Reply #110: When firemen first arrived, some elevators worked, little damage, what ha

[philb]

happened in WTC1 to cause the damage?

(later before WTC2 collapsed, most said none of the elevators worked and most of the windows were broken and the lobby was blasted.)

When did this occur and what caused it?

Michael Beehler, FDNY WTC1 lobby devastated

We made it down to Vesey and on to West Street, walking into the northwest corner of the north tower. They had a mini command post set up. Lieutenant Mera came over. He said come on, we are going up to the 21 floor. There are reports of people trapped there. There was a bank of elevators there that were still in service, so we took that up to, I believe the 15 or 16th floor.

Brian Becker, FDNY
When we got t o t h e lobby, t h e r e was total devastation then . When we went in , it was blasted apart , and there was broken glass everywhere. All the windows were out, we were in the northwest corner of the building, so we were diagonally separated a hundred percent from the first collapsed building. We were on the opposite corner -- we were the most sheltered part.

Lt. NEIL BROSNAN FDNY WTC1 Explosion


SO I WENT BACK OUT TOWARDS THE WEST STREET SIDE OF WORLD AT THIS TIME ENCOUNTERED 238 AT AN LIVAT BANK AND THEY ASKING The SECURITY GUARD WAS IT FIRE DEPARTMENT MANNED ELEVATOR AND HAD JUST TOLD THEM THAT WE ARE NOT ASSIGNED TO WTC1. FOLLOW ME AND WE WILL PROCEED DEEPER IN THE BUILDING AND WELL PICK UP THE HALLWAYS. THAT WILL GET US ACROSS BACK TO WTC2.
AT THIS TIME CAUGHT THE EXPLOSION COMING COMING OUT FROM MY LEFT SIDE SEEN THE CEILING COMING DOWN AND WE ALL GOT LOW AND BACKED DOWN DEAD END HALLWAY. ME AND THE OFFICER FROM 238 AND THE SECURITY GUARDS AND BELIEVE TWO OF HIS MEMBERS GOT LOW AND BACK DOWN AND ALL RECALL IS FOR ME IT WAS THE RIGHT WALL THAT WOULD BE MY WALL BACK OUT TO WEST STREET.

WHEN CRAWLED OUT WE BECAME ENTANGLED WITH CIVILIANS OUR MASKS GOT ENTANGLED BELIEVE ON TURNSTILES COMING OUT OF THEIR SECURITY POSTS AND WITH CIVILIANS PUSHING US Out. LOST MY MASK AT THIS POINT AT THIS POINT TRIED TO GO BACK TOWARDS MY MEMBERS BUT WE HAD 20, PROBABLY COULD HAVE BEEN UPWARDS OF 30 CIVILIANS PUSHING US OUT THIS WAY AND IT BECAME THE BEST OPTION FOR ME ME AND 238 CRAWLED BACK OUT TO WEST STREET.

WE WERE BLOWN DOWN THE HALLWAY MY LEFT EYE WAS BLINDED BY DEBRIS OUR MOUTHS WERE STUFFED WITH GUESS THE CONCRETE DEBRIS FROM THE EXPLOSION AND AT THIS TIME WHEN WAS GETTING BLOWN DOWN THOUGHT THIS WAS THE THIRD PLANE ESU WAS TALKING ABOUT.

ACTUALLY THE EXPLOSION CAME IN THROUGH THOSE DOORS AND CAME UP BEHIND THE WAY WE HAD COME IN AND THAT THAT THE EXPLOSION CAME FROM THE WAY HAD JUST LEFT.
DID YOU KNOW WHAT THE EXPLOSION WAS?
NO. WE NEVER HEARD THROUGH THIS WHOLE EVENT THROUGH THE COLLAPSE OF OTHER THAN, WELL WORLD TRADE CENTER 1 HAPPENED TO BE THERE. I SEEN THAT COLLAPSE

A. I went in a good 200 yards, right short of the Path station. Retreated back when I seen 238 coming in the hallway I had just come in. I had just hooked up with 238 at the elevator bank.

They observed the explosion and the hallway disappeared. They thought the hallway blew up where I had come from. They thought they seen debris coming down and said, “The Lieutenant’s dead.” My senior guy regroups the company. He yells out, “Regroup”. They’re under light debris also.
But actually on their third search in they encountered a heavy rubble and heavy fire field in that concourse level, which they didn’t know what it was. They just knew that—they actually stretched the house line and there was no water. They said, “Okay, time to leave”.