Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks

The area surrounding the World Trade Center became the site of the greatest number of casualties and missing, due to a single incident, in the history of the United States. This region became known in the ensuing days as "ground zero".

Building evacuation

When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower (1 WTC) of the World Trade Center, a standard announcement was given to tenants in the South Tower (2 WTC) to stay put and that the building was secure. However, many defied those instructions and proceeded to evacuate the South Tower.cite news |title=A Day of Terror - The Response: Rescue Workers Rush In, and Many Do Not Return |date=September 12, 2001 |publisher=New York Times |author=Fritsch, Jane]

Standard evacuation procedures for fires in the World Trade Center called for evacuating only the floors immediately above and below the fire, as simultaneous evacuation of up to 50,000 workers would be chaotic.

Emergency response

Firefighters

Firefighters from the New York City Fire Department rushed to the World Trade Center minutes after the first plane struck the north tower. Chief Joseph Pfeifer and his crew with Battalion 1 were among the first on the scene. [cite news |title=Terrorist Attack At New York World Trade Center |url=http://www.firehouse.com/terrorist/911/magazine/harvey.html |author=Eisner, Harvey |publisher=Firehouse Magazine |date=April 2002] At 8:50 a.m., an incident command post was established in the lobby of the North Tower. By 9:00 a.m., the FDNY chief had arrived and took over command of the response operations. Due to falling debris and safety concerns, he moved the incident command center to a spot located across West Street, but numerous fire chiefs remained in the lobby which continued to serve as an operations post where alarms, elevators, communications systems, and other equipment were operated. The initial response by the FDNY was on rescue and evacuation of building occupants, which involved sending firefighters up to assist people that were trapped in elevators and elsewhere. Firefighters also were required to ensure all floors were completely evacuated.cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/executive_summary.pdf |title=FDNY McKinsey Report - Executive Summary |month=August | year=2002 |publisher=FDNY / McKinsey & Company |accessdate=2007-07-10|format=PDF]

Numerous staging areas were set up near the World Trade Center, where responding fire units could report and get deployment instructions. However, many firefighters arrived at the World Trade Center without stopping at the staging areas. As a result, many chiefs could not keep track of the whereabouts of their units. Numerous firefighters reported directly to the building lobbies, and were ordered by those commanding the operating post to proceed into the building.

Problems with radio communication caused commanders to lose contact with many of the firefighters who went into the buildings. The repeater system in the World Trade Center, which was required for portable radio signals to transmit reliably, was malfunctioning after the impact of the planes. As a result, firefighters were unable report to commanders on their progress, and were unable to hear evacuation orders. Also, many off-duty firefighters arrived to help, without their radios. [cite news |title=9/11 Inspires Call to Review Response Plan For Crises |publisher=The New York Times |date=January 23, 2002 |author=Lipton, Eric and James Glanz] FDNY commanders lacked communication with the NYPD, who had helicopters at the scene, or with EMS dispatchers. The firefighters on the scene also did not have access to television reports or other outside information, which could help in assessing the situation. When the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m., firefighters in the North Tower were not aware of exactly what had happened. The battalion chief in the North Tower lobby immediately issued an order over the radio for firefighters in the tower to evacuate, but many did not hear the order, due to the faulty radios. 343 firefighters died in the collapse of the towers. ["NY Firefighters attack Giuliani," BBC News, July 12, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6294198.stm]

The command post located across West Street was taken out when the South Tower collapsed, making command and control even more difficult and disorganized. When the North Tower collapsed, falling debris killed Peter Ganci, the FDNY chief. Following the collapse of the World Trade Center, a command post was set-up at a firehouse in Greenwich Village.

The FDNY deployed 200 units (half of all units) to the site, with more than 400 firefighters on the scene when the buildings collapsed. This included 121 engine companies, 62 ladder companies, and other special units. [cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/x7_fire_apparatus_deployment.pdf |title=Fire Apparatus Deployment on September 11 |publisher=FDNY / McKinsey & Company |month=August | year=2002 |accessdate=2007-07-10|format=PDF] The FDNY also received assistance from fire departments in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester County, and other neighboring jurisdictions, but with limited ability to manage and coordinate efforts.

