Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

Newsletter Website
return to mainpage

April 2009                                                                       Volume 16 - Number 3

Perspective...

The World Trade Center Terrorist Attacks

By Jared C. Gartman

Just as many other Americans, I will always remember the morning of September 11, 2001. It was an uneventful morning in Middle Tennessee. As we did every day when we arrived in the Emergency Operations Center, we turned on the televisions for situation awareness and started going about our business.

Then we noticed there was a news story about a fire in one of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers. As we continued to monitor, it was reported that a plane hit the building. As more information was gathered and shown we noticed it couldn't have been a small plane because of the number of floors impacted. Then, out of nowhere, another plane crashed into the South Tower.

This was our first real hint that this was an intentional act of terrorism. Approximately forty-minutes later another aircraft crashed into the Pentagon sending all of America into panic and disbelief.

I arrived in New York City three days after the attacks to assist with response and recovery operations. As I drove through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York it was never more apparent that America's sense of patriotism was at an all time high. People were waving U.S. flags on overpasses along the interstates, flying flags out the windows in their vehicles as they drove down streets and highways, and wearing the American colors red, white and blue. I was proud to be an American!

After arriving at Ground Zero, I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of debris and the number of people and machines working in such a small area. The cameras mounted around the site for the American public to watch crews working, did not provide me with a true perspective. I had never seen a building 110-stories tall, so I couldn't imagine how tall that was prior to the collapse. The South Tower that once stood proudly at 110-stories was now, by my estimation, only a 10-story pile of compressed debris. The air was so thick you could taste it. It had a synthetic, ash, smoke, and burnt flavor. The streets around the WTC Plaza were covered with several inches of paper and dust. I can only speculate that when the floors within the towers began collapsing it compressed the space between each floor forcing papers and other lightweight items to be blown outside the buildings.

From personal accounts of persons in the South Tower, they were told shortly after the North Tower was struck, there was an emergency in the North Tower and to remain at their workstations. These employees did not heed the message and chose to exit the South Tower, a choice that ultimately saved their lives.

As a former Occupant Emergency Program Manager of a Federal building, how do you gain the trust of the building occupants to have an effective Occupant Emergency Program? The safety of the building occupants is the highest priority. This is a delicate situation because to effectively manage the building emergency, the occupants and the emergency coordination staff need to be cooperative.

Using the WTC scenario as a lesson for positive reinforcement, my preparedness training always emphasizes that it is each individual's responsibility to maintain situational awareness and be prepared for an emergency. Believe in the system and trust your instinct. If you feel you are in an unsafe situation, remove yourself safely.

From my observations, in the days, weeks and months following the attacks, Americans were proud and pulling together to take care of business. That meant responding to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and eventually taking the fight to terrorists who had planned these attacks. September 11, 2001, was the day the world changed as we knew it. The phrase Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) instantly became common in the U.S. military community and will remain as long as there is a threat of terrorism.

At some point in time, there will be another catastrophic natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina and another terrorist attack on the U.S. We Americans have to be prepared for both scenarios.

I leave you with my personal disaster guarantee used as a teaching tool to help reinforce preparedness for a natural or man-made disaster.

Jared's 3-Point Disaster Guarantee

There WILL be a disaster.

· Expect it sooner than later- Prepare now!

It WILL NOT occur at a good time.

· There's never a GOOD time for a disaster!

It WILL NOT be the same as the last.

· No two disasters are alike

· The next disaster will provide its own unique learning opportunities

· Capture lessons and retain them