All language subtitles for 911 2002

On september 1 1 , 2001 ,

the fire fighter from engine 7, ladder 1

responded to the world trade center.

This is their story,

it is also the story
of how new york city's bravest

rose to their greatest challenging.

What you are going to see

is the only known footage
from inside tower 1

- an eyewitness account of one
of the most defining moments of our time.

...:::Lord Sadler:::...
lordsadler2012@gmail.com

When you work in a firehouse seven blocks

from the two tallest buildings
in New York...

you get to know every step,
every staircase, every story.

Morning, Jim.

Couldn't get too close
to that razor blade?

l'm James Hanlon.

l've been
a New York City firefighter

for nine years
at Ladder One downtown.

Last summer,
the summer before 9l11

there were days we'd
go to the Trade Center

five times in a single shift.

Uh, 10-4. We're going to
also send you some help.

My point is, we knew those
towers as well as anybody...

but nobody...

...nobody expected September 1 1 .

l've got to get out.

Go to the Trade Center.

On that day

guys from my firehouse,
my best friends

were some of the first firefighters

into Tower One after the plane hit.

Those are jumpers.

What they did that day,
what everyone there did

was remarkable...

Chief...

...and almost as remarkable

it was captured on videotape

inside the tower

beginning to end.

The tape was shot
by two brothers--

Jules and Gedeon Naudet.

Holy shit!

They're documentary filmmakers

and old friends of mine.

l don't know.

They always say there is always
a witness for history.

l guess... we're... that day we
were chosen to be the witness.

The strange thing is, the tape

the whole story,
it kind of happened by accident.

l mean,
Jules and Gedeon didn't mean

to make a documentary
about 9l1 1 .

We wanted to make a documentary
about a... a firefighter.

That's how
the whole thing got started.

...nine, ten...

One, two, three...

More to the point

the plan was to follow a rookie.

On the job

we call them probies.

The idea was to show

how a kid almost...
become a man in nine months.

Which is their probationary period

where they have
to prove themselves.

Let's go, guys. Hurry up.
Get in the apartment.

We teamed up,
and by June of 2001

the three of us

were out at the Fire Academy,
shooting the training.

Open up.

Move in. Watch the ceiling.

After a few weeks
of learning the basics

a probie may think

he knows what it takes
to be a real fireman.

He's in for a rude awakening.

Can l have the lights, please?

This is a probie.

Became engulfed in fire.

Another firefighter-- no hood.

Be prepared. Wear your gear.

Go into a building

you never know
what's going to happen.

The fire was starting to really
roll over my head now.

The force of it knocked me down,
knocked my helmet off

and my hands were gone.

l take three steps into the apartment

and the floor gave way and we all went

and l'm trying to get my body
off the ground now

because l'm laying in boiling water.

My right leg was paralyzed
for six months.

This job is no joke.

When you get out there,
it's the real world.

Don't be no hot dog,
showoff jerk.

Pay attention to the senior men
and do what you're told.

Stay low, stay low.

Toward the end of the initial training

we began looking for one

out of the 99 new probies to follow.

My name's Paul Denver.

l'm John Caro.

Antonius Benetatos--
Tony for short.

l was a police officer.

For awhile, l was a pizza man,
actually

an Irish pizza man in the Bronx.

This is my first job.

lt sounds kind of cheesy,
but l always kind of wanted

to be a hero, and this is really

the only thing you can do
that you can do that.

lmmediately, we're, like

Okay, this is the kid.
This is the kid. Let's go.

We got Tony assigned
to my firehouse

one of the biggest in the city.

lt's Ladder One, plus a whole
other company--

Engine Seven.

l am so glad l took this job.

Can't beat it.

My wife... sometimes she gets,
like, so frustrated at me

because l'm so happy to come
to work, you know

and she gets up in the morning

she's, like, Oh, l got
to go to work again.

Meanwhile, l'm up,
5:30 in the morning.

l'm, like,
Honey, l'm going to work.

You don't actually
wear that shirt, do you?

They are the greatest,
incredible guys.

They are guys who fought

some of the worst fires
you can imagine--

What's up with
that shirt?

What? What's
the matter with it?

Soon, they'd face
the unthinkable.

Question was,
would Tony be ready?

l'm terrified.

This is what l want to do,
but it's... it's scary.

l just hope l can...

l can do everything that
l'm supposed to do, you know

because l want
to help these guys

and l want to be a good fireman

but you know,
l'm still worried

about how l'm going
to actually react

when there's fire flying
over my head.

Here goes.

What's your first name?

Tony. Tony.
All right.

You know you come in on
Thursday, right?

Thursday? l wasn't
sure of that.

Thursday night.

l am now, sir.

You need to sit down?

Yes, sir.

You want to stop
calling me sir?

l'm a little bit nervous.

What am l supposed to do
when l come in the morning?

Anything l
should know?

Uh... be on time.

l just... l want to make sure

l do everything
l'm supposed to do.

Thing is,
when you're a probie

what you're supposed to do...

We got to do the sheets.

We change the sheets
in the mornings.

...is pretty much everything.

More news and traffic coming up.

lt's 6:22.

Oh, l... l got work to do...

l got a job, babe

l got work to do

l got work to do

l got work to do

Oh... oh, oh...

Get all the wheels.

Then we start on top

and wash the rig down.

Probie rules.

Probie always gets in the sink.

Probie does not
go in the TV room, ever.

Probie makes sure

there's always hot coffee
in the morning.

Do you have an
iron at home?

Actually, l do not, sir.

You don't?
No.

Probie in a lot of trouble...

take two.

l think l'm doing decently.

l'm still waiting for a fire,
that's all--

just waiting for a fire

and l think that will, you know,
make a pretty big difference.

Engine, Ladder.

Should we grab that big long
thing from the back, too?

Thing is, guys say there
are two kinds of probies...

Fire's out.

You're getting closer.

...black clouds
and white clouds.

When a black cloud comes

to the firehouse

that probie, he brings all
the fires in the city with him.

A white cloud, it's just
the opposite--

no fires.

Don't get me wrong,
there were fires--

just not when Tony was on duty.

The kid was
one very white cloud.

So what do you say?

Does it feel
like fire today, or...?

Yeah?

Okay, so,
we got a suspicious fire.

Do we have
any smoke condition at all?

Negative.

False alarm.

So you catch
a job or not?

No, no. l figure it was just an
elevator smoking.

Tony was ready,
though, right?

l was. l was ready.

Tony was nervous, of course--

terribly nervous--

and as the days would pass

Tony, waiting for
his first fire, wanted to prove

to the other guys
and even more to himself

that he was going to be
a real great fireman.

Tony.

The guys were not going

to make it easy on him.

No one was singling Tony out.

We do it to every probie.

Break your chops

till you laugh about it.
Right.

Because that's how we do it.

We'll tease you to do death until
you start laughing.

Right. No problem.

You... got to
Iove this job.

Sooner or later,
and you will.

But before you can love it

you've got to learn it.

Now, say you've got up there
now, you've got your helmet on

your bunker gear,
and you got to get your mask on.

How are you going to do
that without letting go?

Uh, l don't know.

When you hit,
what's the best way to hit?

Uh... on-on one knee.

Help! Help!

Hit.

Help! Help! Help!

Help! Help!

lt's hot in here. Hurry up.
Make a quick sweep. It's hot.

Means you got to go under
the bed, go under the bed.

The next time you do this
for real

you're going to be
more cautious. Right.

You did fine. All l want you
to do is learn to relax.

All right.

You got to remain calm. Okay.

You got to control that surge.

Okay.
Okay?

Not bad. Not bad.

That handwriting's getting
better already.

Thank you.

All right.

lt's payday today, baby!

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

You're welcome.

For two weeks, l got _672.25.

You got to be kidding me.

You couldn't even buy
a six-pack with that.

lt's starting pay, you know?

lf l wanted to get rich,
l would have become a lawyer.

But l wanted something

that l'd be able to live with
for the rest of my life.

This l can live with.

A lot of the guys feel
that way.

You need to get up
in the morning

and look yourself in the mirror

and say you're doing something
with your life.

