Witness at WTC says she witnessed WTC6 explode before WTC2 fell

[philb]

WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW
EMT PATRICIA ONDROVIC File No. 9 1 10048

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110048.PDF

En route to the alarm, I saw the two towers burning. We parked in the middle of Vesey Street between West and the West Side Highway. We took the stretcher and all the crash equipment out of the bus and we formed up alongside one of the buildings on Vesey. I don't remember which number it was. We were in a line of several other ambulances. Next to us was a St. Claire's ambulance and a Cabrini Ambulance.

I saw a police captain that I knew, and he came out to me. He said there's another plane headed our way, and they just blew up the Pentagon. Then the EMS captain said everyone grab your equipment, get to your vehicles and stay with your vehicles.

My partner and I grabbed our stretcher, went to put it in the back of our vehicle, and at that time, I think it was the lobby of the building behind us blew out.
Everybody started running, I didn't see him again that day. He got thrown one way, I got thrown the other way. I started running towards the West Side Highway, and there was another building on the corner, I guess it was a federal building, cause it was all the green
and gray uniforms with the Smokey the Bear hats, the cops in there. I went to run in the lobby cause all of a sudden you couldn't see anything. I ran into the lobby cause I had no idea what had happened and the cops that were in there were telling everybody get out, get out, get out. Where are you gonna go? Stuffs blowing up. So I ran back out and I started running west again on Vesey. At that point, there was a car on the corner of the West Side Highway.

As I was running up Vesey, the first car blew up on me on the corner of Vessey and the West Side Highway. That set my turnout coat on fire, that set my hair on fire. I kept running. I ended up running through this park, and I couldn't even see where I was running anymore. I kept running North through North Park. As I was running up here, two or three more cars exploded on me. They weren't near any buildings at that point, they were just parked on the street.

Stuff is still blowing up behind me, as I'm running. I can hear stuff exploding. I could hear rumbling, the street under me was moving like I was in an earthquake. I've been in those, so I know what they feel like. It felt like an earthquake. There was no where safe to go. As I was running north in this park, and then I could start seeing again a little bit, and I just kept looking in the sky.

(according to her statement, it seems like WTC6 exploded a few minutes before WTC2 fell-while she was running through North Park)

I think there are other fireman statements relevant to this.

[MrSammo1]

1. It all makes sense

Building six had to implode at some time?

[spooked911]

2. why do you give an excerpt here that says nothing about WTC6?

And what is this about cars blowing up?

WTC6 is a weird case that I haven't really studied much. As far as I can tell, what happened there is definitely more mysterious than what happened with WTC1, 2 or 7.

[philb]

3. dozens of cars and fire engines caught fire and exploded

many of the firemen reported this. Lots of the cars and fire engines parked along West HW and Vesey and Liberty exploded.

And firemen's fireproof coats-like this ladies caught fire.
Also their socks while they ran, and this ladies hair though she was a long way from the "explosion"

What could explain these phenomenon?
Any ideas?

Was it due to air temperature being so hot to cause cars to explode?
seems would kill people.

Did incredibly hot materials get dispursed by the explosive wave?
If so, and enough to cause many dozens of cars to explode, wouldn't this have burned more people severely.

So what could it have been? Some kind of pulse?

[philb]

4. the building that she describes is WTC6, from her location

but its not clear she knew what had exploded, and she doesn't give any clear information that matches where she was to what was happening at that time.

but the exploding vehicles are very strange to me.

throwing hot materials on a vehicle wouldn't like cause it to explode. Hot air would have to be incredibly hot to cause it to explode. What could cause a car's gas tank to explode.

[rman]

5. What could cause a car's gas tank to explode...

and cause clothing and hair to catch fire, but not skin and flesh.
Apparently there was no hot material or air so near that it could cause this; it would be felt by people present and i'd think the witnesses would have reported such if there was.

Most peculiar.

[philb]

6. Lots of car gas tanks exploded- dozens

FIRE PATROLMAN PAUL CURRAN

At that time I went back to the north tower again, and they were stretching a line. A lot of car fires erupted. All of a sudden cars were blowing up everywhere.

I went back and I helped a guy stretch
a line. The guy was all by himself. I helped him stretch a line and started putting water on the car fires. I remember distinctly walking past -- I saw 118 Truck. 118 Truck was parked right on West Street north of Vesey

*********************************************
RONALD COYNE EMT WTC2

MY SAFETY COAT WAS ALREADY ON FIRE. MY SOCKS WERE ON FIRE
I was just covered with burns and bruises and I could hardly breathe.

[philb]

7. Lots of fire truck gas tanks exploded also

though I didn't snip those incidents; I was only snipping statements that dealt with explosions in the buildings. A lot of the fire trucks that packed along West Street exploded.

[Bouvet_Island]

8. That's the strangest thing.

I'd like to see these conditions produce the same result another place.

[philb]

9. Possibilities

some kind of electromagnetic pulse?
microwave?
mininuke that created electromagnetic pulse?
Tesla weapon?

anyone familiar with these; I saw them discussed earlier but didn't pay any attention.

[rman]

10. how would EMP put cloths and hair on fire?

it's even hard to imagine EMP causing a petrol tank to explode- it could concievably cause a spark, put you need more then just a spark to get a petrol explosion (unlike what you see in the movies) - you need a lot of petrol vapor mixed with the right amount of air (oxygen).

microwave seems more plausible; it can be very directional (local), and i'd guess it can be made powerfull enough.

[philb]

11. the car explosion may have put Patricia's coat on fire;

it happened about the same time apparently; not sure about the other guy.
But whatever exploded the gas tanks in many dozens of vehicles as far a block or 2 away from the towers is the strange thing to me.

[philb]

12. Vehicle gas tanks were exploding 10 or 15 blocks away from towers

I guess that's North Park. It's a big green, grassy area, and there's nothing there. As I was running up here, two or three more cars exploded on me. They weren't near any buildings at that point, they were just parked on the street. The traffic guys
hadn't gotten a chance to tow anything yet, cause this was all during the first hour I guess of this thing happening. So there were still cars parked on the street that were completely independent of that. Three cars blew up on me, stuff was being thrown.

Sean started telling him we're not safe where we are now, and we were fifteen blocks away.
As they put me in the stretcher, somebody came over the EMS radio, said that the North Tower is leaning. As we started driving off, we saw the second tower fall. As we're driving away, debris is hitting the back of the ambulance. We were now about 20 blocks away, debris was hitting the back of the ambulance as we were watching this thing come down, it was just this huge cloud.

(this is continuation of Patricia's story)

What could cause that?

[philb]

15. More firemen talk about the car and ambalence fires- lots of them

EMT FREDDY BURGOS

When the first building came down, after the dust lifted from that one, in front of me, the other ambulances, most of them not Fire Department, private or some other ambulances, burning.


FIREFIGHTER RICHARD CARLETTI
Basically they wanted engines was booster tanks to come down and extinguish the car fires then going.


FIREFIGHTER RONALD CIFU
Even after the

[philb]

16. what would cause tower debris to travel over 20 blocks? n/t

[TomClash]

13. A Tiny Quibble

How can you park between West Street and the West Side Highway?

West Street and the West Side Highway are the same thing.

She must mean between the NYMEX and West.

[philb]

14. I don't think they are the same; just parallel and together; or

2 way with a big median; which may be what she's talking about;
parking in the Median; but they may be separate. She isn't the only
only who made a reference like that.