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| Miragememories | May 27 2009, 07:25 AM |
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Continuation of NK-44's paper.. THE 22nd FLOOR From the 9/11-Commission Report: "A jet fuel fireball erupted upon impact and shot down at least one bank of elevators. The fireball exploded onto numerous floors, including the 77th and 22nd; the West Street lobby level; and the B4 level, four stories below ground." (ch.9, pg.285) Now, that's an amazing fireball. The SCC and the damage on the 22nd floor What happened on the 22nd floor requires a closer look. After the WTC 93 bombing, the decision was made to add to the already existing OCC (Operations Control Center) - which was located in Basement 1- the SCC (Security Control Center) on the 22nd floor. In "The World Trade Center Bombing:Report and Analysis", Donald J. Burns stated about the situation after the blast in 1993: "The single control room had worked fairly well over the years, but when the blast knocked the control room out of service, the drawbacks of having only one control room for the entire complex were brought to the forefront. With the control room inoperative, communication between command and the floors became impossible." (pg.49) http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/txt/publications/tr-076.txt The SCC controlled the Closed Curcuit TV (CCTV) of the WTC complex, the HVAC-System (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and the access to the roof and the Mechanical Equipment Rooms (MER). Simultaneously with the basement explosions, the SCC was disabled due to an explosion, causing more stress and handicaps to the emergency efforts. We start with a compilation from the NIST-reports: "Unfortunately, the individual was unaware of the condition of the 22nd floor, where critical communications hardware in the hidden security command center lay in ruins, likely preventing any building-wide public address announcements from reaching the occupants." (NIST NCSTAR 1-7, Chapter 6) "When I got to the 22nd floor there was a lot of debris, everything was pushed to the center of the building. The windows were knocked out and I could feel the wind. I could not see. I got a radio transmission that everyone in Tower 1, get out." (NIST NCSTAR1-8, pg.106) "8.47 a.m. WTC security radio report, PA Channel X - "...?...There is a fire on 22. 8.47 a.m. WTC security radio report, PA Channel X- "....?...on the 22nd floor a lot of debris." (NIST NCSTAR1-8, pg.194) "9.54 a.m. WTC Vertical Transportation message indicates that an officer is located on floor 22, fire command center and that there is heavy traffic in the B stairway. The person indicates that they cannot release any emergency locked door due to fire and the loss of electrical power. (PA/WTC Vertical Transportation Radio CHannel Z)." (NIST-Progress Report June 04 -Appendix P, pg.35) "8.47 a.m. WTC security reports that there is fire on floor 22 of WTC1 (PA/WTC Security Radio CHannel X). 8.49 a.m. WTC Security reports that there is damage and a lot of debris on floor 22 of WTC1 (PA/WTC Security Radio Channel X)." (NIST-Progress Report June 04 -Appendix P, pg.36) "9.57 a.m. WTC Security: a report is received that an officer is responding to WTC 1 Fire Command and that he had been trying to contact the Command Center on floor 22, but they didn't know how to operate the other set of communication equipment. (PA/WTC Security Radio Channel X)." (NIST-Progress Report June 04 -Appendix P, pg.148) From Port Authority Transcripts: Page 5: FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: Can you repeat that again, please? MALE : Josie, what's the condition on twenty-two? FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: twenty-two is we cannot leave the area. There is a lot of smoke outside, we are stuck inside. Page 15: FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: (ALARMS IN BACKGROUND) S4, this is the SCC, we have (inaudible) running ... the air is clearing up just a little bit but we still can't get out, and we are losing power, we don't have as much power. GENE RAGGIO: Josie, okay, they are aware that you can't open that door, and they will be up there, and get that debris out of the way FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: That's a big ten-four, thank you. Page 31: FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: That's a copy. We can't use the software right now to try to release the doors. But it can't ... MALE: There's a (Overlap) FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: There's no power for the doors.(PAUSE) MALE: Did you copy that, S2? MALE: I said we're on 16, working our way up. FEMALE TRAPPED ON 22ND FLOOR: That's a big ten-four, thank you. (9/11 Transcripts and Police Reports, Transcript 48) From the EMS log: "Firefighter Long on 22nd floor: We made it up to the 22nd floor. We stood there for a couple minutes. I believe Andy Desperito talked to the battalion through the fire warden phones. We did locate somebody at the end of the hall, but everything was blown out. The ceiling had fallen. The drop ceiling had blown to the floor. Some of the walls were blown out. So Andy and I had crawled down the hallway to get to the Port Authority command post." http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/EMSLog.pdf And other sources: "First plane hit our building at 8:45. We decided to evacuate from the 22nd floor after 15 minutes. The delay was because we did