Somebody's in there.
Hit the door.

You do your job.

You risk your life
to help people...

and with time

you become part
of a unique, extended family.

We do a lot of things
with our families together.

You know, you got
a bunch of guys here

that just, uh...
they want to be here.

Just making some, uh,
onions and mushrooms for the...

...for the steaks.

How's it going,
Jimbo, huh?

You doing pretty good?

Oh, this is good here.

Tell me one other job
where everyone sits down

to dinner together every night.

Sit down, Steve.
You got to be tired now.

Let me help you, Steve

because l think l'm the only guy
that helps you

in this firehouse.

l know it was you, Fredo.

You broke my heart.

lt's been four weeks, l think,
five weeks, something like that

and l'm still... still no fire,
but it will come.

Probably when l'm asleep

and not ready for it,
that's when it will come.

lt's 2:30 in the morning, bro.

You can sleep. You can.

All right.

Trust me.
When the alarm goes off

they'll come and get you.

Okay.

Engine, Ladder...

All right.

Shut it down, Stan.
Shut it down.

l got to spray water.

l'm getting closer.

There you are, Tony.
Look-- your first fire.

And it was a car
fire, no less.

That's all right.

My first fire
was a garbage can fire

on West Broadway and Franklin.

Listen, Tony was
getting closer

but for the record,
that was some flame.

lt wasn't a real fire.

Hey, Chief, come
see his first fire.

lf they're all like that

it's going to be a fun 20 years.

Come here,
there's fire over here.

There's the fire, see?

Start the line,
put out the steaks.

By the end of August

we knew that we had
a great cooking show

and there were no fires.

Waiting for a job--
that was a very big concern.

but every time we'd talk
with some of the senior guys

they always told us

Well, be careful
what you wish for.

Yesterday, a 27-year-old
firefighter--

Staten Island
he was stationed--

went to a job
and he passed away.

This guy left behind
a two-year-old son

and, uh, a baby on the way.

You know, this dude

was just expecting to go home
and see his girlfriend

after the tour that day,
you know.

Well, we'll go
to the funeral on Saturday

and... what can you say,
you know?

Detail, ten-hut!

Stand to!

l look back to last summer

and it doesn't just seem
like a different time.

lt seems like a different world.

At the time, we didn't think
there could be anything worse

than losing
a single firefighter.

l mean, looking back,
we were all just...

we were kind of innocent,
especially Tony.

A bunch of the guys
were talking about

what different parts
usually get them at the funeral.

When the coffin went past,
that was... that was...

that was a little rough.

l don't know.

l know l...
l hope it's my last one.

We'll go straight up right now.

There's a lot of things
going on at all times, you know?

Shit's hitting the fan, the roof
starts to collapse, you got to get off.

You know,
you got to really improvise.

Right, right.
You know what l mean?

Basically, you have to be
on the top of your game.

Right.

You're not the O.V.
You're on top of the game.

Right.

This is not a joke, this job. Right.

There's a lot of things
to think about, you know?

And tunnel vision,
focus, really.

Right, right.

Because that's what's going
to keep you alive

and that's what's going
to give you the opportunity

to help anybody else.

Right.

Right.

You ready to go down?

Fire or no fire, Tony had
Iearned a lot that summer.

Sure, he had a ways to go,
but we'd teach him.

Far as we knew,
there was plenty of time.

A few days later, Jules cooked
a French dinner for the guys...

at least, he tried to.

Decided to cook leg of lamb

which l had told them
for a long time

was one of my specialties.

l think he cooked one

and we really needed
at least five.

Where's Frenchie?

Couple more meals
like this

we'll be able
to share shirts.

All right, all right.
l got a small piece. So what?

My mistake.

We stayed up late

just telling jokes
and busting chops.

This is it.
That's all that's left.

This is the best part
of the meat.

Even though the guys were
making fun of us

because we didn't cook enough

we were all having
a great time.

We were getting accepted.

Touchdown!

We all joked all night long.

lt was really a great night.

Little did we know.

lt was the night
of September 10.

lt's going
to be a beautiful day today.

Sunshine throughout,
Iow humidity.

Really a splendid
September day.

The afternoon temperature
about 80 degrees.

Great weather
for the primary election.

Tonight, clear and cool...

lt's begun to sound
like some sort of a clich\

but really,
September 1 1 started out

like every other day.

Currently, winds out of the
northwest six miles per hour.

Relative humidity, 700/o.

66 in Newark,
64 degrees in Bridgeport

67 in Midtown
and heading for 80.

8:OO in the morning.

Don't throw the fat away,
please.

The day guys were
just coming in.

l was off that day.

13 guys from myfirehouse
Were On.

What happened?

Around 8:30...

Ladder!

...l believe the run came in.

Holy shit!

Right then and there,
l knew that

this was going to be the worst
day of my life as a firefighter.

lmmediately, l knew
that this wasn't an accident.

What am l
doing on this...?

Go, go to the
Trade Center.

We knew, you know, this was
going to be something unusual

something tough,
but it would be something

we could handle,
or... at least deal with.

Oh, my God.

That looked like
a direct attack.

Chief Pfeifer made
the first official report.

Battalion 1 to Manhattan.

We have a number
of floors on fire.

lt looked like the plane was
aiming towards the building.

Transmit a third alarm.

We'll have the staging area
at Vesey and West Street.

That would be
One World Trade Center?

lt was probably
a two-minute ride

but it seemed
like it was forever

because there was a lot of
things going through your head.

Felt sorry for the people,
the people inside the building.

What was going to happen,
nobody had any idea.

We've never experienced
something like this before.

Everyone we was passing

was looking up.

lt was like the world
just stopped.

We are just currently

getting a look
at the World Trade Center.

We have something
that has happened here.

Flame and an awful lot of smoke
from one of the towers.

Whatever has occurred has just
occurred, uh, within minutes

and we are trying
to determine...

You want me to pull right in here?
No, go.

As we swung around
in front of World Trade

my mind tells me

Wow. This is bad.

What do we do?

What do we do for this?

We'll get a team up...

We park right under the awning
of One World Trade Center.

Chief Pfeifer puts his gear on,
and l remember asking him

Chief, can l come in with you?

l want to come in with you

and he says...

Yeah, you stay with me.

Come in with me.
Never leave my sight.

l go in and l hear screams

and right to my right there is
two people on fire, burning.

l just didn't want
to film that.

lt was like no one...
no one should see this.

Pfeifer was the first chief
into the building.

Right away, a guy from
the Port Authority told him

the damage was
somewhere above the 78 Floor

but all you had to do
was look around--

it was obvious
something had happened

right there in the lobby.

You just saw that all
the windows were blown out.

The lobby looked like

the plane hit the lobby.

Later, they'd figure out

that flaming jet fuel had shot

straight down
the elevator shaft.

All of this damage
was done already.

People was all over the place.

So you knew
it was going to be worse

when we got upstairs.

Flames are shooting out.

Smoke is pouring out.

l want you to get
an engine and team up...

To get an outside line?

Don't go any higher
than the 78.

What floor are
we talking about?

78.

My main concern was

we had 20 floors of people
above...

Chief, you have any idea
where the floors are...

...and we had to figure out
a way to get them out.

Chief, we haven't found
an elevator...

You don't have
an elevator yet?

As it turned out,
we had no usable elevators.

The freight elevator
is gone.

Any elevators working?

With the elevators out

there was only one way to get
up there:

walk.

Companies come in.

You see them with a concerned
Iook on their face...

We got an extra man.

...and they're sent up.

A firefighter in full gear

carrying 60-something pounds
of hose and equipment

takes about a minute to climb
one flight of stairs.

These guys were looking at
80 stories just to get there.

Then they'd start working.

l felt the mood that we were
going to put the fire out.

Everyone seemed
to be confident.

l know l was.

You basically looked at it
and said

Okay, we got ten, 20 stories
of fire.

We'll deal with it.

We'll get up there.

W-we'll get to it.

There are fire crews just
screaming into this area

from every conceivable
direction.

By this time

some of the top chiefs
in the department

had joined Chief Pfeifer

running the command post...

sending guys upstairs.

