Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Murphy on September 19, 2008 at 9:49am

I was in the middle of daily truck checks at the station, the Captain called over the intercom to get to a TV ASAP. And there we sat for at least 3 hrs. between runs watching in disbelief. When the first tower went down Cap looked at us with tears in his eyes and stated that we just watched a whole lot of brothers die. That night sucked we were advised 3 different times to lock down by Maine EMA. Signed through Maine EMA to be on 24 hr. stand by to go to NYC. Never came to be.

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Permalink Reply by Shawn on September 19, 2008 at 10:14am

I was working loading a truck when my boss called me into the office to see what was being shown on the TV. We were wqathcing the news footage when the second plan hit the Trade Center. Being a Fire fighter, I a scanner in my truck and I turned on the Manhatten FDNY Channel when I heard alot of chatter on the radio. I have to say something about the dispatcher that day. He was the most professional, level headed and calming dispatcher I have ever heard. He kept all communication short and to the point as not to block any emergency notification or request for help. He tried to keep track of all the crews he could so he coould send help to them as best he could. If that man did not get a medel for his efforts that was a shame. He was just as much of a hero that day as anyone who responded to the World Trade Center.

i lost a lot of friends that day and think of them often, I believe that God has the best Fire Department that could have ever been put together and they are all looking down upon us keeping a watchful eye as we go about the business of saving lives. Until the day we meet again god bless all of you.

Shawn Davis
Long Island, NY

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Permalink Reply by Fyrftr602 on September 19, 2008 at 12:51pm

I remember sitting in the Bath before work, wife came in and told me about the first tower. At this time we still lived in California. As I went to work heard about Pentagon, then the crashed plane. As I stumbled through the rest of the morning, remember having my jaw hit the ground as F-16's flying air cover over Dc and NY. I was starting to get a sick feeling not being able to get a hold of my brother whom was a the Pentagon that week. I started to cry looking at all the people jumping from towers. Then the collaspse of both towers, just made me sick. I will never forget the heros and feelings I had that day for the loss.I pray for the famlies, co workers and my brothers whom where affected by 911

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Permalink Reply by Walter "Tommy" Little on September 19, 2008 at 2:57pm

I remember it just as clearly as if it were yeterday. I was in my office and my pager started going off with news bulletins that Tower 1 had been hit. At that point I started searching the different media websites and I couldn't believe the images I was seeing. Although I've only been to New York City one time, I never the WTC wasn't in the flight path for the airport so I didn't see how it could be an accident. . .but at the same time I didn't want to believe that it could be anything else. It didn't really sink in that we were under attack until the second plane hit.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on September 19, 2008 at 3:19pm

I was a senior in high school, just getting out of first period Civics, when our principal ran into the room, yelling, "Sit back down, y'all need to see this." We actually saw the second plane hit. We all just sat in that room and watched the rest of the day. It was pretty horrifying. Our senior class took a trip to NYC the following May and visited Ground Zero.

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Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on September 19, 2008 at 3:48pm

I did the same job I did every day, spent much of the route with the radio on listening to news and thinking about the tremendous loss. The world went on very much the same for me. Job did not change nor did my daily existence. I was not with a fire dept at the time, so everything about my daily life remained much the same. Interesting, because in 1941, everyone immediately changed their lifestyle to move into a wartime economy, something that didn't happen this time. No rationing, no shift of industry into wartime production, just an admonition from our commander in thief to go buy a car or something else expensive.

And I thought there was a war on.

