9/11 - WTC/Pentagon/Shanksville m.m - Tråd Nr 2

Self-Narrative, Emergency Responder’s Experience at the WTC:
For response to World Trade Center Buildings 1 and 2:
• Each emergency responder was asked to describe their experience in their own words and end their narrative after WTC 1 and WTC 2 had collapsed.
For response to World Trade Center Building 7:
• Each emergency responder was asked to describe their experience in their own words and end their narrative after the WTC 7 collapse.
When the self-narrative was completed, the interviewee was asked if they would like to take a 10-minute break or proceed to the next step of the interview.
The next phase of the interview dealt with follow up questions.
Follow-up Questions: The follow-up questions were typically related to the interviewee’s timeline of events and were used to probe specific points from the narrative. Questions were based on notes taken during the self-narrative. The follow-up questions consisted of questions related to the following topics and experiences of the interviewee during the WTC operations:
• dispatch, arrival, and job assignment during emergency operations;
• the resources available for initial situational assessment and incident management;
• practices for determining the possibility of structural collapse;
• command post establishment, information available, communications, and operations;
• firefighter accountability, location, and tracking;
• building occupant egress as related to fire service operations, rescue options for building occupants;
• fire and emergency response protocols for tall buildings;
• the ability to fight large fires on the upper floors of tall buildings (including the human
physiological factors associated with operations in tall buildings);
• operations and function of information technologies, emergency responder information systems, alarm systems, building occupant information systems, communications systems, radios and repeaters, other communications systems;
• the influence of building design (e.g., height, stairways, elevators, smoke control systems) on fire service command and control procedures and rescue operations;
• firefighter operations and safety of emergency responders;
• elevator conditions and operations, elevator control panel information and function, and the
use of elevators by emergency responders;
• environmental conditions inside and around WTC buildings 1, 2, and 7 before the buildings collapsed;
• the influence of aircraft impact damage and fuel run-off on fire service command and control procedures, life saving operations, and safety of emergency response personnel;
• standpipes and fire hoses, and other pre-positioned emergency equipment;
• the impact of systems failures (e.g., communications systems, water supply, sprinklers, standpipes) on fire service command and control procedures, life saving operations, and safety of emergency response personnel;
• pre-planning, training, and standard operating procedures (including command and control) at the time of the WTC attack;
• emergency responder evacuation from the WTC 1; and
• communications and coordination of response activities between various authorities at the WTC, i.e. fire wardens, fire safety directors, building security, FDNY, PAPD, NYPD, OEM, and PANYNJ building safety and operations personnel.