I started running faster at that point.
KT: Did you hear any "popping" sounds when each of these flashes in the WTC 6 lobby were going off?
PO: Yes, that part was like a movie. The pops were at the same time as the flashes.
KT: Can you estimate either how many flashes you saw or how many of these "pops" you heard inside this lobby?
PO: At least 6 before I was turned away.
KT: Could you still hear any of these explosions when you turned to run back out, or was the noise outside too loud?
PO: I don't recall hearing any more when I resumed running. It was very chaotic.
KT:
Now to be clear, were you inside the Lobby of the WTC 6, or were you
outside the building when you witnessed these what appeared to be
explosions?
PO:
I was in the doorway, but not inside the lobby. I remember being able
to breathe the somewhat cleaner air coming from inside the building.
They stopped me as I was trying to get past the threshold.
KT: Were the explosions going off as you were entering the lobby area, or did they seem to start going off after the police tried to turn you away?
PO:
It all happened at the same time. As I got to the doorway, I was told
not to come in. As the officer was telling me I couldn't get in the
building the flashes starting going off.
KT: Where the police just right at the lobby door, or were some also way inside the building?
PO: There were probably 4-5 officers in the doorway. I could see a few others back in the lobby area.
KT:
You said you saw "federal police." What exactly do you mean and did you
find it strange they were in there and that they wouldn't let you in?
PO:
Well, they were in light brown uniforms and "Smokey the bear" hats. I
assumed they were federal police because NYC police don't look like that
and I knew there was a lot of federal offices in the WTC as well as the
surrounding area, so it wasn't strange to me to see them there, but I
did find it very odd that they wouldn't let me in to get cover. But like
I say, in that profession, someone tells you to go an opposite way you
are going, you don't ask, you just go. I remember hoping they got out as
I was watching whatever the small explosions were, because they stayed
in the building. They weren't locking it up after evacuating or anything
like that.
KT: Did you know which government agencies were in the WTC?
PO: I knew there were a lot of federal agencies in the WTC complex, but I don't know which ones specifically.
KT: Did these policemen run out of the WTC 6 lobby after these explosions occurred, or could you tell?
PO:
It didn't look like they did. It looked like they were there making
sure no one ran in like I tried to do. I remember seeing them in the
doorway, but don't know what happened to them after that.
KT: Did you happen to notice if they were wearing any earplugs or any other uncommon protective gear?
PO:
There was nothing that I could see. They appeared to be dressed to
simply do lobby detail. No flack wear, no overcoats, no helmets. To this
day, I still wonder if they got out.
KT:
Did you think these explosions in the lobby were maybe lights popping
out as in an electrical surge, or did they seem more like explosives
going off in a timed manner?
PO:
I immediately got the impression they were timed explosives. I have
never thought they were anything else, not then, not now.
KT: Have you ever seen a building being demolished with explosives on TV and was the flashes and pops similar to that?
PO:
It did remind me of just that. I had seen something on a Las Vegas
casino being demolished and that's what it reminded me of
KT: Can you try to describe what these "pops" you heard sounded like?
PO:
They sounded like light bulbs popping, but there were no light fixtures
where the explosions were coming from. The sound was not all that loud.
KT: Do you think these explosions you witnessed were loud enough to be heard on the street?
PO:
Because of everything going on, I don't think these "pops" could have
been heard from the street. It was definitely louder outside as a whole.
KT: At the time, who did you think planted these explosives in there?
PO:
I didn't have any notions of where to put blame per se, but I remember
thinking that it was possibly the same organization who tried to blow up
the building back in 1993.
I figured they came back to finish the job. At the time I was running, I
remember thinking that "they" wired the whole area. At the time I
wasn't aware that what made the towers catch fire were passenger jets
crashing. I thought the buildings had bombs planted to go off that day.
The idea of not only one passenger jet, but two took me a while to
comprehend -- not to mention the pentagon as well.
KT:
Can you estimate how long after you heard the loud rumbling, which was
the South Tower coming down, to when you witnessed these explosives
going off in the WTC 6?
PO: Well, remember this was all on the same street I was parked. It is
very difficult for me to estimate time with so much happening at once,
but I want to say maybe 2 to 3 minutes from the rumbling and the ground,
and the cars, and the fires, that I tried to run into 6 WTC for cover,
which is when I saw those explosions.
KT: Did anybody else besides you and the police witness these explosions in the WTC 6 lobby?
PO:
I imagine there must have been others to see, I wasn't the only one
running up the street. I can't imagine being the only person to try to
run for cover. I didn't see any "civilians" in the lobby of the 6, just
the brown uniformed officers.
