For many on Sept. 11, survival was no accident

USA Today ^ | 12-19-01 | Dennis Cauchon

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NEW YORK

[sixmil]

Yes, I took all the pics myself with a cheap Kodak digital camera with no zoom and set on highest quality. The pictures were taken 1-3 blocks away S and SW of the WTC. My apartment was right above the Irish flag in photos 44 and 45.

I had the same problem loading pictures as well. Wierd. You can go here and click on the photos individually. That seems to work for some reason.

05 and 06 are very graphic, so avoid them unless you want to get even more pissed and disgusted with this atrocity. If you have seen the picture of the engine from one of the planes, you will appreciate 08, which is one of the wheels.

[gridlock]

Interesting article. It appears that the premature collapse of the structures had little to do with the deaths in the upper floors, because evacuation of those floors was impossible. The only thing the underperforming non-Asbestos fireproofing insulation did was shorten the suffering of the doomed. Of course, for those firefighters, it is a different matter. But if the buildings had survived for four hours as designed, there would have probably been even more firefighters trapped inside heroically struggling, because that is simply what these brave men do.

As an aside, I wonder what tack Hillary! is going to try next to ride this wave. It looks like the blue ribbon engineering study is not going to go anywhere.

[VOA]

bump

[MickMan51]

Someone needs to print this out, wad it up tightly in their fist and hit Sen. Hillbilly with it square in the nose...So much for her rant about faulty design...Let's see what she says now...

Couldn't find any info on this latest episode of Crusty . . . What is the story ??

[BlessedBeGod]

I know. I still cry when playing some of the tributes on the web.

[MickMan51]

Disregard. It's HERE

[homeschool mama]

In 1900 there was a terrible hurricane that took the lives of thousands. Act of nature.

In 2001 (9/11) there was a terrible act of terrorism that took the lives of thousands. Act of terrorism.

Do you see the difference?

[Alabama_Wild_Man]

Great info - thanks for sharin' !!

...any ideas about the possibility of the Towers being rebuilt....and, if so, will they be built to as high of construction standards?

(Not just 'to codes', but well above)

[MissAmericanPie]

What amazing pictures, did you have to evacuate your apartment because of the dust? There were news reports of how people in the surrounding neighborhood could not go home for weeks.

[RightFin]

bump

[6323cd]

bookmark bump

[RightFin]

Thanks for sharing your pictures. #'s 05 and 06 were graphic, but not upsetting. Just made me more furious. I think pictures from September 11th should be shown daily on our TV's to remind people to NEVER FORGET!

[finnman69]

You are lucky that you got out of there. You were standing right next to 90 West St in picture 16 which got heavily damaged from falling debris and fire. Where you standing there when Tower 2 came down?

[fnord]

bump for later

[SarahW]

They had time to make a decision, and they made one that cost lives. "They felt more secure in the building" according to this piece, and they felt everyone else was safer there too. And they did intimidate folks into going back up to the top floors. Stupid Stupid Stupid. Evacuate and THEN evaluate the safety of the building. I'm glad the Morgan Stanley guy made sure all those people got out, port authority be damned.

[Travis McGee]

SHORT PHOTO SEQUENCE OF 9-11 ATTACK, LEST WE FORGET.

[Lazamataz]

Islam is love.

[SBeck]

Or the 4,000 or so that died in Plano, TX in a natural gas explosion in 1936. People remember the Hindenburgh from that year, but not that event.

[sixmil]

What amazing pictures, did you have to evacuate your apartment because of the dust? There were news reports of how people in the surrounding neighborhood could not go home for weeks.

I was not able to return for a week or so after being evacuated to New Jersey, stuck there until the bridges to Staten Island reopened, and then told that my street was off limits until further notice. At first, my street was a staging area for debris and equipment, but then they finally started escorting us into our apartments, which were void of all utilities. Luckily, I had my windows closed, so the only dust in my apartment was tracked in. You might be able to see in the photos that my neighbors weren't so lucky. Their apartment was completely gray inside since they had their window open that morning.

As they started opening up southern Manhattan, they put up a chain link fence around ground zero. My building was right inside the fence, so I started to get a sinking feeling. Then they started laying cable on the street and covering it with asphalt guarded by cement highway barriers. I started to give up at that point even though the utilities were coming back online one at a time, and I could get my mail at the next closest post office (my old one was accross the street from WTC 7). About mid October they moved the fence one block north, so I could finally move back in, but then I got laid off at work the very next day. Perfect timing! I could no longer justify living in Manhattan without a job, so I moved my meager belongings and myself to Staten Island. The day after I moved, they were diging up all the streets to bury all that new cable. Not very livable down there now that it is a big construction site. Of the 9 units in my building, every one moved out except for the couple next to me. I assume that is because they had to have the place cleaned before they could even get their stuff out.