Former NYC fire chief pays tribute to experiences on 9/11

As Richard Picciotto beat his hand on a podium at Southeast Missouri State University Wednesday, the audience grew still.

Picciotto, former chief of the New York City Fire Department, was inside the World Trade Center when its twin towers fell Sept. 11, 2001. From a safety personnel standpoint, he knew the buildings better than anyone.

He repeated the banging noise close to 10 times, looked into the audience, paused, and said: "That was the sound of people jumping from above the point of impact."

After a Boeing 767 crashed through the north tower, people on the floors above knew there was no way down, and they began to jump. That slamming on the podium represented the impact of their bodies as they hit the ground dozens of stories below.

Picciotto was the first speaker in this year's Southeast Speaker Series. In addition to sharing his story, he is the author of "Last Man Down," which shares his experiences on 9/11.

Firefighter Jared Unterreiner of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department claps after former New York City Fire Department chief Richard Picciotto delivers his speech in the Academic Hall auditorium on the Southeast Missouri State University campus Wednesday. (GLENN LANDBERG)

He spoke clearly -- in a structured way -- like he had told the story of 9/11 hundreds of times, yet it was evident he still cares about it. The experience isn't just an old memory; it's a catastrophe he relives every day, and the day he lost hundreds of co-workers and some of his closest friends.

Picciotto began with background, saying when the World Trade Center first was bombed in 1993, it was his job to evacuate the twin towers. He knew them inside and out. There were three stairwells, 99 elevators, 110 floors and about 20,000 people in each tower.

Arriving at the fire station early that fateful morning in 2001, Picciotto grabbed a cup of coffee and settled in to watch the morning news as usual.

At 8:45 a.m., reports were coming in that the north tower had been struck by something, and Picciotto rushed to the scene.

"As chief, they say rank has its privilege," Picciotto said.

When climbing the roughly 40-inch-wide stairwell of the north tower, he had to carry only 60 pounds of equipment. His teammates carried close to 100 each.

His team was headed to the 20th through 23rd floors, and with thousands of people rushing down the stairs, the process was slow going. By time they got there, the area was being evaluated by another fire team, so Picciotto and his men kept climbing to the top.

Picciotto said because he was carrying a lighter load, he would do sweeps of every five floors, making sure they were clear, while his men continued to climb. When they reached the 35th floor, the entire building began to shake. Picciotto rattled the podium, trying to replicate the quaking sensation.

"Everyone in that building was frozen, at a standstill -- the silence was deafening," he said.

After radioing in to the station, he discovered the Trade Center's south tower had fallen about 10:05 a.m., and the chief had to make a decision: Evacuate or continue rescuing people.

"That was the hardest decision of my life," Picciotto recalled.

He'd never evacuated from a situation, even in 1993, but he calculated the risks and was going with his instinct: If one building went down, this one was sure to follow. So he and his men began to descend the stairs.

They reached the seventh floor when the tower collapsed. It took eight seconds.

"What do you do in the last eight seconds of your life?" Picciotto asked the crowd.

He thought of his family, prayed and asked God to make his death quick. Now, he said, he feels so blessed not to have gotten what he wished for.

After that eight seconds, Picciotto said he opened his eyes and all he saw was darkness. It was hot and smoky, but he knew he was alive. He called out for help and was surrounded by 12 others -- 10 fellow firefighters, one police officer and one civilian.

Picciotto said they were trapped in an air pocket within the collapse for nearly five hours. While he thought they were buried, it was the dense cloud of smoke and debris covering the city that made it appear that way.

Once the smoke cleared, he saw a light and was able to make his way out of the debris.

Picciotto considers it a miracle he survived that day, and flipping through pictures of the site where he emerged, he still spoke with a sense of disbelief.

He credits his recovery since that day to his family and his faith, and advised everyone who attended the speech to set priorities in their lives. Among those should be friends and family, he said, and not to take them for granted.

After his final remarks, the auditorium immediately rose to applaud -- the first three rows filled with Cape Girardeau fire chief Rick Ennis and members of his crew.

It's been 13 years since 9/11, but Picciotto said, it's a day that won't be forgotten.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

pertinent address:

1 University Plaza, Cape Girardeau