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Permalink Reply by Lynn Betts on September 19, 2008 at 4:08pm

I was at work and everyone was in shock.I had been a firefighter for three years when this happened.After work,I went home and that was all that was talked about at the next fire meeting.We started doing things a little different at the station when this happened just to be prepared.Afew months later I lost the job I was working at because of 9/11.
LYNN BETTS

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Permalink Reply by Joey "BigShow" De Piano on September 19, 2008 at 6:33pm

Hi, I was suppose to be at my Doctors office in Manhattan that very morning I normally left my home at 8am to avoid traffic and get parking near his office at Lenox hill hospital, for some reason that morning I was procrastinating leaving to make the trek to NYC I never missed one of these appointments before that day, I told my wife I was going to cancel and go another time she said I had to keep it since it took a month to get an opening, we went back and forth when suddenly a plane hit the first tower, I didn't think anything of it at first as a plane once hit the empire state building years prior as we argued I was watching the tower burn and suddenly saw a second jet coming into view for a moment I thought it was a split screen combo of replay and the live burning accident when the camera angle changed and you saw the first towers fire increas and this second jet slam into the towers, I was in shock and suddenly the fire fighter in me chaned ears and I told my wife I had to get to NYC and she changed her mind and said I wasn't going anywhere.. in a way it was better I didn't cause the tunnel and bridge were shut down I never would have got in...after a lot og tears and frustration I ran to our schools and gathered our kids and took them home we spent the day watching our Brother fire and police and ems as well as civilians being murdered before our eyes, that night at dinner time we just sat outside the house and stared into the sky..

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on September 19, 2008 at 7:51pm

I was on a roof on Langworthy Road installing a 3 tab shingle (cinnimon frost was the color) while listening to Imus in the Morning when the sports guy called from his vacation to inform of the tower being hit. It's a day I will never forget.

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Permalink Reply by David Gill (FF/HAZMAT/EMS) on September 19, 2008 at 8:28pm

As I was driving home from the station, the radio news was on. The report had mentioned that an airplane had hit the first tower he really didn't have much to say about it except the towers were built to take that impact speaking as if it was a small plane. He went on with the rest of the news when he was interupted by one of the djs telling him a second plane had hit the other tower. he immediatly stated that was no accident. When I got home I continued to watch in horror the towers as they burned and firefighters went in doing their jobs. At that moment, just before they fell, I picked up my bible and it opened to the book of John. I started reading, trying to understand what in the world was happening. I had stopped reading when my wife called and inquiried about the situation. When the towers started to fall I was so shocked, I couldn't speak to my wife or even cry out, all I could do was pray for the firefighters, police, and the others that they were able to get out, if not hopefully be somewhere safe. Afterwards I just couldn't beleive that it was happening right before my eyes.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Travis on September 19, 2008 at 9:38pm

I was sitting in 2nd grade art class.. (yes im young) i went to a tiny k-12 school and they called all students into the chapel. I don't think i fully realized what happened, i just knew it was bad. All the older kids were crying and saying prayers and hugging each other and it didn't hit me until i got home and my mom explained it to me a little better. Now i was in 2nd grade so i really don't remember what happened much after that, I just remember seeing all that smoke and fire in the sky on this humongous building right before it fell. It was hard because now i realize that many people died in there, Good people. They cancelled school for the rest of the day and i went home with my mom but i will never forget this girls face, she was a senior and helped in my classroom sometimes and she broke down because her aunt worked in the world trade center. You don't really think about going to do office work as being dangerous but that day i don't think anyone knew wat to think. It was scary and to this day i cry when i think about all the firemen and women who went in to rescue others and never got out.

God Bless, stay safe
Jess

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Permalink Reply by Shirley on September 19, 2008 at 10:32pm

I woke up to the start of the day at my apartment that I shared w/ a friend who worked in retail and was at work and was a ditzy person who didn't understand that the public safety field was a brotherhood. I had the day off from both my retail job and private ambulance service that I worked at. I turned on the television to watch some news and some shows and I was stunned to hear about what was going on w/ the Twin Towers. I sat there watching the news feeds for about 3 or 4 hours and after that, I was too stunned that I had to leave the apartment and I drove for about an hour or so trying to figure out what happened. I got back to the apartment and broke down. My roommate came home and said something along the lines, that the EMS, law enforcement, and firefighters were not my brothers and sisters in uniform. They always were, always have been, and always will be brothers and sisters in uniform.

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