NYC Releases 9/11 Emergency Calls

New York City released today partial recordings of more than nine hours of 911 calls that began pouring in on the sunny and deadly morning of Sept. 11, 2001, as emergency operators struggled to comprehend the chaos unfolding at the burning World Trade Center. The recordings and some transcripts of about 130 calls include only comments from emergency dispatchers and operators, after a New York appeals court ruled that the privacy concerns of families of Sept. 11 victims outweigh the public interest in releasing the tapes in their entirety. The calls appear to confirm the sense of chaos and confusion that gripped New York City that horrifying September day. One man that day called in, "We have about 100 people here. We can't get down the stairs," he said, adding later: "We have smoke and . . . it's pretty bad. People are beginning to get sick from all the smoke in the air." A dispatcher tells him: "Just sit tight. Just sit tight. We're on the way." "All right," the man says. "Please hurry." It is hard to believe that it has been so long since 9/11, everyone is still devastated as if it had occurred just yesterday. I know exactly where and what I was doing on that dreadful day, as does probably everyone else. I still pray for the lost loved ones of others and the brave men and women that gave their lives trying to save survivers in all the termoil. I hope that someday we can go on and become a stronger nation, because I know this day will never be forgetten.