FFTim was detailed from FDNY Rescue 3 in the Bronx to NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) prior to Sept 11th.  His job at OEM was to respond to major emergencies and be the voice of the Mayor at the Command Post.  On the morning of Sept. 11th 2001, he was in his office cafeteria in 7 World Trade, across the street from the two Towers.  After the first plane struck, he responded to the Command Post in the lobby of Tower One.  After the second plane struck, he responded to the Command Post in the lobby of Tower Two.  This is his story after that, in his own words….

“As Tower 2 began to fall, I ran into the lobby of the WTC Marriott Hotel, it was crystal clear. About two seconds later, it was pitch black. There was tremendous dust, tremendous wind blowing in my face. Everything that wasn’t nailed down was blowing at me… the noise kept getting louder and louder.

I knew that I could not continue running forward, so I turned around again and started running back to the entrance where I had come in, but I realized that I could not go out in the street because I would be killed by the steel that was falling, so I became trapped. Not physically trapped, but trapped so that I couldn’t run anywhere. There was nowhere to run. The roar was getting louder. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear anything except the roar.

I got on my hands and knees and started crawling. I found a steel column and I knew that this would be my only hope. I grabbed onto the column, wrapped my arms around it as tight as I could and tried to become one with the column. This roar just seemed to keep getting louder and louder. I thought that this whole thing was lasting four minutes, but from what I understand, it lasted between 20 and 40 seconds.

The wind was so powerful it was blowing my legs up in the air. It was hard to hold onto the column and not get blown out into the street. I lost my helmet. I lost my pager. I thought that this would be my grave. I just waited to get crushed.

I was holding onto the column with all my strength. The wind, later proven to be up to 160mph (Ghosts of Vesuvius  pp 418) was so strong that it lifted me into the air. I was horizontal, like a flag on a flagpole in a stiff wind.

This was my moment.

I thought my life was over.

I prayed to God.

“I am not afraid to come to you. In fact, I look forward to it one day, but please not now! I want to hug my family one more time and tell them I love them!”

Within seconds, the wind stopped, the noise stopped, and I began to realize that I was alive.”  — FFTim