Every time l looked around

it was new faces;

some that l recognized.

l had seen Chief Pronti--

great guy,
white hair, mustache--

the perfect grandfather
that you'd like to have.

l remember seeing
Lieutenant Fody--

who was working with
Nine Engine--

said hello,
and then started going up.

Another of the men who went up
was Lieutenant Kevin Pfeifer.

He was in charge of Engine 33

and he was the chief's brother.

l just remember we both
Iooked at each other

said a few words, and...

but it was more the look,
with a real concern

that this was going to be
something tough.

lt's going to be a tough job.

lt's going to be a long job.

They'll put it out.
That's what they do.

The last time Jules
had seen his brother

was an hour ago
at the firehouse.

As far as Jules knew

Gedeon had followed Tony,
the probie, into the tower.

When we had left for the odor

of gas in the street...

...for me, he was in the engine

and then when we arrived
to the Trade Center

he went up immediately
with the guys.

So for me, my brother
is going up the stairs.

lt turns out Gedeon
was with Tony...

Engine Seven, Ladder One.

This is Firefighter Benetatos.

...but Tony was still
at the firehouse...

No, l was off duty.

...and now he'd been ordered
to stay there.

Everybody's been recalled.

All available units must come
back to the firehouse.

While Tony tried to keep up
with the phones...

This is Firefighter Benetatos.

...Gedeon took his camera
and started walking

down towards the Trade Center.

He was sure
his brother was inside

and he wanted to get to him.

l remember slowly walking down
to the World Trade Center.

What really sticks in my mind

is passing by people
and filming them

and filming their astonishment.

Eyes saying,
This is not happening.

l remember tilting the camera
back and forth

between the people
and the tower in front of me.

Let's go!
Let's move it!

Both towers of
the World Trade Center

have been hit by aircraft

both are in flames

both have suffered
explosions...

There is a black smoke

coming from both of the towers.

lt's a horrific scene, here.

There's debris flying through
the air over the East River

here into Brooklyn...

Mayday! Mayday!

There were
two planes.

l saw the second one hit.

lt hit the other tower.

What we knew is
that a second plane hit

and we had
a lot of people trapped.

Stay together! Stay together!

Let me know what's going on.

We're just going to have
to walk it.

There's one way to go.

A second plane just hit.

Motherfuckers!

Now the chiefs
would have to set up

a whole other operation
over in Tower Two.

He's going to...

l'm going to send him up.

Okay.

This was planned.
This was planned.

When the second plane hit

that's when you could see fear.

Both of them
are on fire.

You could see it
in everybody's eye.

Do not come down here.

Tell her your
co-workers are with you.

There were people from all over
the world in the streets...

...different colors,
different languages.

On those few blocks

between the firehouse
and the World Trade Center

the entire world was there...

Two aircraft!

The first one on
One World Trade Center!

The second one
just happened.

...and they were all looking
at the same thing

and talking about
the same thing

and reacting the same way.

l saw it!
A plane!

You saw a plane go in?

A plane went straight
into the building

right there
into the side!

A plane?
Yeah.

That was a direct hit.

There were two planes?

There's two.

One in each building?

l saw the last one.

We heard, Boom! and
the whole building...

What are those people
going to do?

All the elevators
are blocked out.

The staircases might still be...
right?

The stairs were crowded.

People were coming down burnt.

Upstairs in Tower One

the guys from my firehouse

were now ten floors up,
and climbing.

lf we did talk, it was
to the people coming down

trying to comfort them,
telling them, It's all right.

Get out, stay calm.

l wound up finding a woman
in the C staircase.

Her arms were all burnt.

She was just sitting there,
basically in shock.

So, l picked her up
under her arms

and l put her in
with a group of guys

and asked the group of guys to,
you know, take her down.

l spoke with one person,
l think the highest floor

that l had heard was

about a survivor
from the 80th floor coming down.

So you know
that that was intact.

We knew it was going to be
a long haul getting up there

and you had to try to conserve

as much energy as possible,
if-if that was even possible.

l'm hot.

You know, l could feel the blood
in my-my neck pumping.

l could feel my whole,
you know, my whole heart

my whole system is
really working.

l knew we had to get up
to help people.

We had to get up there.

l knew we'd get there

but it was just going
to take a while.

You're talking about thousands
of casualties

and thousands
of potential casualties.

They was pretty much saying,
God bless you.

l can't believe y'all going up

and we're coming down.

People, they did...
pretty much said

Why y'all going up there?
Get out.

People in Stairwell C
coming down, please.

Their concern
was to get everybody out--

that was the key--
as much people out as possible.

Most of the people in Tower One
came out

on the mezzanine
above the lobby.

Then, they'd get out
through another building.

All right, l want to use
the lobby of Seven as a triage.

The chiefs didn't want anyone
going through the lobby doors.

First, it was because debris
was falling outside.

Then...

Jumpers, jumpers!

...it was people falling.

You don't see it,
but you know what it is

and you know that every time
you hear that crashing sound

it's a life
which is extinguished.

lt's not something
you could get used to

and the sound was so loud.

l just remember looking up

thinking,
How bad is it up there

that the better option
is to jump?

Let's go! Get off the corners!

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

Like something out of The
Towering Inferno, like a movie.

WINS news time, 9:12.

A major disaster in New York
City this morning.

Breaking news now,
on 1010 WINS.

Well, we now have some insight

as to what's going on
in the air here.

The FBl is now
investigating reports

of a plane hijacking

before these crashes
we're telling you about

at the World Trade Center
towers this morning.

Rescue crews are making
their way to the scene

and all of this unfolding
in one of the busiest places

in the world--
Downtown Manhattan.

Again, both towers hit
by aircraft.

Again, two planes involved
in two crashes

into either tower
of the World Trade Center

at about ten to 9:OO

and five after 9:OO
this morning.

Pieces of the building
and the planes

actually landed blocks away.

Do not walk in this area,
please!

Gedeon was walking
with his camera

when he found a chunk
of the plane engine

that had crashed completely
through Tower Two.

Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?

Don't be kicking stuff.
This is evidence.

Now, you don't kick it.

All right, just get out
of the area. Just go.

This is evidence.
You're kicking stuff.

What's the matter with you?
Come on, let's go.

That was as close as Gedeon
would get to the Trade Center

without a firefighter, anyway.

Let's go! Move!

So l decided

that the smartest thing
to do was

to slowly walk back
to the firehouse

and find a way to go to Jules.

We're just getting word now

one of the two planes
was hijacked

after takeoff from Boston.

Two airplanes have crashed

into the World Trade Center

in an apparent terrorist attack
on our country.

We now have reports of a fire
at the Pentagon.

Fire at the Pentagon
being reported this morning.

l was just saying

that officials are calling this
an act of terrorism.

They're saying
that's clearly what it is--

clearly not an accident.

Arriving back at the firehouse

and Tony's still alone

and he has no clue
of what to do.

The Pentagon?

The Pentagon's
on fucking fire?

War-- this is war.

And just by listening to him
freaking out and swearing

and behaving like l've never
seen him behaving

Tony was expressing
what we all felt.

At that point, l saw
the fireman in him taking over.

l can't believe
the fucking Pentagon.

Somebody has balls.

l mean, a few times he was
just putting his gear on

and about to rush
through the door

and realizing that he was
the only one in charge

of this empty firehouse

and going back
to the house watch

and looking again
at those pictures on TV

and just to make sure
that it was real.

We have these
two enormous explosions

at the World Trade Center
here in New York...

Tony just wanted to go there.

...is open from 23 up.

At stairway B.

ln the lobby,
the chiefs were trying to run

the largest rescue operation
any of them had ever seen...

...to any units from Tower One
on the floor.

...with next to no information
coming in from outside.

You got a phone
that's working?

l think the entire world
knew more than we did.

Everybody had seen the attacks.

Everybody had seen
the tower burning...

...had seen the Pentagon.

For us

we didn't have a clue what
was going on outside our lobby.

Please, go that way!

One elevator's working
going up...

What elevator's working?

lt was like a beehive,
that place.

