Posted by Mike Eldred (165.247.13.202) on September 25, 2001 at 09:45:14:
Area pair pitch in to help in New York
By Mike Eldred
DEERFIELD VALLEY- Many of us watched in horror the events that unfolded at New York Cityâs World Trade Center, perhaps wishing we could do something to help the
victims of the devastation. For most, there was no way to satisfy the urgent desire to help. But two Deerfield Valley residents, united in purpose, decided to take bull by the
horns.
When the attack started, Specialist Travis Robinson, of Wilmington and Private Dan Hollister, of Dover were at Ft. Drum, NY dropping off other members of their National
Guard unit during their annual two-week training period. For security, Ft. Drum was immediately locked-down. As they watched the events unfold in New York City and
Washington, DC, they knew that they had to find some way to help. After they were released from Ft. Drum, the two returned to their National Guard unit in Westminster,
notified their command of their intentions, and headed to New York, hoping to be able to help in some way.
Robinson and Hollister knew that their skills would be in demand at the site of the disaster. Both are trained firefighters, both are certified Emergency Medical Technicians,
and both are part of Lifesaving Resources, a regional search and rescue organization based in New Hampshire.
After passing through police barricades, and finally making their way to what has become known as ãGround-Zero,ä they were greeted by a mind-boggling scene of
devastation. ãIt almost looked like a abandoned city,ä recalls Robinson. ãThere was an enormous amount of rubble; steel, concrete, and papers everywhere up to five blocks
away. There were fire trucks and police cars crushed under the debris. It was basically a war zone. It just didnât seem real.ä
ãYou got a very haunting feeling, seeing all of that equipment meant to help people all burnt up and destroyed,ä commented Hollister. ãIt didnât put you in a very positive
state of mind.ä
The two reported to a makeshift incident command center, announced their qualifications, and were teamed up with other volunteers to make a full search and rescue team.
Their teamâs mandate was to search for survivors in the voids left in the rubble of the fallen buildings.
The area was still in extreme disorder. ãWe got there at about midnight,ä says Robinson. ãAnd it was still total chaos and disaster. It was a little overwhelming at first. We
just began performing search and rescue maneuvers through the rubble and crawling into small spaces trying to get a response from anyone.ä
It was a grim and disturbing scene of carnage. Death was everywhere. ãThere was a tremendous amount of deceased people, but nothing that was identifiable,ä says
Hollister. ãIt was basically just body parts. There were a lot of burn victims.ä
Hollister says the totality of the scene will remain with him for the rest of his life. ãItâs in your face in a constant way,ä he says. ãI donât care what profession youâre in, its
going to affect you; just the massive quantity. But, at the time, we just tried not to think about it. You just had to keep doing what you had to do because there might be a live
person somewhere.ä
At one point, working in what seemed like a smoky, dust-choked, surreal version of hell, cutting themselves on bits and pieces of the sharp rubble, the team managed to
burrow down seven stories under building five of the World Trade Center complex. There, the comparisons with the hell of Danteâs Inferno struck an even deeper chord. ãIt
was extremely hot,ä says Robinson. If you started to crawl down to any depth, it was hot. And you got a lot of cuts and abrasions from the sharp edges of the rubble. There
was a lot of concrete dust; which really bothered your eyes.ä
Several stories under building five, the structure was still relatively sound. ãBy the looks of the minimal damage,ä says Hollister, ãwe figured that if there was anyone there,
they could have gotten out another way.ä
ãIt was very weird,ä says Robinson of the underground scene. ãHere you are, under all the rubble and there are all these cars with nothing wrong with them. They looked
like they were ready to be driven out.ä
Sadly, in some of the upper levels, the team did find disturbing evidence of the untimely demise of some of the several hundred rescuers who gave their lives trying to rescue
people before the towers fell. ãAs we got up into the concourse, the first or second story under the building, we did find the remains of three helmets of the first set of Port
Authority officers,ä Hollister says. ãWe also found one of the first engine company firefighterâs helmets and some gear.ä
For Hollister and Robinson, both firefighters, the discovery was grim. ãWe both know that a firefighter doesnât give up his gear,ä says Hollister. ãSo we knew what it
meant. Later, we found out part of first engine company was among the first units that came in.ä
Not all of the experiences were marked by such a sense of loss, however. Their team was one of several teams that worked in shifts to free one of the few survivors from the
rubble. At some point the first night, they found one of the survivors,ä recalls Robinson. ãHe wasnât hurt that bad, but he was so buried in rubble it took over 11 hours to get
him out; everything had to be taken out piece by piece so that nothing could crumble and re-bury him. That was good. It gives you a good feeling.ä
Both Robinson and Hollister recall that they were amazed by the display of teamwork and dedication displayed by all of the volunteers. ãOne of the things that I was really
just overwhelmed by, was to see all those people working as hard as they could and even though they were exhausted, they refused to give up,ä recalls Hollister. ãA lot of
people had cuts, abrasions and bruises, but they kept on working. A couple times we bandaged somebody up and they turned around and went right back to work.ä
ãThere was a lot of teamwork,ä says Robinson. ãYou were working with complete strangers, but it went very well. Everybody was very emotional. Almost everybody there
were firefighters, and they had just lost over 300 of their brothers and sisters.ä
ãIt was a huge, well-oiled machine,ä says Hollister of the rescue effort. ãDespite the chaos, it was better than anything I had ever seen before.ä
After a while, as more professional search and rescue teams arrived, Robinson and Hollister focus was shifted to their medical abilities. The two provided assistance at the
triage center located in the now famous building seven, One Liberty Plaza. ãWe were very busy taking care of the rescuers,ä says Hollister. ãThe biggest problems were
dehydration, and dust in eyes. People got severe abrasions to the eyes from all the concrete dust in the air. Regardless of whatever protection you tried to take, the concrete
dust still found its way in. We were constantly irrigating eyes.ä
As many may remember, building seven was, at one point, thought to be on the verge of collapse. The triage center was moved to a more stable location, but according to
Hollister, building seven was later deemed not to be in such dire circumstance. ãSomebody had voiced the opinion that the side facing the area where the World Trade Center
used to be, was buckling. That sent panic amongst everybody; they thought it was going to come down on them. But according to engineers, it wound up being an optical
illusion. The sun was casting a shadow that made it look like it was coming down.ä
Both Hollister and Robinson are quick to say that they answered a personal call to duty, and are privileged to have been able to help. While they say they werenât representing
any of the many rescue-related services to which they belong, perhaps in a way, they represented everyone who wished they could do more.
ãI just felt a duty to go,ä says Robinson. ãJust knowing the chaos that was there, I wanted to go down and do what I could to help out. When we were watching it on TV,
Dan and I looked at each other and said we have to go down there. It wasnât even a question.ä
ãI consider myself fortunate to have been able to go in there and help,ä says Hollister. ãItâs what firefighters do; go into danger, and ask for nothing in return, just to help
people. Itâs nothing you can describe, just a desire to help.ä