not know the extent of the damage; part of the 22nd floor was sheared away and the corridor was blocked by fallen debris. Four of us decided it was better to try to get out than stay and wait to be rescued (in hindsight a good decision). We had to crawl for ten to fifteen feet under debris to get to the fire stairs...." http://web.archive.org/web/20011202160232/http://huemer.com/ "The 22nd floor was also affected by fire: On September 12, 2001, NY News Day reported that officials had recently taken steps to secure the towers against aerial attacks by installing bulletproof windows and fireproof doors in the 22nd-floor computer command center. "When the fire started, the room was sealed," said [Hermina] Jones, who was in the command center when explosions rocked the building. "Flames were shooting off the walls....We started putting wet towels under the doors. The Fire Department unsealed the door and grabbed us by the hand and said, 'Run!' " http://web.archive.org/web/20050404131349/http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/manhattan/wtc/ny-nyaler122362178sep12,0,7280472,print.story Now we take a look into the situation of the elevators on the 22nd floor. 22nd floor - elevator damage Firefighter Paul Bessler: "On the 22nd floor, some of the elevator shafts were actually open." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110503.PDF Firefighter Craig Dunne: "The elevator shafts were blown out, so they had to make their way around--the fire came down the elevator shafts." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110490.PDF Firefighter Michael Yarembinsky: "When we got to 22, we heard there was a Port Authority command post on 22. So we were stopped there. My officer wanted to find out some information, my officer Lieutenant Andy Desperito. He went over to the command post. We noticed in the hallway that the elevator shaft had been blown out. There was nothing there, no doors, no framing, nothing. When you looked down, all you saw was the cables for the elevator and the brick work that was surrounding." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110446.PDF It is known that two shafts continued from the impact zone down to the basement. These shafts were also the only ones reaching from the impact zone to the 22nd floor. It's very important to note that Cars 6 and 7 didn't stop on floor 22. Only Car 5, 48, 50 and the elevators of Bank B did. There were no doors, or framing, which could have been blown out in the case of Car 6 and 7. The only one remaining for the official version to be true, is Car 50, the main freight elevator. But firefighter Yarembinsky also describes looking down and just seeing cables. Obviously the car would be in the shaft somewhere, most likely out of sight, but he describes seeing the elevator cables, which if severed, as they were in the case of car 50, they would not just be hanging there. So elevator 6 and 7 had no door framings, and the remaining elevator 50 had no cables still hanging inside its shaft. It must be concluded, that Yarembinsky is not talking about one of these three elevators, which would of course create a contradiction to the official version. Despite this, from firefighter Dunne and Bessler we also know that more than one elevator was affected. So more than just elevator 50. The firefighter accounts show that elevators, which did not reach into the impact zone, were affected by an explosion. How did the jet-fuel get there? And how could the fireball explode on the 22nd floor and on basement-levels, without causing similar damage to all the floors between? 22nd floor - exclusively damaged? In contrast to the damage on the 22nd floor, there's no damage one floor below: Firefighter W.Mera: "So we got up to the 22nd, threw our gear down, dropped back down to the 21st and forced the door. Q. It was clear? Firefighter W.Mera: Clear as day. We started to search. We searched every room in there. I remember forcing one door, beautiful mahogany doors, beautiful trim, taking off the little trim between the doors and I'm thinking to myself, wow, this is a beautiful door, because you can do some damage to this, you know. The search was negative. There was nobody anywhere. (...) At about the 22nd floor, we came across the first firemen. It was a relief to see these men. They assured us we were going to be ok, and that everything below us was ok. I recall one fireman saying "It’s smooth sailing from here on end, so walk quickly, but safely." That was a very reassuring moment. Many of these firefighters were out of breath. They were tired, drenched in sweat and some were even on the floor resting. Image running up 20 flights of stairs with an oxygen tank on the shoulders, an axe, a metal rod, a hose, and all their protective clothing. That must be over a hundred pounds of gear. The rest of the way down was truly fast; it was even unexpected."(...) "Everything below us was ok". http://web.archive.org/web/20011214101327/http://www.salsationonline.com/jareau.htm And probably no damage on the floor above. From firefighter M. Brodbeck, who was unsure at the beginning, but then seems to clarify it as floor 23: "We went up to the mezzanine, and we took an elevator. The chief said that these elevators were all right. We took the elevator which I believe goes up to eight. We got off at eight and proceeded to walk up to 23. We stopped on 23, and then we went up to 25. Then we made our way back down. So we were either on 23 or 21. I don't know. I don't remember that. I think it was 23. The lieutenant gave us instructions to make a thorough search, pop all the doors, make sure everybody is out of the building. Me and the irons man went. I left my can and I took the Halligan. He had the router tool. We probably popped at least 10 or 15 doors making a search. Q. On what floor? A. On 23 or 21. I'm still confused about that. I believe it was 23. At this point after we made a thorough search, we located together via the stairwell.