Doctors, EMTs and other medical staff

EMTs began arriving at 8:53 a.m., and quickly set-up a staging area outside the North Tower, at West Street, which was quickly moved over to the corner of Vesey and West Streets. As more EMTs responded to the scene, five triage areas were set-up around the World Trade Center site. EMS chiefs experienced difficulties communicating via their radios, due to the overwhelming volume of radio traffic. At 9:45, an additional dispatch channel was set aside for use by chiefs and supervisors only, but many did not know about this and continued to operate on the other channel. The communication difficulties meant that commanders lacked good situational awareness. cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/ems_response.pdf |title=McKinsey Report - Emergency Medical Service response |publisher=FDNY / McKinsey & Company |date=August 9, 2002 |accessdate=2007-07-12|format=PDF]

Dispatchers at the 9-1-1 call center, who coordinate EMS response and assign units, were overwhelmed with incoming calls, as well as communications over the radio system. Dispatchers were unable to process and make sense of all the incoming information, including information from people trapped in the towers, about conditions on the upper floors. Overwhelmed dispatchers were unable to effectively give instructions and manage the situation.

EMS personnel were in disarray after the collapse of the South Tower at 9:59 a.m. Following the collapse of the North Tower at 10:29 a.m., EMS commanders regrouped on the North End of Battery Park City, at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Around 11:00 a.m., EMS triage centers were relocated and consolidated at the Chelsea Piers and the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Throughout the early afternoon, the soundstages at the Pier were separated into two areas, one for the more seriously injured and one for the walking wounded. On the acute side, multiple makeshift tables, each with a physician, nurse, and other healthcare and civilian volunteers, were set up for the arrival of mass casualties.

Supplies, including equipment for airway and vascular control, were obtained from neighboring hospitals. Throughout the afternoon, local merchants arrived to generously donate food. Despite this, few patients arrived for treatment, the earliest at about 5 p.m., and were not seriously injured, being limited to smoke inhalation. An announcement was made around 6-7 p.m. that a second shift of providers would cover the evening shift, and that an area was being set-up for the day personnel to sleep. Soon after, when it was realized that few would have survived the collapse and be brought to the Piers, many decided to leave and area was closed down.

Police

The New York City Police Department quickly responded with numerous Emergency Service Units (ESU) and other responders after the crash of Flight 11 into the North Tower.cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/pdf/nypdemergency.pdf |title=McKinsey Report - NYPD |date=August 19, 2002 |accessdate=2007-07-10|format=PDF] The NYPD set up its incident command center at Church Street and Vesey Street, on the opposite side of the World Trade Center from where the FDNY was commanding its operations. [cite book |author=Dwyer, Jim and Kevin Flynn |title=102 Minutes |publisher=Times Books |year=2005 |chapter=Prologue] NYPD helicopters were soon at the scene, reporting on the status of the burning buildings. When the buildings collapsed, 23 NYPD officers were killed, along with numerous Port Authority police officers. The police department helped facilitate the evacuation of civilians out of Lower Manhattan, including approximately 5,000 civilians evacuated by the Harbor Unit to Staten Island and to New Jersey. In ensuing days, the NYPD worked alternating 12-hour shifts to help in the rescue and recovery efforts. [cite news |title=Police Officers Swiftly Show Inventiveness During Crisis |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 17, 2001 |author=Rashbaum, William K.]

earch and rescue efforts

On the day following the attacks, 11 people were rescued from the rubble, including six firefighters and three police officers. [cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/12/lkl.00.html |title=America Under Attack: The Aftermath, Larry King Live |publisher=CNN |date=September 12, 2001 - 21:00 ET] One woman was rescued from the rubble, near where a West Side Highway pedestrian bridge had been. [cite news |title=Stunned Rescuers Comb Attack Sites, But Thousands are Presumed Dead |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 13, 2001 |author=McFadden, Robert D.] Two Port Authority police officers, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, were also rescued. Discovered by former U.S. Marines Jason Thomas and Dave Karnes, McLoughlin and Jimeno were pulled out alive after spending nearly 24 hours beneath 30 feet of rubble. [cite news |title=A DAY OF TERROR: THE HOPES; Survivors Are Found In the Rubble |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 12, 2001 |author=Murphy, Dean E.] [cite news |title=AFTER THE ATTACKS: ALIVE; Entombed for a Day, Then Found |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 13, 2001 |author=Filkins, Dexter] Their rescue was later portrayed in the Oliver Stone film, "World Trade Center".