Motorola Radio Troubles
KT: After you witnessed the explosions in the lobby of the WTC 6, you started running in which direction and then what happened?
PO:
I kept running west on Vesey. I got hit with the cloud shortly after
being turned away from 6 WTC. I was probably at the corner of Vesey/West
Street at that point running. I ran towards the West Side Highway --
there is a park area there. I remember running across grass and there
was now lots of grey and black smoke. I was just trying to get to the
water because nothing was exploding, or on fire from what I could see.
There were lots and lots of people also running that way at this point.
KT: When were you able to escape the dust cloud and what happened after that?
PO:
I was now at the water's edge. There were no boats I could see, so I
started to run north along the side of the West Side Highway. I was
about 9 or 10 blocks north of Vesey on the West Side Highway. I found
the first FDNY EMS vehicle and knew the crew as they were also from my
station. I remember not being able to breathe so well -- felt like
someone was standing on my chest. When I looked back, I could see people
coming out of the black cloud and continuing to run and walk north on
the West Side Highway as well.
KT: Did you notice any firefighters or other rescuers having technical
problems with their Motorola radios or any other equipment?
PO:
Oh yeah, at one point there was a loud "buzzing" sound and none of the
EMS radios worked for maybe 30 seconds? We all used Motorola radios and I
believe our repeaters were on top of the towers, so when the tower came
down our radios failed. I tried to use my cellphone, but that too did
not work.
KT: Do you know if anybody's cellphone worked and were able to get through to anybody?
PO:
A few of my co workers had Nextel phones. Theirs worked, but they
couldn't talk to anyone who didn't have a Nextel because all the other
services were out at the time.
KT: When did you get to leave the area to go home?
PO:
I left by ambulance. A FDNY EMS supervisor came up to myself and my
colleagues and told us to "go back in." I still wasn't aware of what I
had come out of and I told him anyone who didn't get out isn't getting
out and it's not safe to go back in. He yelled at me, demanding all 3 of
us "go back in." I told him I was having chest pain and trouble
breathing and my colleagues took me to St. Vincent's Hospital. I was on
the stretcher with an oxygen mask on looking out the back windows as we
were driving off and saw the other tower collapse. It didn't occur to me
at the time that the other one was already gone and that's what I came
out of. I don't remember when I got home. I had to walk over the
Queensboro Bridge and it was dark out. I walked home from my station at
Bellevue. I lived in Astoria, Queens at the time. All I wanted to do was
get home and see my cats.
Bag & Tag at Ground Zero
KT: In the days after, did you have to go back at Ground Zero?
PO: Yes, I think my first day back was maybe 3 days later.
KT: What were your duties when you had to go back?
PO:
We all took turns doing morgue detail, standby for anyone who got hurt
going through the rubble. I did morgue detail a few times.
KT: Is this what is referred to as "bag & tag"?
PO:
Yes, when you have to log any body parts, or personal effects in morgue
work. It was important to try to document any remains we found.
KT:
Now despite this being probably the most chaotic incident you had to
work at, did you find any strange things when you're recovering evidence
there?
PO:
Well, I remember cataloging findings in the morgue log -- a tooth, an
arm and such. Never catalogued watches, wallets or jewelry.
KT: You never found any jewelry on any of the victim's parts?
PO:
I didn't, no. But I do recall at some point either in Brooklyn or
Staten Island they had a facility where debris was trucked to and the
contents sifted by hand for any evidence. That was some time after 9/11,
maybe a few weeks after they started that.
KT: Did you find any personal belongings on the ground or buried under any debris?
PO: I didn't.
KT: What about things like office furniture, computers, and pictures -- things that would be in a normal office building?
PO:
Everything was this sort of grey/black debris. I personally never saw
anything definable like a chair, desk, or phone, but I never went into
what was the base of the building itself, there could have been there. I
remember everything being layered in grey soot and ashes everywhere and
just debris. One thing I remember distinctly was on a corner adjacent
to the towers a bike messenger's bicycle still chained to the lamppost
covered in soot.
KT:
Have you ever worked a recover detail where you didn't find any
recognizable personal belongings or objects like interior furniture, say
from the aftermath of a fire?
PO:
I never worked a recovery detail before that. It wasn't customary for
EMS to work recovery. From time to time we would have to transport a
body to the morgue after an investigation was completed if the deceased
was in public view. I worked in midtown. In the 12 years I was with EMS,
I never responded to anything like that.