Everybody's working
on the phone.

Everybody's working
on the radio.

Everybody's getting
information--

sending guys up,
getting reports...

and just trying to get
this thing under control.

At one point,
there was even a rumor

a third plane
was heading in.

There's another plane coming in!

You've got to remember

at that moment,
anything seemed possible.

...the NYPD.

Port Authority police
and the military

and l need that done now!

There's another
fucking plane?

You get as many people

out of the building,
Iet it burn up...

No, no, not only do we got
a lot of people in there

we got to get
these people out.

That's got to be...
That's the priority.

On top of everything else

just talking to the guys
in the stairwells was tough.

Four-David to Battalion Seven.

The towers' internal
communications setup

had been knocked out
by the crash.

That left
Fire Department radios.

Suddenly, you have hundreds
and hundreds of firefighters

that have radios.

Command Post to Battalion Seven.

lt seems to become
more and more difficult.

Command Post to Battalion Seven.

OEM-1 to base.

Please provide me again
with your location.

ls anyone in this car?

ls there anyone in this car?

There was one guy from the WTC

who was trying frantically to
reach anyone on the elevators.

69 car, anyone in this car?

Hello. Is there anyone
in this car?

And going through the list...

Hello. Is there anyone
in this car?

And there's about 98 elevators
in the World Trade Center.

These fucking cars are dead.

lf you can't speak...

ln the middle of all this

suddenly an elevator opens up

and you see people not having
a clue of what's going on

because they've been stuck
in there

since the first plane hit.

l was seeing the look
on the firefighters.

l don't know...

lt was not fear; it was

What's going on?

Disbelief.

That made me panic
a little bit.

That made me panic.

lt was the first time
l had seen Father Judge--

The Chaplain, as he's called.

He was in the lobby with us

and l could tell
that he was praying.

You know, Father Judge

he would at least make
eye contact with you

and kind of give you
a reassuring look.

That wasn't occurring--

almost like he knew
that this was not good.

This is a dangerous...

this is a dangerous way
to go out.

You just can't believe it.

There is one big hole
in the side of this building

and there's little flames now
and lots of lots of smoke

and people that l've talked to
were, like

How big is the plane?
How big is the plane?

We've been hearing reports
that it is a plane.

Back at the firehouse...

What's up?
What's up?

...off-duty guys
were starting to show up.

We're just waiting
right now.

What's that?

We're just waiting
right now.

Tony was... he just had
one thing in his mind...

This is bad.

...to go there,
and he couldn't.

Two swift alarms
right away.

And you know the fucking
Pentagon is burning now.

What?

The Pentagon
is on fire.

They want everybody
to stay here.

They're going to deploy us
as needed.

Right now,
they got enough guys down there.

They want us in case
anything else breaks out.

And that's when
Chief Byrnes arrived.

l need a cup of coffee.

Larry Byrnes joined
the Fire Department in 1 957.

Retired a battalion chief
three years ago.

l couldn't wait.
l had to get down there

because, you know what?

They're my firefighters,
it's my building, it's my city.

Get your gear
all together.

Get a flashlight
and a bottle of water.

Okay.

Told the probie

Get your gear. Let's go.

l remember Tony asking me

to bring him some gloves--
medical gloves.

Grab a box of gloves.
Go grab a box of gloves.

And by the time l found them

and rushed back...

...they were gone.

The probie and the retired
chief were lost in the crowd

headed down to the Trade Center.

Oh, Lord.

l think at that point

the lobby was pretty empty.

There were just a few of us
in the lobby

and... and we were
discussing tactics.

This is Tower One?

This is Tower One.
Put a big one here.

Some of the outlying companies
didn't know what Tower One was

and Tower Two, so we were just
trying to help them out

by writing it on the desk
to make it obvious to people.

lt was just before 10:OO

a little over an hour
since the first plane hit.

Firefighters from all over the
city were inside those towers--

hundreds of them.

Battalion One to Battalion Two.

A situation that started bad

just gets worse
and worse and worse.

The World Trade Center
South Tower

which was hit by a plane
and racked by an explosion

approximately an hour ago,
has totally collapsed.

What happened?

All right, folks...

Get out of the street.

lf you're just joining us
this morning

you're in for a...
a horrific surprise.

The scene here is just one

right out of one of those movies
you would see in Hollywood:

People walking around
with cell phones, in tears

holding their heads, looking up

at what's left
of the World Trade Center

and just shaking their heads
in disbelief.

Out on the street...

everyone knew
what just happened.

The South Tower was gone.

What the hell is going on?!

They saw it collapse and ran.

l waited.

Time slowed down and everything
became pitch black.

Everybody all right?

Yeah, l'm okay.

How's the way out of here?

And then realized:
Okay, l'm... l'm not dead.

Yeah, right here.

So, let's turn on
my floodlight

on top of my camera.

All right,
come on down this way.

Yeah, let's get out
the way we came in!

Everybody down.
Everybody down.

Okay, okay.

Come on back.

Everybody down.

lnside the Trade Center

all Jules
and Chief Pfeifer knew...

Charles?
Yeah, right here!

...all anyone knew...

...was that something
had gone terribly wrong.

Got a light?

They're going down.

No, no. Come here.

They asked me, You
with the light, help us out.

We've got to get everybody out.
Let's go!

l was pointing my light
wherever they needed.

Right here.

Right here, right here.

l remember seeing Chief Pfeifer.

Command Post from Tower One:

All units evacuate the building.

Command Post to all units.

He gave it right away;
very calm, didn't wait

and it was...
for him, it was a precaution.

lt was, Okay,
something wrong is happening.

Let's get everybody out.

Where's that flashlight?

Everybody is getting out.

From the tone of his voice

l knew that it was
no normal thing.

l knew it was time to leave.

l remember saying to the guys

Well, we're on our own now.

And for the first time

l looked in someone else's eyes
and saw fear...

...which you don't see
with fire.

We orderly evacuated.

lt was such a long walk-- 20...
what, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13.

l was going down the stairs.

l could remember a fireman

resting on the landing
and telling them

you know, We've heard a Mayday.
Get out of the building.

l don't think they...
a lot of them--

l know for a fact--
did not take it serious.

You start to feel your anxiety
build up...

...take a deep breath,
and you say

lt's going to be all right.

Let's just keep going.

l have brothers ahead of me,
brothers behind me.

We're in this together,
we're fighting together

and we're going to do
what we have to do.

Sarge?

What?

Hey, Pete!

Come on.

Pete!

l was not even
consciously filming.

l just had my camera by my side

and pointing the light
wherever they needed.

Needed my light to...
to-to actually help someone

and then l realized
it was Father Judge.

Hurry up!

Okay, guys, here,
we need a hand here.

Hey, guys,
you come back down!

They saw him lying at the base
of the escalator where we were

I
and l removed his white collar
and l opened up his shirt

and l remember checking
for his pulse

and realizing at that time...

um... he was gone.

All right,
we got four guys.

O'Neill.

Off the escalator
right here.

Come on!

Okay, right here.

Come on, guys, let's go!

Follow my light.

Top of the escalator.

Top of the escalator?

Top of the escalator.

After that,
we had to figure out

how to get out
of where we were.

...floor to the Command Post.

Do you want us to evacuate?

Because if you go out this way,
right where we are now...

people are still jumping...

...debris is still falling
and it's too dangerous.

You cannot go out this way.

What?

One World Trade Center

we took a hit
on that last explosion.

Command post is being evacuated
at this time.

l have people in here

who cannot get out
due to the debris field.

1 O-4.

Can we get out here?

Going out this way, Chief?

Hold it, hold it.

Chief Pfeifer tells the people
carrying Father Judge

Okay, stay here.

Which way?

l told them that l'll be back

and wait here, and l'll see if
the bridge is-is still here.

Chief Pfeifer went to check
one of the footbridges

leading out
of the Trade Center.

lf it was still standing,
it'd be their best way out.

What are we gonna do?

There's no way to get home.

lt's going to be okay.

Did you hear what happened
with the other tower?

lt's gone.

You see the tower collapse?