Some firefighters and civilians who survived made cell phone calls from voids beneath the rubble, though the amount of debris made it difficult for rescue workers to get to them. [cite news |title=Searchers Sift Through Grim Scene |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=September 13, 2001 |author=Greene, Ronnie]

By Wednesday night, 82 deaths had been confirmed by officials in New York City. [cite news |title=Agonizing Search for Survivors; New York: Rescue efforts continue on thin hopes. Residents offer aid, look for loved ones. |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=September 13, 2001 |author=Zucchino, David]

Rescue efforts were paused numerous time in the days after the attack, due to concerns that nearby buildings including One Liberty Plaza were in danger of collapsing. [cite news |title=A fight vs. steel, despair & weather Rescuers press on valiantly, despite odds |publisher=Daily News (New York) |date=September 14, 2001 |author=Heisler, Bob]

Recovery efforts

The search and rescue effort in the immediate aftermath at the World Trade Center site involved ironworkers, structural engineers, heavy machinery operators, firefighters, police officers, asbestos workers, boilermakers, carpenters, cement masons, construction managers, electricians, emergency medical technicians, insulation workers, machinists, plumbers and pipefitters, riggers, sheet metal workers, steamfitters, steelworkers, truckers and teamsters, and many others.cite web |url=http://www.osha.gov/Publications/dangerous_worksite.pdf |title=A Dangerous Worksite |publisher=Occupational Safety and Health Administration|format=PDF]
Lower Manhattan, south of 14th Street, was off-limits, except for rescue and recovery workers. [cite news |title=Digging into rubble yields bit of hope |publisher=USA Today |date=September 13, 2001 |author=McCoy, Kevin and Donna Leinwand] There were also about 400 working dogs, the largest deployment of dogs in the nation's history. [cite news
title=Canines to the rescue!
publisher=Christian Science Monitor
url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0828/p11s02-lihc.html
date=August 28, 2002
author= Marjorie Coeyman]

Organization

New York City Office of Emergency Management was the agency responsible for coordination of the City's response to the 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. By Friday, rescue and reliefs were organized and administered from Pier 92 on the Hudson River.cite journal |author=Cohen, Steven, William Eimicke and Jessica Horan |title=Catastrophe and the Public Service: A Case Study of the Government Response to the Destruction of the World Trade Center |journal=Public Administration Review |month=September | year=2002 |volume=62 | pages = 24 | doi = 10.1111/1540-6210.62.s1.6 ]

Volunteers quickly descended on Ground Zero to help in the rescue and recovery efforts. At Jacob Javits Convention Center, thousands showed up to offer help, where they registered with authorities. [cite news |author=Stamey, Mark |title=Volunteers are Lining Up by the Thousands |publisher=The New York Post |date=September 15, 2001] Construction projects around the city came to a halt, as workers walked off the jobs in order to help at Ground Zero. [cite news |title=As Hard Hats Volunteer in Rubble, City's Building Boom Falls Into Doubt |publisher=The New York Times |date=September 15, 2001 |author=Blumenthal, Ralph and Charles V. Bagli] Ironworkers, welders, steel burners, and others with such skills were in high demand. By the end of the first week, over one thousand ironworkers from across North America had arrived to help, along with countless others. [cite news |title=Ironworkers Offer Help at WTC |publisher=Newsday |date=September 15, 2001 |author=Hetter, Katia]

The New York City Department of Design and Construction oversaw the recovery efforts. Beginning on September 12, the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) became involved in the recovery efforts, bringing in experts to review the stability of the rubble, evaluate safety of hundreds of buildings near the site, and designing support for the cranes brought in to clear the debris. The City of New York hired the engineering firm, LZA-Thornton Tomasetti, to oversee the structural engineering operations at the site.cite web |author=Domel, Jr., August |month=November | year=2001 |url=http://www.ncsea.com/downloads/wtcseerp.pdf |title=World Trade Center Disaster: Structural Engineers at Ground Zero|format=PDF]

To make the effort more manageable, the World Trade Center site was divided into four quadrants or zones. Each zone was assigned a lead contractor, and a team of three structural engineers, subcontractors, and rescue workers.