KT: A year after the attacks, a victim's family received an ATM card
that belonged to their son who was supposedly on Flight 11 that crashed
into the North Tower and was supposedly found in relative pristine
condition by rescue crews at Ground Zero. Did you ever come across
anything even remotely close to someone's personal item like this in any
condition?
PO:
I never came across any personal effects. The things I did find were
charred, burnt, rubble covered in soot. I guess that's the needle in the
haystack [the ATM card].
KT:
So is it fair to say that you think something like this plastic ATM
could not only not survive at Ground Zero, but not survive so well
intact?
PO: I'd say it was a miracle.
Aircraft Wreckage
KT: Did you ever see any aircraft wreckage lying around on or after 9/11 at Ground Zero.
PO:
Not on 9/11, but a bit after one day I was doing standby and there was a
long flatbed truck bringing out a long piece of silver and charred
metal, probably the length of 2 passenger cars, that one of the police
officers doing standby detail with us brought to my attention and he
said it was a piece of the plane.
KT:
Could you at all tell what part of the plane this piece of debris you
saw on this truck came from and could you see any windows or other
discernable markings?
PO:
No, it had to be brought to my attention what it was. In fact, I forgot
I saw that until you asked the question. It would have stuck in my
memory if it was a wing, or seats or anything like that. It was a
somewhat long and curved at the edges piece of what looked like
fuselage. I didn't see any company markings on it either.
KT:
You mentioned this piece was silver in color. Did any part of that
piece of silver debris you saw have any of the "shiny silver" you would
see on your average American Airlines plane?
PO: Not when I saw it. The entire piece was dull and charred silver, but it definitely looked like part of a plane.
KT: Did anybody you know of who was at the WTC on 9/11 or at Ground Zero afterwards see or find any airplane debris?
PO: Not that I'm aware of. No one mentioned anything like that to me.
WTC Task Force Interview
KT: You were interviewed by the WTC task force afterwards. Did anybody else interview you about your experience at ground zero?
PO:
The WTC Task Force was the only group that ever interviewed or
debriefed me. They asked me to detail the events that day as well as
mark on a map where I was parked and which way I ran.
KT: Who were the people at the WTC Task Force that interviewed you?
PO:
I was told one was from the F.B.I., one was from D.O.I. [Dept. of
Investigations], one was P.D. I recall there were 4 to 5 people
involved. They were writing as well as voice recording.
KT: Do you know why some of the lines on pages 9, 12, 13 of your Task Force interview were blacked out?
PO: No, I never received a copy of my interview and I never read it. All I did was the one interview with them.
KT: When these officials were debriefing you, was this a normal routine after an incident?
PO:
I had been on other calls that I was debriefed after (not many) and
usually it was an EMS supervisor with P.D. if it was a crime scene, or
if I had witnessed a crime, or incident in progress.
KT: Was your interview with the WTC Task Force more of a normal debriefing, or did you feel like you were being interrogated?
PO: I felt as if they were trying to pick apart every minute detail from every possible angle.
KT: Did you find that odd, especially having to trace your movements on a map?
PO:
It was a crime scene, so much was lost. I figured they still had to
recover equipment and needed to document. I think I was still a bit
shell shocked to really consider it. There were so many things that were
odd then, nothing was normal.
KT: Did you mention the flashes and explosions going off in the lobby of the WTC 6 to them?
PO:
Yes, I did. I remember describing what looked like depth charges going
off in the building I tried to run into, but I don't see it in the
transcript of my interview.
KT: Did they ask you any follow-up questions about these explosions?
PO:
No, they asked me to describe the events as I have described them to
you here. I don't recall them asking any follow up questions. They
simply took notes all the way through. The only specific questions I
remember being asked was in regards to mapping out where my vehicle was
and which way I ran.
WTC 5 Blowing Up
KT: On the Task Force interview, you said "I was still on Vesey, cause the building that blew up on me was on Vesey." Which building were you refereeing to?
PO: I don't know, but that is all WTC property. I'm not sure if that was 6 or just a part of the WTC complex.
KT: When you said the building "blew up" on you, are you talking about the explosions you saw in the WTC 6 lobby?
PO:
No, this was directly behind my vehicle as I was trying to put the
stretcher back in. I don't know if that was part of 6 though. I ran from
what was blowing up and that's when I tried to run into the lobby of 6.
The vehicles were parked backed up to the curb, not parallel parked, so
the back doors of the ambulance were facing the building [WTC 6] on the
south side of Vesey.