The top or the whole thing?

Looked like
the whole thing

and now what
they said was

uh, FBl just came here
and they said that

uh, that a third plane
is what did it.

Another plane hit it.

We'll head down together.

And now l wonder
for the first time if...

if Jules is still alive.

l never thought about it before.

Have any firemen
been hurt?

Honey, it's a terrible,
terrible day.

l'm sure there have been.

l realize that Jules could
be dead that very moment

and l was feeling...
so responsible.

l was the one who put him
in this situation.

l had to find Jules.

Gedeon hitched a ride
with three off-duty firemen

determined to get to
the Trade Center the only way

they could-- in a pickup truck.

Billy Cosgrove!

We shouldn't have
even come in here, man.

All floors are leaving.

Everybody out of Tower One.

Okay!

Battalion One to Division One.

We walk and we walk
and we walk and...

Go with the Mayday.
Go with the Mayday.

There are Maydays being given

and we start to figure out:
Okay...

We should be able
to get out here.

...it must be worse
than we think

because you cannot have
that many Maydays

and all that dust
and that noise.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday...

No! No!

That's when l felt
the danger...

for the first time.

lt was all around you.

l mean... every single cell
of your body is telling you...

You should not be here.

The scenery was
radically different.

l mean, it was... it's
white powder everywhere.

Just a few people
here and there...

Take yourself a mask.

We got masks,
we got an extra cylinder

and l want to go in.

...and this kind of silence.

You okay?

We have ambulances
straight down.

Of course, there's no word
on casualties...

We have ambulances
straight down.

...but suffice to say, the loss
of life presumably profound.

Ambulances are
straight down.

Of course at this point

everyone's concern
is just getting north

getting away
from the World Trade Center

as well as finding out
where their families are.

The South Tower of the World
Trade Center just minutes ago

collapsed to the ground.

Only one tower is standing
at this point.

l have a direct line of sight

to what is left
of the World Trade Center.

The fire continues to burn.

l can see the flames
through the thick smoke.

Battalion One to check out.

l follow the chief.

By this time, Chief Pfeifer
had found a safe exit...

...and tried to radio the men
in the lobby.

No answer.

Page a Mayday.
Go with a Mayday.

So we walked across the bridge
back towards the Trade Center

still trying to call on the
radio and not getting through.

The guys that we had left there

they're not there anymore.

They had already
gone out another way

carrying the body of Father
Mychal Judge down the street

to Saint Peter's Church.

They laid his body
on the altar.

...:::Lord Sadler:::...
lordsadler2012@gmail.com

The chief, his aide Eddy Fahey,
and Jules walked outside

underneath the footbridge
they just crossed

and into a scene that none of
them could even comprehend.

And there's debris everywhere.

There's dust covering
the entire place...

Battalion Two to Division One...

...and we look,
and the tower is here.

So we said, Okay, probably
it was something else.

The tower is nice.

lt's standing, and the other
one, we can't see it

but it's probably just,
you know, on the other side

and no one tells us--
we have no clue.

Where the Trade Center was

was, uh,
just covered with smoke

and that's not unusual
for a fire

to have a building disappear
behind the smoke.

And there was a...

just a-a sense that this wasn't
a good place to stay.

So we walk north.

Just trying to figure out
what took place here

and then try to gain
some control.

Emergency! Emergency...

So we started to rebuild
some sort of structure.

All right, we got
everybody out of the lobby

who was in the lobby.

Chief Pfeifer's priority
was to set up

a new command post
and find his men.

Right now, they were
coming down the stairs.

At some point l started to run.

l don't even know if l was
touching stairs on my way down.

When l got about
to three or two

is when l started
to think of my family, you know.

l said, l've got
to get out of here.

When we got out to the lobby...
it was unbelievable.

Nobody was around.

Command station, there was
nobody at the command station.

lt looked like
the end of the world.

l-l... joked about it.

l said the command post
was abandoned.

The board was set up
and nobody was there.

l said, Oh,
this is not a good sign.

l knew there was nothing
l could really do.

l mean, l was not a fireman.

l had absolutely
no medical expertise at all.

l was just a civilian.

But as a cameraman...

yeah, there was
something l could do--

and it was to document
what was happening.

So the cameraman took over
and just filmed.

Gedeon had made his way as
close to the tower as he could.

Strange enough, the only thing
that was... that was...

my preoccupation was to...

to... to clean my lens.

l don't know if it was a way
for me to try focus on something

so l can... stay away
from the horror, the reality

but it, uh, it was
just my obsession

was my lens needs
to be cleaned.

People jumped.

Jules was with Chief Pfeifer,
who was plotting his next move.

The firefighters from my house

had reached the lobby
and scattered.

You know, kind of walking
at this point.

We knew we were out of the
building, felt we were safe.

Unfortunately, there were people
jumping out of windows.

You could see them hitting
the ground all around you

debris hitting the ground.

l thought we was going
to get out the building

the chiefs will meet up

but then we come up with a plan
and then we go back in.

That's what l thought
it would be something like.

Just before l walked out

a fireman
out in the middle of the street

was yelling at me, Wait! Wait!
throwing up his hands

and, uh, that time l waited

and there was a big thud
and then another thud

and, uh, it was two people

who had fallen or jumped
from way high up.

Get yourself accounted for

with Chief Gorey
down at staging.

Let's move!
Come on, Officers.

Basically,
everybody was standing

right in the shadow
of Tower One.

lt was 10:28 in the morning.

And then comes
that-that sound again.

And l don't even have time
to think at that point.

l just run.

And it's dead silence;
it's nothing

no radio calls, no...
no sound, nothing.

And l feel the person
who was on top of me get up...

Let's get out of here.

You with me?
Yeah.

...and l recognize
it's Chief Pfeifer's voice

and l just realized just,
you know

he jumped on top of me
to protect me from all this.

Help!
Help!

Chief Pfeifer said,
Okay, let's go now

and we get up,
the dust starts to clear

because the wind was blowing
in the opposite direction.

After that it was
just trying to literally

walk around the block
and regroup

and walk back to the scene
and see what we could do.

Less than a block away, Gedeon
was still in darkness.

The pounding stopped

and you realized now

that you just can't
breathe anymore.

We need help!

Let's go
before the cars blow up!

This way!

Let's go
before the cars blow up!

At that point l realized
that l was going to die.

Tell me where to go!

Over here behind the edge
of the truck.

Over here.
Keep shouting.

Here, come to the truck.

Come on, we got to get
out of here.

You got to fucking move,
Mftn .

And the only thing
l could think about was Jules

and l remember telling myself
that if l would survive that

l would...
l would be a better brother.

Over here.

Yeah, let's go.

You can make it.

Help him. Help him!

Quickly.

He weighs 400 pounds, dude.

You get over here.

We have to leave here.

He's not standing.

You need to come over here
and fucking help me.

The last person
Gedeon had filmed

was now lying
in the middle of the street.

Grab his legs.

This guy must have been
standing outside in the street

when everything collapsed,
and he survived it.

And with the help
of an FBl agent

he walked him to safety.

And we can't see a thing.

You have to walk, sir.
You have to walk.

You're almost there,
almost there.

Come on.

And he would pass out
every second.

So it was very difficult
to carry him.

Thank you both.

Help me!
Help me!

Towards us!

Shit.

Do you have some water,
something to drink?

Thanks.

Open your mouth.

Open your mouth
'cause l need the water, too.

Thanks.

l had been in this street
three times in the last hour.

The first time,
it was full of people

the second time, everybody
was running away from it

and the third time...

getting out
of the last collapse

there was just nobody.

And everything was white.

Everything was covered
by the dust.

Holy shit.

lt was the most surreal scene
l have ever seen.

l cannot describe
what took place.

lt is a scene
just not to be believed.

The smoke still billowing.

What we do have is a lockdown.

You can't get in;
you can't get out.

You can't go up;
you can't go down.

l see that l'm still
in the middle of the street

and l see there is
a little deli

that seems to be open
on the corner.

Yeah, we're getting 02 now.

Oh, okay.

Come on in, guys.

He's in the back!