* AMEC - North Tower along West Street
* Bovis Lend Lease - South Tower along Liberty Street
* Tully Construction Company, Inc. - Eastern portion of the WTC site
* Turner/Plaza Construction Joint Venture - Northern portion and 7 World Trade Center

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Army Corp of Engineers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) provided support. Forestry Incident Management Teams (IMTs) also provided support beginning in the days after the attacks to help manage operations.cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/pdf/mck_report/fire_operations_response.pdf |title=FDNY McKinsey Report - Fire Operations Response |month=August | year=2002 |publisher=FDNY / McKinsey & Company |accessdate=2007-07-10|format=PDF]

A nearby Burger King was used as a center for police operations.cite news |author=Hamill, Denis |title=Rescue Workers Keep Up Quest for Signs of Life Ruin All Over, But Not One Unkind Word |publisher=Daily News (New York) |date=September 16, 2001] Given that workers worked at the site, or The Pile, for shifts as long as twelve hours, a specific culture developed at the site. Leading to workers developing their own argot. [ [http://www.groundzeromuseumworkshop.com/lingo.htm Ground Zero Lingo :: Ground Zero Museum Workshop : New York Tours of the Recovery at Ground Zero ] ]

Debris removal

"The Pile" was the term coined by the rescue workers to describe the tons of wreckage left from the collapse of the World Trade Center. They avoided the use of "ground zero," which describes the epicenter of a bomb explosion.

Numerous volunteers organized to form "bucket brigades", which passed 5-gallon buckets full of debris down a line to investigators, who sifted through the debris in search of evidence and human remains. Ironworkers helped cut up steel beams in to more manageable sizes for removal. Much of the debris was hauled off to the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island where it was searched and sorted.

Reuse of Steel

Some of the steel was reused for memorials. New York City firefighters donated a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company. [cite news
last=GANASSI |first=MICHELLE
title=NY firefighter donating steel to Shanksville
url=http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/08/22/news/news/news808.txt
date=2008-08-25
work=Daily American
accessdate=2008-08-22] The beam, mounted atop a platform shaped like the Pentagon, was erected outside the Shanksville's firehouse near the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93. [cite news |last=Gaskell |first=Stephanie |title=Pa. site of 9/11 crash gets WTC beam |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/24/2008-08-24_pa_site_of_911_crash_gets_wtc_beam.html |date=2008-08-25 |work=New York Daily news |accessdate=2008-08-26]

Twenty-four tons of the steel used in construction of USS New York (LPD-21) came from the small amount of rubble from the World Trade Center actually preserved for posterity. [Tom Baldwin, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2191181,00.html "Warship built out of Twin Towers wreckage"] , Times Online, May 22, 2005.]

Hazards

Hazards at the World Trade Center site included a diesel fuel tank buried seven stories below. Approximately 2,000 automobiles that had been in the parking garage also presented a risk, with each containing, on average, five gallons of gasoline. Once recovery workers reached down to the parking garage level, they found some cars that had exploded and burned. The United States Customs Service, which was housed in 6 World Trade Center, had 1.2 million rounds of ammunition and weapons in storage in a third-floor vault, to support their firing range.

Morale

Morale of rescue workers was boosted on September 14, 2001 when President George W. Bush paid a visit to Ground Zero. Using a bullhorn, Bush addressed the firefighters and rescue workers, and thanked them. [cite news |title=President tours disaster scene; Bush calls New York rescue workers; heroes in the eyes of American public |publisher=The Globe and Mail |date=September 15, 2001] Bush remarked, "I'm shocked at the size of the devastation, It's hard to describe what it's like to see the gnarled steel and broken glass and twisted buildings silhouetted against the smoke. I said that this was the first act of war on America in the 21st century, and I was right, particularly having seen the scene." [cite news |title=Bush Tours 'The Pit,' Vows Action; Aftermath: Rescuers are cheered by a visit that's marked by a patriotic rally. The president is shocked by the enormity of the devastation. |author=Zucchino, David and Stephen Braun |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=September 15, 2001]

At some point, rescue workers realized that they were not going to find any more survivors. After a couple weeks, the conditions at Ground Zero remained harsh, with lingering odors of decaying human remains and smoke. Morale among workers was boosted by letters they received from children around the United States and the world, as well as support from thousands of neighbors in TriBeCa and other Lower Manhattan neighborhoods. [cite video |title=Up From Zero |year=2003 |publisher=Production Link LLC |people=Sutherland, Ann DeStefano and Tim Baney]

Gifts from States to New York

Louisiana donated a firetruck to New York, at a football game, naming it the "The Sprit of Louisiana." New York gave back the firetruck to Louisiana in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina. Fact|date=October 2008

Military support

Civil Air Patrol

Immediately following the attacks, members of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) were called up to help respond. Northeast Region Commander Colonel Richard Greenhut placed his region on alert mere moments after he learned of the attack. With the exception of CAP, all civilian flights were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration. CAP flew aerial reconnaissance missions over Ground Zero, in order to provide detailed analysis of the wreckage and to aide in recovery efforts, including transportation of blood donations.