KT: Do you feel that it was either the WTC 5 or 6 that was blowing up?
PO: Yes.
KT: Was this before the cars started catching on fire and blowing up, or about at the same time?
PO: All at the same time. Everything happened very quickly. I couldn't say which came first.
KT:
You mentioned in that interview that you thought one of the lobbies of
the building behind you is what blew out. Was this the lobby of WTC 5 or
6?
PO: I'm not sure, but it was probably 5 because 6 was west of me and that's the lobby I tried to run into.
KT:
Can you describe more about how the building blew up on you? Did you
feel the shock wave from the explosion and/or debris falling down near
you?
PO:
Well, one second I was trying to put my stretcher into the ambulance,
the next thing I know I am thrown to the ground as the ground was
shaking. Debris was flying at me from where the building I was parked in
front of. There was a continual loud rumbling, there was just debris
flying from every direction and then everything being covered in the
black and gray smoke.
KT: Let's recap real quickly; your ambulance was parked backed up
against the WTC 6, near the 6's corner by the alleyway between the WTC 5
and 6. When you were trying to put your stretcher back in, you were
knocked down to the ground by an explosion that you thought came from
the lobby of WTC 5. When you got back up, you started running west up
the sidewalk on Vesey St towards West Side Hwy and then these cars
parked along the street started blowing up as you ran by and that's when
you tried to duck into the WTC 6 lobby for cover, but these policemen
inside where preventing you from coming in and that's when you saw the
explosions inside the lobby of WTC 6?
PO: Yes.
KT:
Did anybody else you know concur with you that either the WTC 5 or 6
was blowing up at the same time you heard the rumbling of the South
Tower collapsing?
PO: No, it never came up in discussion.
KT:
After the attacks when things were starting to settle down for you and
after the government and media was telling us what had all happened, did
you ever look back and think what were all those explosions from the
WTC 5 and 6 you witnessed were all about and why there was never any
official mention of them?
PO:
No, I didn't watch the news. I was a bit shell shocked to say the
least. In fact the very first time I have revisited that day was when I
found your site.
WTC 7
KT:
You mentioned you left the WTC area before the North Tower collapsed.
When did you hear about the WTC 7 collapsing, in which you were parked
across the street from on 9/11?
PO: When I stumbled onto your site 3 weeks ago.
KT: Did that surprise you that you never heard about the WTC 7 collapsing afterwards?
PO:
Actually, it did. It confused me somewhat because I don't remember
seeing anything on the news about it, or even knowing it was in any type
of unstable condition.
KT:
So you weren't aware that another building had collapse (which was WTC
7) when you returned to Ground Zero for morgue detail?
PO: No I wasn't. There was so much debris and wreckage I couldn't tell what was what anymore.
KT:
When you were on the scene on Vesey St that whole time, did you happen
to notice any commotion, or anything strange going on near the WTC 7?
PO: No.
Colleagues Lost
KT: Were you ever invited to the 9/11 Commission hearings?
PO: No.
KT: Were you ever gagged by anybody from talking about anything related to 9/11?
PO: No, I wasn't.
KT: Are you concerned that you might loose your job by speaking out on these issues?
PO: No, not at this time.
KT: Have you suffered any health effects from working down at Ground Zero?
PO:
I broke a couple of ribs, but didn't realize it till 3 days later. I
had, like most of my colleagues, the "WTC cough" for several months. It
was an extremely annoying dry hack that didn't produce anything, but
acted more like "spasms" rather than a cough. You'd get woken up in the
middle of the night with this cough that sometimes would have you near
passing out and unable to catch your breath. Over time it has
dissipated, thanks gods.
KT: Did you lose any colleagues at Ground Zero?
PO: I stopped counting at 60.
=========
“The
[NYFD] people who called us had been killed,” Atlas considered as
she surveyed the tons and acres of wreckage. “Nobody’s going
to be alive.” Fires burned and molten steel flowed in the pile of
ruins still settling beneath her feet. She wore a respirator to filter
out the smoke, dust, and fumes, but Anna worked without a mask to sniff
out places where the broken dead lay. Anna is a live-find dog, but she
developed a “truly intent stare” that Atlas came to recognize
as her response to catching the scent of a corpse. Mostly they found parts.
Turning
Terror's Tide with Science
It
is 4 a.m. in New York City as four researchers from the School enter
the site of the World Trade Center disaster on foot. Each is lugging
from 50 to 90 pounds of air-monitoring equipment onto Ground Zero.
In the dark, the tangled pile of wreckage takes on a distinctly
hellish cast.