He's in the back!
Make a right.

A lot of people injured--

Hey!

firefighters, bloody noses

things like that.

And then it hits me--
Now, where is my brother?

l was upstairs.
l was in the lobby.

Go back here.

l start realizing that
l've probably lost my brother.

So l try to go back
to the World Trade Center.

l need to go find my brother.

Where are the guys?

l have no idea.

l was with
Chief Pfeifer.

And l'm in the middle
of the street, walking

and a cop approached me
and says, you know

Who are you with?

l'm with the Chief
of Battalion One.

Oh, you're Battalion One?
Yes.

You got l.D.?
Got l.D.?

l have my letter of, uh,
from the Commissioner...

Take your letter
and your camera

and get out of here...
all right?

Go.

So l go back up

walk north, not really
knowing where l'm going.

You with the
police department?

No, l'm making a documentary
on the fire department.

fucking Disneyland.
Let's go.

And after l while l said

You know, there's nothing
l can do here.

l need to go back
to the firehouse.

Maybe they'll have some news.

Maybe he's already back there

but at that point, l just...

l think he's dead...

and it becomes... it becomes
too overwhelming.

Walking back to the firehouse

l'm not trying to think
for one second about Jules.

That was too much.

Don't worry, honey.

Everyone's asking me,
What happened? What happened?

l said, l don't know.

l said, Hell.
Hell is what happened.

lt just came down, and it
wasn't supposed to come down.

l came back to the firehouse.

Let's go, guys.

Let's go, guys,
Iet's move it.

Let's go, guys,
Iet's move it.

Very emotional.

A lot of guys are crying.

l'm crying.

You all right? Eh?

Where the fuck were you?

l couldn't get back in.

They wouldn't let me up.

And still we don't know
how many guys are missing.

We're down there looking.

l got thrown into
two ambulances.

We bolted, we ran.

l never got so many hugs
in my life.

They were
glad to be alive hugs.

lt was a great thing
to-to know that, uh...

that, uh, people
were surviving this.

l thought you guys
were dead.

You're not
the only one.

l thought
l was dead.

We lost so much that...
in that two-hour period.

How you doing?
All right?

We felt like we got
the hell kicked out of us.

l'm in shock.

l don't know what to do, man.

Go back down there or what?

l'm fucking in shock.

Everyone okay?

You guys were
in the building?

Yeah.

So many thoughts and emotions.

We got to call our loved ones,
tell them we were okay.

We made it out.

We just made it out.

l was never so happy to
hear my mother's voice.

Oh, my mother...

All right, guys?

Little to little

the guys started to come back,
one by one.

Again, the cameraman
would just film.

l mean, it was
just like, vroom!

You heard the ground rumble,
and it was just...

fucking debris was just
chasing you.

We were running!
Hauling ass!

So, it was just filming them
coming back and asking them

if they had seen Jules

and nobody could answer
this question.

Are you tired, brother?

lt was extremely frustrating
and annoying.

One guy from the firehouse
came to me

and l asked him, you know,
Have you seen Jules?

Do you know where he is?

and he looked at me,
and he said

Yes, he's behind you...

and l turn over...
and Jules was there

in the firehouse.

l didn't even see him
coming in.

And it was like meeting
for the first time.

l ask Jules if he's all right

and he tells me, Yes.

He tells me that he was
all that time in the lobby.

l never thought l would be
so happy to meet my brother

that's for sure.

Cried like babies
for about ten minutes.

And, um, l know now
what it's like

to think you're going to die.

Oh, fuck, man,
we were worried about you guys.

We didn't know
what happened to you guys.

Oh, God. Everybody...
everybody's accounted for?

Yeah.
Right here.

You got everybody?

Everybody's accounted for?

Engine 3-1-6...

You all right?

l-l can't believe
we all made it out.

How did we make it out
of that building?

30 seconds...

another two flights higher.

Why am l alive,
and so many others are dead?

Got down to the lobby

and we saw they abandoned
the command post

we knew we
were in trouble.

We camped out, it was,
it was, it was much worse

than it was going up.

Yeah.

Right? We went up,
and they had everything set up.

We came down,
it was desolate.

l was, like,
Holy shit...

We came down to the lobby,
it was like a fuckin' war zone.

There was nobody there.

Where the fuck...?
What do we do?

We made it outside,
we made it about a block...

We made it
at least two blocks

and we started running.

Floor by floor,
it started popping out.

lt was as if they
had detonated...

Yeah, detonated...

...planned to take
down a building.

Boom, boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom!

All the way down. l was watching it and running.

Just ran up West Street.

And then you just saw this cloud
of shit chasing you down...

Where did you go?

Just ran up West Street.

Couldn't outrun it.

So what'd you do?

l jumped under
a battalion car.

I
l hid under the car
just waiting to die.

The scene here is reminiscent
of a nuclear winter...

Right now, everyone
is walking around

with masks
covering their faces.

People just wandering
the streets

covered in blood,
covered in plaster.

They were near the site
when the buildings collapsed.

We were on about, l think
it was the 28th floor

we hear this
fuckin' rumblin'

and l guess that's
when Two came down.

l guess it hit One, crushed
out the Marriott, whatever...

Am l right? Thought
we were fuckin' dead.

l guess the best way
to sum this up is

the World Trade Center
is no more.

Sit down.

One, two, three...

The loss of life,
one can only imagine

is just enormous... it must be
incomprehensible at this point.

They have a fireman's...

They have a fireman's body
in ten, in house, on the floor.

They dragged him in,
but they can't identify him

'cause the shirt where
his name is, is ripped

and it's only half a body.

Building started shaking...

guys started running

and, and, uh, by the time
l got to the bottom

there was bodies
hitting the ground.

Chaplain-- we carried out
the chaplain. He was dead.

He was dead?

Yeah.

lt exploded, it all...
just blew us all in.

The fire department
chaplain?

Yeah. Old guy.

Fuck.

He had no pulse,
nothing.

We lucked... you know,
in a way, we lucked out.

We were in One.
Two fell first.

Then they told us to get out.

Two fell first?

Two fell first.

l can't
figure this out.

lt fell while we were
in the building.

Yeah. That's why--
we were lucky.

When you guys came out of the
building, Two was already gone.

Yeah! Really? Yeah.

Two was gone
when we came out of One.

Watching on the news, Two
fell... One didn't fall for...

That's what they
were getting us out.

The United States will hunt down

and punish those responsible

for these cowardly acts.

Son of a bitch.

l'm going to want a list

of the New York City
firefighters

and officers that are willing
to go back to work again.

Okay? We probably
won't be leaving

for at least a half hour
but l want to get a list.

Yeah, l don't why myself
and the other guys

were picked to survive this.

We're gonna need
masks down there.

ln a way, l feel that there
must be a reason.

We'll leave as soon as we get
the order from, uh, Division.

What am l supposed to do
to... to earn this?

lt's not easy being a survivor.

Put your head
back now, gently.

You okay?
Yeah.

Oh, that day...
that day changed everything.

l think
l got fibers in there.

You got fibers
in there.

When l came back that day
to the firehouse

one firefighter came to me
and he said, You know

yesterday you had one brother.

Today you have 50.

lt's good to see you.

lt's hard to even describe

the emotions in the firehouse
that day.

On one hand,
you celebrated.

Very frightful day, man.

Very happy to be here.

Somehow the guys
from our house, they got out.

Everybody came back,
one by one, to the firehouse

except... one.

Did you see Tony over there?
Benetatos?

Huh?
Tony.

Benetatos is the
only one that, uh...

Here we were, all accounted for

except for Tony.

Everybody was wondering
about Tony.

At the same time, we knew
hundreds of firefighters

thousands of people... had to
have died in those towers.

And every hour that passed

we were more certain
Tony Benetatos was one of them.

Can anybody hear me?

Hey, guys, Deputy Chief Hill
called, First Division.

He doesn't want anybody else
down there right now.

They got a million guys that are
standing around doing nothing.

So, it's a direct order
from Hill.

l'd come in from home

and, yeah, we were ordered
to stay at the firehouse...

Let's go, guys!
Let's move it out!