[...] Q. When you were on the 23rd floor doing a search, what were the conditions? A. Fine. Nothing up there. Q. No smoke? No sign of water flowing anywhere? Q. The stairwell dry? A. The stairwell was dry. No water. Q. Do you remember what stairwell you were in? A. I believe B. Q. B? A. We came down B. From what I understand, it was the only one that was not obstructed. It was a good thing we were going down B. When we were going up, there didn't seem to be that many firemen. I believe we were probably one of the first 15 units on the scene. We got there pretty quick. I happened to see that thing on CNN from 7 Engine. They were on 21. I didn't see them. I'm pretty sure it was 23 that we were on. There's a lot of doors. We popped a ton of doors, looking for people. To be honest with you, I remember looking out the window and seeing that command post on West Street, thinking it wasn't a good idea to be there. I've been on six years. When I looked down, it didn't seem like a real bright place to have one. Little things like that stuck out in my mind. When I looked out on that, I felt uncomfortable about that." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110291.PDF But there's an account to the contrary: FDNY Lieutenant Mickey Kross: "When I got up to 23, it was kind of quiet on the floor–very dark. I saw some firefighters moving around, but not any command posts or chiefs. The hallway was full of debris where I was walking, debris about three feet high covering a whole section of the hallway. I was puzzled as to what that was, because I knew that the plane had hit way above us. So as I got there I realized it was the elevator shafts. The doors or the walls had probably blown out, and I had to climb over the debris to get the other side of the hallway. Here, I was a little concerned about falling into the pit, the elevator shaft." (Smith, Dennis: "Report From Ground Zero",.pg. 72/73) But it seems Lieutenant Kross confused the floor numbers and was actually referring to floor 22. From another source: "The lobby of the North Tower, where the on-site fire command station was, was full of officials from all the local agencies as well as a number of firefighters who were already staged there, waiting to receive their orders. My unit was instructed to team up with another engine company and ascend the B stairway to a command post on the 23rd floor." http://www.buildthememorial.org/site/PageServer?pagename=sys_feature_MickeyK He assumedly confused the command post on the 22nd floor with the 23rd floor. His description of damage matches all other descriptions of the damage on the 22nd floor. For instance, compare it with this one: "Lieutenant Desperito and I believe one other member of Engine 1 tried to make their way down the hallway on the 22nd floor off the B stairwell to the command post. We were there three or four minutes. The elevator shafts were blown out, so they had to make their way around." http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20050812_WTC_GRAPHIC/9110490.PDF So, Kross' account is not a contradiction but rather corroboration. It seems that floor 22 was a specific target instead of being accidentally damaged by a fireball. What could be a possible motive to attack the SCC and the basement? Though an answer to that will always be within the realm of speculation, the observed consequences of the explosion on the 22nd floor should provide that answer. These effects are discussed in the section entitled "The Emergency". The Operations Control Center The SCC had a back-up, the Operations Control Center (OCC): "A new operations center will contain backup for the security command center, and the security command center will contain backup for operations center functions, including alarms, intercoms and elevator controls. Remote processors for access control and alarms at the parking garages, and workstations at the guard booths, parking office, visitor centers and security command center and other areas, are connected to a main, redundant file server." http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_world_trade_center/index.html  "Security Command Center was built on the 22 and floor of 1 WTC, backed up by a new Operations Control Center on the subgrade B1 level at 2 World Trade Center." http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing11/reiss_statement.pdf Though it's known that the OCC wasn't directly affected by explosions like the SCC, it played virtually no role in the emergency response. Unlike the occupants of the SCC, occupants of the OCC reported no damage to their command center, which is also confirmed by this report. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-2035442/It-sounded-like-an-avalanche.html-page.html Note also this statement from the report: "When the first plane hit, Compas was in his office on the basement level of the hotel. "It sounded to me as if there were three loud bangs and then the building shook," he says." Interestingly, he experienced three loud bangs and then the building shook. As the building allegedly shook due to the plane impact, shouldn't the bangs, traveling with the sound of speed, be heard after the buildings shook? Note that Compas left the OCC after the first plane hit. So did Douglas Karpiloff (http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_wtc_tragedy_took/), who was last time seen in the OCC before he went out to help people. Ed Calderon also left the OCC, and was last seen running toward the North Tower, after guiding dozens of workers to safety. http://inmemoriamonline.net/Profiles/Folders/C_Folder/Calderon_Edward.html When the people in the SCC were still trapped, the OCC has already been evacuated: "Male S2: S2 to SCC. Male: S2! Male: I want to tell you, the OCC is out. They had to evacuate (38:45) [about 09:25]." (PA Transcript 048, p.24) http://adam.pra.to/public/mir/www.thememoryhole.org/911/pa-transcripts/pa-transcript048.pdf It would be interesting to know why they "had“ to evacuate. The Port Authority transcripts don't reveal when exactly the OCC "had to evacuate", but from janitor William Rodriguez it is known that the OCC wasn't manned when he arrived, which was before the second plane had hit: "I find water all over, run straight to the south tower where they have the OCC (operation control center) that was created after 1993. They spent $155 million to retrofit the building, and to supposedly straighten it out after the 1993 bombing, and to set up a whole security system, the control center. When I got there and started hitting the window there was nobody there. There was nobody there—the control center, where they have all the cameras, and the recordings." http://arabesque911.blogspot.com/2007/05/heroism-of-william-rodriguez-amazing.html Rodriguez statement is confirmed by the PA-transcript. http://adam.pra.to/public/mir/www.thememoryhole.org/911/pa-transcripts/pa-transcript048.pdf On page 2 it is learned that Ed Calderon was at his desk ("seven-seven"), when the first report of fire from the 22nd floor came in. Shortly after that, Gene Raggio tried to get in contact with Calderon's desk 77, several times, but he received no answer. On page 10, just minutes before the second plane's impact, it is revealed that someone repeatedly tried to get in contact with Calderon's OCC desk 77, and finally, after receiving no answer, he asked the SCC to "call the OCC, see if they are still in operation and what the status of their alarm desk is." In contradiction to that, is a statement from the book "102 Minutes"(http://www.amazon.com/102-Minutes-Untold-Survive-Inside/dp/0805076824) (we will look more into this quote in another section): "Marie Refuse, one of the security officers on duty in the 22nd floor center, was still at her desk at 9:30. She spoke with Ed Calderon, a supervisor, whose radio code was S-5." Is this statement false? Was Calderon still in the OCC? No, he wasn't, but the statement is still 'effectively' correct. From another transcript (http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/pa-transcripts/pa-transcript050.pdf) (WTC Ch. 29, pg.22/23) we can learn why: Gene: John, where are you at? Where's Ed Calderon? John: He's right....He's right he, Gene, he's on the phone. Gene: (...)What's your location right now? John: We're here by the OCC. Gene: (...)the OCC desk? John: That's affirmative, Gene. Gene: Roger, thanks, John. Uh, I'll give you a call. Stand by a second, I'll call Ed. John: Copy that. (38:35) That means Ed Calderon returned to the OCC at approx. 9:25 (38:35 into the recording). Since the message that the OCC had to evacuate was made at the same time, it seems that Calderon only returned to the OCC to give out the information that it has been evacuated. That the OCC played no role in the emergency efforts is also confirmed by the 9/11 Commission Hearings and by the NIST's "Emergency Response Operations Report." http://wtc.nist.gov/oct05NCSTAR1-8index.htm In it, the OCC is only mentioned twice in relation to the emergency response as it happened on 9/11: "A building Fire Safety Director spoke with one of the FDNY Chiefs about the possibility of using elevator phones for communication with the building's Operation Command Center (OCC). This person and a FDNY Battakion Chief were dispatched to go and check it out. These men were never seen again." (NIST NCSTAR1-8, pg.46) "8:58:04 WTC Security radio report, PA Channel X- "What elevators are running in Building number One?"...(?)...OCC...(?)... "S2 to all security guards, hold your posts. Don't allow people in...(?).... Do not allow anyone into the courtyard of any ...(?).... leading into the.....(?)...copy?" (NIST NCSTAR1-8, pg.200) See how the loss of the OCC had been weighted in the WTC 93 bombing: "The loss of the Operations Control Center (OCC) on level B1 was one of the most significant events in the incident period. The emergency response of the complex was based on the premise that trained OCC operators would be able to receive information from areas involved in an emergency and provide response instructions to trained people throughout the complex." http://web.archive.org/web/20000915095636/http://www.sos.se/SOS/PUBL/REFERENG/9603020E.htm The NIST never addressed why the OCC had to evacuate and how this affected the emergency response. To be continued... MM (for NK-44) Edited by Miragememories, May 27 2009, 07:49 AM.
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| Attack on WTC 1 · World Trade Center | |
7:40 AM Dec 6