National Guard

The National Guard supplemented the NYPD and FDNY, with 2,250 guard members on the scene by the next morning. The U.S. 69th Infantry Regiment (The Fighting 69th) from Manhattan was the first military force to secure Ground Zero, it formed the core of a task force consisting of local units including Bravo and Charlie companies of the 1/105 Infantry Battalion. The 69th armory on Lexington Avenue became the Family Information Center to assist persons in locating missing family members.

Eventually thousands of Soldiers and Airman from the NY National Guard participated in the rescue/recovery efforts. They conducted site security at the WTC, and at other locations. They provided the NYPD with support for traffic control, and they participated directly in recovery operations providing manpower in the form of "bucket brigades" sorting through the debris by hand.

Additionally service members provided security at a variety of location throughout the city and New York State in order to deter further attacks and reassure the public.

U.S. Navy

U.S. Navy deployed a hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) to Pier 92 in Manhattan. Crew members provided food and shelter for more than 10,000 relief workers. Comfort’s 24-hour galley also fed an impressive 30,000 meals. Its medical resources were also used to provide first-aid and sick call services to nearly 600 people. The ship’s psychological response team also saw more than 500 patients. [cite web
author=Ellen Maurer, National Naval Medical Center Public Affairs
title=The Hospital Ship Receives Humanitarian Medal for Sept. 11 Mission
publisher=U.S. Navy
date=September 22, 2003
url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=9108]

Handling of cleanup procedure

A May 14, 2007 "New York Times" article, "Ground Zero Illness Clouding Giuliani's Legacy," gave the interpretation that thousands of workers at Ground Zero have become sick and that "many regard Mr. Giuliani's triumph of leadership as having come with a human cost." The article reported that the mayor seized control of the cleanup of Ground Zero, taking control away from established federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. He instead handed over responsibility to the "largely unknown" city Department of Design and Construction. Documents indicate that the Giuliani administration never enforced federal requirements requiring the wearing of respirators. Concurrently, the administration threatened companies with dismissal if cleanup work slowed. [Anthony DePalma, "Ground Zero Illness Clouding Giuliani's Legacy," "New York Times," May 14, 2007, 1, or http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/nyregion/14giuliani.html?hp]

Workers at the Ground Zero pit worked without proper respirators. They wore painters' masks or no facial covering. Specialists claim that the only effective protection against toxins such as airborne asbestos, is a special respirator. New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health industrial hygenist David Newman said, "I was down there watching people working without respirators." He continued, "Others took off their respirators to eat. It was a surreal, ridiculous, unacceptable situation." Michael Mason, "The 9/11 Cover-Up," "Discover," October 2007, p. 24 http://discovermagazine.com/2007/oct/the-9-11-cover-up]

The local EPA office sidelined the regional EPA office. Dr. Cate Jenkins, a whistle-blower EPA scientist, said that on September 12, 2001, a regional EPA office offered to dispatch 30 to 40 electron microscopes to the WTC pit to test bulk dust samples for the presence of asbestos fibers. Instead, the local office chose the less effective polarized light microscopy testing method. Dr. Jenkins alleged that the local office refused, and said, "We don't want you f---ing cowboys here. The best thing they could do is reassign you to Alaska."

Health effects from responders' exposure to toxins

Increasing numbers of Ground Zero workers are getting illnesses, such as cancer.

On January 30, 2007 Ground Zero workers and groups such as Sierra Club and Unsung Heroes Helping Heroes met at the Ground Zero site and urged President George Bush to spend more money on aid for sick Ground Zero workers. They said that the $25 million dollars that Bush promised for the ill workers was inadequate. A Long Island iron-worker, John Sferazo, at the protest rally said, "Why has it taken you 5 1/2 years to meet with us, Mr. President?" [ Emi Endo, "Sick 9/11 workers protest at Ground Zero" Newsday, 31 January 2007 http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/am-groundzero0201,0,1528416.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix ]