Let's move it out!
Let's go!

...but the truth is...

...the guys had to go back

had to start digging
for survivors.

Let's go!

That fuckin' mentality--

Get in there, get in there,
get in there

get the people out--

is bred in you,
it's programmed into you.

l had to go back...

Billy...

...and find the kid.

Shit!

lt's gone, man.

Seven came down?

l got down there just as Seven
World Trade finally collapsed.

No sign of Tony anywhere.

lt had to be almost 6:OO

nine hours
after everything started...

Hey, Benetatos!

...that Tony just walked in.

l walked in, like, a daze

and they were all like,
Hey, it's Benetatos.

You're all right.

What's wrong with your hand? Anything?

Nah.

No? You're all right?

Yeah.

Just chill out.

How you doing?

You okay?

Yeah, l'm all right.

What happened on your end?

l was
in the building.

Were you?

ls everyone from the house...?

Everyone?

Everybody is
accounted for.

Thank God.

Sit down over there.
There are some benches.

You want something to drink?
Want something to eat?

How you doing, Tony?

Have some fruit--
nice Vitamin C there for you.

You all right?

So everyone's accounted for?

Everyone here, yeah.

Everyone who was out at...
out at the box?

You were the last one.

You motherfuckers, man.

l was so sure you dudes
were dead, man.

l'm fuckin' diggin' through shit

and you fuckers are
chillin' here, eatin' oranges

and l'm roamin' around
Iooking for you, man...

The last one
that went out there

came back, and we were all okay.

l left here right after
the first collapse.

Turns out Tony had been

with Larry Byrnes
the whole time--

the probie
and the retired chief.

They were right there
when Tower One came down.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Go! Get behind this building!

Get behind this building!

Get in, get in, get in,
get in!

We go into the various
surrounding buildings...

Come on!

Follow the street!
Hello!

Come to the light!

...trying to calm
people down...

Stay where you are.

Stay here until you
hear differently.

...directing people
to go to the Brooklyn Bridge

to get off the island.

Everybody please evacuate
the area immediately!

There's people... crying...

Oh, my God!

...people injured.

The one that sticks out
in my mind--

There's a guy... his arm
had gotten, looked like

severed here, and he was holding
his right arm in his left

as he was running

and he was screaming
as l was hacking:

l need a medic!
l got a bad bleed!

you know,
and that kind of shocked me.

We kept going.

l checked all the rigs.

There were rigs crushed

paramedic trucks covered
with rubble, flipped.

Fires burning everywhere--
huge fires.

That whole day,
l just searched through rubble

lifting things up,
checking underneath.

lt was hard for him.

lt was very hard for him.

He's only been a firefighter

for, you know,
a couple of months

but he proved himself that day
to all the guys, yeah.

There was so much

that we didn't know about
that first day--

who had attacked us, how, why.

All we knew was that nothing
would ever be the same.

l must've saw about
seven or eight bodies

flying through the air,
coming from 80 floors up.

And then, of course

the images of the replay
that never stops--

of the planes hitting,
the towers coming down--

and it was like,
Whew... okay, enough TV.

Thankfully, the power went out
about that time.

So it was... it was a relief.

The generator may be
in the, uh, courtyard

and then we'll hook the lights
into it.

l got two more sets
of lights coming.

The entire downtown Manhattan
Iost power.

lt was really this feeling

that we're going to be there
for a long time.

Just a short while ago,
Mayor Giuliani

held a news conference,
saying it's important

not to lash out in anger
because of the attacks

on the World Trade Center...

At the firehouse that night

we just tried
to take it all in.

lt's weird, like,
Iook at the date.

Nine-one-one?

That's the date.

But that's just it.
The whole thing.

They know we were all
ready for New Year's Eve

we're all ready for this,
we're all ready for that;

we're not ready
for September 1 1 .

What, has anybody seen the news?
What else happened?

You know what?

l'm afraid to
watch the news.

Both towers
are completely leveled.

Both towers...

Three buildings are fuckin'--
completely fuckin' gone.

Four, Five, Six,
and Seven are gone.

Gone.

They're all gone.

The roof of the Marriott--

we were on the roof
of the Marriott.

There was parts all over the
fuckin' place-- legs, feet...

lt was nasty.

You all right?

Yeah, l'm all right.

One of the things
that sticks with me

more than everything l saw,
is l sat down next to Ted--

he looked real bad.

He said, Tony, man, it was...

it was raining bodies.

l just... the way he said it,
man, l just...

The man had been through hell.

Good evening.

Today, our fellow citizens,
our way of life

our very freedom came
under attack

in a series of deliberate
and deadly terrorist acts.

lt's a very depressed,
dismal, miserable mood.

Hundreds of your firemen

thousands of civilians
are gone.

As much... as quickly as you're
blowing a match, they're gone.

Flip a switch, they're gone.
That's it.

Those buildings came down. Gone.

l don't see them.

lt's hard to believe
they're not there.

They're not there.

That was my
first reaction.

They're gone.

There is no more
World Trade Center.

No.

lt did happen, right?

lt's not something
that l'm going to close my eyes

and open them again and l'm
going to see the Tower, right?

lt's not there.

You know, and the only thing
you have, really

and the only thing that really
kept it all together was us

as a group, as a body,
as a firehouse.

Around midnight we sent Tony up

to lower the flag
to half-mast... again.

There's going to be
a lot of pain

to deal with in the future.

l have a pretty good friend

who was in my academy class,
in my squad

who is among the missing.

A lot of guys, we all lost
friends and family.

l don't want to ever have to put
that thing at half-mast again

for the rest of my career.

That's it.

Till the recall ends

I
it's 24 on, 24 off
24 on, 24 off.

We got word that we'd start
digging in the morning.

Some of the guys with wives
and kids went home

just for a few hours.

They knew it might be days

before they'd see
their families again.

My son was sleeping.

l picked him up
and l put him in my bed

and l wanted him...
l wanted him to be with me.

Normally, l would take him
out of my bed

and put him in his own bed
but this night was the opposite.

He didn't mind that.

He-He actually had
a big smile on his face.

lt was wonderful
to see that smile again.

Probably the best-best entrance
l ever made to a place.

And the kids came out

and we just kind of all cried
in one big hug and, uh...

it was, uh...

and we just... we just cried.

All right, l got two, there.

We need a couple more guys
out here.

We'll set up a little line.

Yeah, you can
climb up there.

Came back to the firehouse
the next day.

l couldn't wait
to get back, actually

'cause l wanted
to get down there.

l figured, Well, we're going
to have plenty of people to...

that are going to be trapped,
for sure.

We're gonna get them out.

We have to. We always do.

l don't know if anyone's really
pulled themselves together.

Focus on what
you're doing today.

There will be time enough
in a couple of weeks

to really take in
what happened to our guys

but today you must focus
on what you're doing.

Go in teams of two.

lf one guy falls
through a hole

you're going to have a guy there

that knows
you fell in that hole.

We're all alive.

That's more than we could have
possibly hoped for.

So our job now is to go and do
whatever needs to be done

and to do it as much
and as hard as we can

for as long as they'll let us.

Some of the guys
took a city bus

down to what the media was
already calling Ground Zero.

Hey, guys, got extra
surgical gloves.

You guys need to put them
in your pockets.

Some firemen called it
the pile.

For us, it was still the Trade
Center, even if it was gone.

Hey, guys,
if you hear three horns

it means something
might be coming down.

So keep your eyes open

when you're walking around
down there.

And l just realized something
that l always wanted to deny:

is how evil... evil can be.

We need five firefighters
from 19 and 12.

We went down there
and formed up companies--

five men and an officer...

Go! Let's go!

We went to work right away,
trying to look for survivors.

Try and get some buckets
back here! Buckets!

Guys were digging fast,
passing those buckets quick...

...digging frantically.

Buckets! Buckets!

Hey, watch your back, guys.

We'd be digging

and all of a sudden,
everybody would say, Quiet.

And the whole place would get
quiet and people would look.

Hello!

And then slowly
they would go back to work

and... and start again.

