Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11, 2001 attacks

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Sept. 11, 2001 attacks
Timeline
Background history
Planning
September 11, 2001
Rest of September
October
Aftermath
Victims
Survivors
Foreign casualties
Hijacked airliners
American Airlines Flight 11
United Airlines Flight 175
American Airlines Flight 77
United Airlines Flight 93
Sites of destruction
World Trade Center
The Pentagon
Shanksville
Effects
World political effects
World economic effects
Detentions
Airport security
Closings and cancellations
Audiovisual entertainment
Response
Government response
Rescue and recovery effort
Financial assistance
Memorials and services
Perpetrators
Responsibility
Organizers
Miscellaneous
Communication
Tower collapse
Slogans and terms
Conspiracy theories
Opportunists
Inquiries
U.S. Congressional Inquiry
9/11 Commission

The area surrounding the World Trade Center became the site of the greatest number of casualties and missing, and physical destruction. This region became known in the ensuing days as "ground zero".

Contents

Firefighters

Image:Ground 0.jpg New York City firefighters rushed to the World Trade Center minutes after the first plane struck the north tower. Chief brass set up a command center in the lobby as firefighters climbed up the stairs. FDNY deployed 200 units to the site.

Many firefighters arrived at the World Trade Center without meeting at the command centers.

Problems with radio communication caused commanders to lose contact with many of the firefighters who went into the buildings; those firefighters were unable to hear evacuation orders.

There was practically no communication with the police, who had helicopters at the scene.

When the towers collapsed, hundreds were killed or trapped within.

Meanwhile, average response times to fires elsewhere in the city that day only rose by one minute, to 5.5 minutes.

The other firefighters worked alternating 24-hour shifts.

Firefighters came from hundreds of miles around New York City, including numerous volunteer units in small-town New York. Image:Bombero de ojos azulesaa.jpg

Doctors, EMTs, etc.

Doctors, nurses, medical students, paramedics, EMTs, and counselors quickly arrived at the site of the collapse to set up multiple small staging areas and triage centers in the streets surrounding the World Trade Center site. Medical teams from the local neighborhoods, surrounding boroughs, and visiting medical staff worked to set up and staff these multiple triage sites, as guided by FDNY officials. As the afternoon wore on, these triage sites were slowly closed and the triage efforts were consolidated at the Chelsea Piers.

Police

NYPD helicopters were soon at the scene, reporting on the status of the burning buildings.

Many New York City and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police were killed in the collapse of the towers.

The NYPD worked alternating 12-hour shifts in the rescue and recovery effort.

Emergency Management

NYC Office of Emergency Management was the agency responsible for coordination of the City's response to the WTC attacks. Headed by then-Director Richard Sheirer, the agency was forced to vacate its headquarters, located in 7 World Trade Center, within hours of the attack. The building later collapsed due to fire. OEM reestablished operations temporarily at the police academy, where Mayor Giuliani gave many press conferences throughout the afternoon and evening of September 11. Two days later, emergency operations were moved to a pier on the Hudson River. This location served as the point of coordination for over 90 City, State and Federal agencies during the months following the disaster.

The agency now resides in a temporary headquarters in Brooklyn and is awaiting construction of a new, state-of-the-art headquarters to be located in downtown Brooklyn in the former Red Cross building.

Pilots

Image:CAP911.jpg

Immediately following the attacks, members of the Civil Air Patrol were called up to help respond. Then-Northeast Region Commander Colonel Richard Greenhunt placed his region on alert mere moments after he learned of the attack. Early the next day, CAP was given clearance by NORAD to fly Photo-Recon missions of Ground Zero, to provide detailed analysis of the wreckage and aide in recover efforts. They were the first aircrews allowed to take off that was not a Fighter or a Tanker, or otherwise associated with the U.S. Military.

In addition, CAP began to fly blood-transport flights, taking donated blood directly from the blood banks, and landing at JFK Airport, with still enough runway left to take off and fly back. The advantage of this is the ability to land at a local airport, and fly directly to the disaster zone.

Engineers

Starting on September 12, engineers organized by the Structural Engineers Association of New York were working on site for the New York City Department of Design and Construction, reviewing stability of the rubble, evaluating the safety of hundreds of buildings near the site, and designing support for the cranes brought in to clear the debris.

Ironworkers

Ironworkers, some even visiting from other countries, arrived on scene soon after the collapse to offer their services to help rescue victims. Unfortunately, the immediate danger of fire and smoke kept many from helping.

Truckdrivers

By Friday, 9/14/2001, 9000 tons in 1500 truckloads of debris have been brought to the Fresh Kills landfill. By Monday afternoon, 40,000 tons have been taken out.

American Red Cross

See Donations.

National Guard

Fighting 69th From Manhattan was the first military force to secure Ground Zero

Volunteers

Volunteers began arriving at the World Trade Center soon after the towers collapsed. Those who arrived in the early hours helped in any way they could, including college students who gave out water to the rescue workers; later unsolicited volunteers were turned away. People with particular skills, including construction, demolition, medical training, and mental health conseling, came to assist throughout the first few days; a team of disaster relief specialists even came from France. By late Friday, September 14, there was essentially no more room for volunteers, though people had arrived from as far off as California, waiting in lines outside the relief administration center at Javits Center.

American Red Cross

Numbers from the American Red Cross, as of November 19, 2001: 11,549,338 meals/snacks have been served. There have been 50,423 total disaster workers, 48,491 of them volunteers. See also Assistance.

Monetary Cost

Estimated total costs, as of 10/3/2001:

$5 billion for debris removal
$14 billion for reconstruction
$3 billion in overtime payments to uniformed workers
$1 billion for replacement of destroyed vehicles and equipment
(one Fire Department accident response vehicle costs $400,000)

See also

External links