Firefighters, police and their unions, have criticized Rudy Giuliani over the issue of protective equipment and illnesses after the attacks.Ben Smith, "Rudy's Black Cloud", "New York Daily News", September 18, 2006, p. 14] An October study by the National Institute of Environmental Safety and Health said that cleanup workers lacked adequate protective gear. [ [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/08/1349248 Democracy Now! | New Yorkers Tell Federal Officials To Stop Ignoring 9/11's Health Effects ] ] The Executive Director of the National Fraternal Order of Police reportedly said of Giuliani: "Everybody likes a Churchillian kind of leader who jumps up when the ashes are still falling and takes over. But two or three good days don't expunge an eight-year record." [ [http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660203115,00.html Deseret News | Giuliani will miss firefighters event ] ] Sally Regenhard, said, "There's a large and growing number of both FDNY families, FDNY members, former and current, and civilian families who want to expose the true failures of the Giuliani administration when it comes to 9/11." She told the "New York Daily News" that she intends to "Swift Boat" Giuliani. [Ben Smith, Rudy's Black Cloud: WTC Health Risks may hurt Prez Bid." "New York Daily News," September 18 2006, p. 14]

Investigations

Soon after the attacks, New York City commissioned McKinsey & Company to investigate the response of both the FDNY and NYPD and make recommendations on how to respond more effectively to large-scale emergencies in the future. [cite press release|url=http://home2.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2002b/pr223-02.html |title=Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta Release McKinsey & Company Studies of NYPD's and FDNY's Responses to World Trade Center Attack |date=August 19, 2002 |publisher=The City of New York]

Officials with the International Association of Fire Fighters have criticized mayor Rudy Giuliani for failing to support modernized radios that might have spared the lives of more firefighters. [ [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-giuliani8apr08,0,6334452,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines Giuliani foes plan to use 9/11 against him - Los Angeles Times ] ]

Estimated costs

Estimated total costs, as of 10/3/2001 [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/03/nyregion/03BUDG.html THE BUDGET: Finances of New York City Staggered by the Emergency, New York Times, 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)

Chart of FDNY firemen killed on 9/11/01

("Government exhibits from the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui")

ee also

*2001 anthrax attacks
*Domestic terrorism
*Collective trauma
*Collapse of the World Trade Center
*Health effects of September 11, 2001 attacks
*September 11, 2001 radio communications
*World Trade Center site

References

Further reading

*cite book
last = Bull
first = Chris
coauthors = Sam Erman
year = 2002
title = At Ground Zero: Young Reporters Who Were There Tell Their Stories
publisher = Thunder's Mouth Press
id = ISBN 1-56025-427-0
*Dwyer, Jim and Flynn, Kevin. "102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers" Times Books (2004)

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/03/nyregion/03FIRE.html Fire Dept. Lapses on 9/11 Are Cited, The New York Times, 8/3/2002]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/17/nyregion/17SITE.html In Last Piles of Rubble, Fresh Pangs of Loss, The New York Times, 3/17/2002]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/18/nyregion/18BOOK.html THE VOLUNTEERS: Good Intentions Lead to a Bad Ending, New York Times, 10/18/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/14/nyregion/14UNDE.html THE SITE: In an Urban Underbelly, Hidden Views of Terror's Toll, New York Times, 10/14/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/03/nyregion/03BUDG.html THE BUDGET: Finances of New York City Staggered by the Emergency, New York Times, 10/3/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/30/nyregion/30FIRE.html Fire Dept. Asks If There Are Some Fires It Shouldn't Fight, New York Times, 9/30/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/nyregion/21TOMB.html UNDERGROUND: Looting Is Reported in Center's Tomblike Mall, New York Times, 9/21/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/19/nyregion/19CND-RESC.html THE SITE: Police Commissioner Backs Poor Outlook on Survivors, New York Times, 9/19/2001] "also describes visits by political leaders"
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/nyregion/17PROM.html THE FIREMEN: Department Promotes 168 to Rebuild Officer Ranks, New York Times, 9/18/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/nyregion/17TRUC.html THE DISPOSAL: Hauling the Debris, and Darker Burdens, New York Times, 9/17/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/nyregion/16FUNE.html THE FUNERALS: For the Fire Department, the First Three Farewells, New York Times, 9/16/2001]
* [http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/4019.htm City Loses Hundreds of Bravest, Finest, New York Post]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/nyregion/13FIRE.html THE FIREFIGHTERS: Department's Cruel Toll: 350 Comrades, New York Times, 9/13/2001]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/nyregion/12RESC.html THE RESPONSE: Firefighters Dash Into Towers; Many Do Not Return, New York Times, 9/12/2001]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/911_fdny_dispatches NY Fire Department's 9/11 Radio Dispatches, New York City, 9/11/2001] Audio recordings of first responder communications
* [http://www.groundzeromuseumworkshop.com/home.html Ground Zero Museum Workshop, virtual photo gallery dedicated to the recovery workers at The Pile]