And that was... that's
how things went down there.

l remember

the first time l went there,
it was like, Whew!

You know, gateway to hell.

You'd never know
unless you were there

but the pile itself seemed
to have a life of its own.

lt moved and shifted
underneath us.

Every step you took...

...you could fall 30 or 40 feet
into a void.

lt spewed fire
when we dug into it

and had buried
thousands of people

beyond our reach.

All's we saw was steel

and l didn't know how we were
going to get below that.

Like, How are we going
to find anybody in this?

You know,
and you get up on this pile

and you... and you're digging
with a shovel

or you're digging with a pickax
or something like that

it's... your attempts
seem futile

and, um... you know, it was like
a drop in the bucket.

But you believed in your heart
there was somebody down there

and if could've found one person

you know,
that-that was well worth it.

Water!

Need more water!

Whatever risk you were
putting yourself at

just to find anybody,
that's what drives the guys.

Let's get some
buckets back here.

We'd clear what we could
by hand.

Then the iron workers
would come in

cut the steel beams,
and lift them out.

Then we'd just...
start digging again.

You have two 1 10-story
office buildings.

You don't find a desk.

You don't find a chair.

You don't find a telephone,
a computer.

The biggest piece of a telephone
l found

was half of the keypad,
and it was about this big.

The building collapsed to dust.

How are we supposed
to find anybody in this?

There's nothing left
of the building.

Bucket!

You find a little spot
and you just keep going

and digging and digging,
and trying to find something.

You find a foot
and then they say:

The building's going
to collapse, and you run away.

Go! Go! Go!

Don't stop, just go! Okay, okay.

And then we would go back

and...

mostly just dug.

We found... we found a body.

lt was a girl.

She was dead.

She was...
she was definitely dead.

All her clothes
had been burned off her.

She looked to be pregnant.

Some people thought maybe
she was just bloated

but l don't think so.

She was...
she was encased in rubble.

And we had her
about halfway uncovered

and getting the body bag ready

and then they told us to run...

and we ran.

So l never got to see
if they got her out.

lt would've felt good
getting...

saying, All right, at least
l got one person out.

One family will be able
to have a decent funeral.

Quiet!
Quiet!

Our first shift was 24 hours

and in all that time

there was one person
pulled out alive-- one.

lt was beyond discouraging.

lt was even hard to understand.

lt was weird, in a way,
walking back to the firehouse.

USA! USA!

People were cheering us...

USA! USA!

Thank you!

...but we sure didn't feel
like heroes.

Every day, total strangers
were showing up with supplies.

Somebody said that you could still
use towels. Yes, we could.

So, that's the end of the towels.

Thank you very much. Okay. All
right.

They open up the doors and,
Io and behold

deliveries were coming...
by the ton.

Kitchen.

Why don't you just go
right around the corner?

Just dump 'em
on the floor.

You can't eat all the cookies
they're giving you.

l know it's early
in the operation, here

but l just want
to thank everyone

for all the hard work
that they've been doing.

How we're here, only God knows

but... again, guys,
thank you so much.

l really...

you have no idea how much love
l have for you guys.

Check the lockers, bro--
all the lockers-- take whatever.

There's something special,
you know

when guys are relentless...

...and just going
back and forth.

Guys with nails in their hand,
taping it up...

gashes, blood everywhere

just taping it up and saying,
Let's go back.

Let's see what we can do

to make this situation
a little better.

There's got to be people
down there still alive.

There has to be.

Listen, we tried
to keep hope...

...and we'd look everywhere.

We even crawled down
into the stores

and the subway tunnels
underneath the site...

...but as days turned
into weeks

we began to accept...

...there just wasn't anybody
to find...

...but we never
stopped looking.

Hey, Chief.

Yes, sir!

We got another
body over here.

Firemen deal with ugly things
every day--

it's part of the job...

but this was worse.

You have that body bag?

Day after day, it pushed guys
to their limit--

maybe past it.

A lot of guys don't know

if they're going
to do the job anymore.

l know it's either this
or the army now

and l like saving lives.

l don't like taking them.

But after what l saw

if they... if my country
decides to send me...

to go kill...

l'll do it now.

Every night around dinnertime

the fire department
would put out a list

of firefighters confirmed dead

and every night,
that list got longer.

lt is with regret

that the department announces

the deaths
of the following members:

Battalion Chief
John P. Williamson

Firefighter William Henry

Firefighter Eric T. Allen

Firefighter Manuel Mojica

Firefighter
Lawrence J. Bajillio

Firefighter Timothy Haskell

Firefighter Thomas T. Annisted

Firefighter John A. Sentore

Firefighter Shawn...

We lost so many people,
that everybody has lost

dear friends, and not just
one or two, but-but dozens.

Most days there was a memorial
service for some guy you knew

some days two or three,
some days four.

One of those services
was for Kevin Pfeifer

the chief's brother.

He was last seen
in the stairs of Tower One

directing guys to the fastest
way out of the building.

l would say
that Chief Pfeifer's brother

saved my life.

Saved a lot of lives.

And l remember walking
down West Street

and just remembering saying,
uh... you know

how much my brother and l
used to love

being downtown and, uh...

and doing this job

and, um... and, um...

and how now
l didn't love it anymore.

Some of the guys hiked
up the stairs

in a building near the site...

...but not to put out a fire
or rescue civilians.

One! Two! Three!

They made the climb...
to lift our spirits.

lt's like our moment in time,
our disaster to handle.

Every generation's gone
through it.

Some struggle
more than others...

...but we just have to try
to take it for what it's worth

and-and go on.

And you see, little by little,
life... starting to go on.

A few weeks passed
and we got new rigs.

Well, used rigs

to replace Engine Seven
and Ladder One.

They're still buried in there
somewhere, under the pile.

Eventually, we started
going on runs again...

lt feels good,
don't it?

...playing pranks again

and trying our best
to love the job again...

...but things will never be
the way they were.

Every now and then
l still wonder

is it, is it really true,
you know?

l know it happened, but...

l don't know-- how do you deal
with something like this?

lt's the 1 1th every day
for me when l wake up.

So did you want
the new tape?

As for Jules and Gedeon

it's strange
how things work out.

ln the beginning
they came to me and they said

Let's make a documentary
about a boy becoming a man

during his nine-month
probationary period.

lt turns out Tony became a man
in about nine hours

trying to help out on 9l1 1 .

You know
how you could tell that?

He's not bragging about it.

lt said to fill.

We were the only ones
on the ticket

but it said to fill 10-75.

Do l feel like it's given me
more of a sense of self-worth?

Yes.

Has it made me a man?

Uh...

What's a man?

You know,
l'll still watch cartoons

and do my stupid things.

l'm just a person
who tries to do good

just like every other person
in the fire department.

For the fire department,
now it's about rebuilding...

somehow.

At our firehouse, we've already
got new probies to break in...

You get one chance
to make a first impression.

...two guys fresh
out of the Academy.

lt's strange to think they'll
never know what it was like

to be a New York City fireman
before September 1 1 ...

...and they'll never
really understand

what we lost that day.

All we can do is
tell them the stories

and show them the tape.

The valley is hushed

And the flowers
are all dying

The meadow here is white

With the winter snow

Lone, as l stand

ln the place
where Danny's lying

l say a silent prayer

Somehow l know

He hears me there

So soft l tread
above him

So now he sleeps in peace

He hears Danny's voice

No more

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes,
the pipes are calling

From glen to glen
and down the mountainside

The summer's gone,
and all the flowers are dying

'Tis you, 'tis you must go
and l must bide

But come ye back
when summer's in the meadow

Or when the valley's
hushed and white with snow

'Tis l'll be here
in sunshine or in shadow

Oh, Danny boy, oh, Danny boy,
l love you so

And when you come,
and all the flowers are dying

And l am dead,
as dead l well may be

You'll come and find
the place where l am lying

And kneel and say
an Ave there for me

And l will hear, though
soft you tread above me

And on my grave
will warmer, sweeter be

For you will bend
and tell me that you love me

And l shall sleep in peace

Until you come to me.

...:::Lord Sadler:::...
lordsadler2012@gmail.com