I was on my way to work and of course I was running a little late. When I reached the Turnpike Toll Plaza at exit 11, they announced over the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and it was on fire. They also said that it could have been that a pilot must have misjudged the flight path. There was not a cloud in the sky that day. As I got up on the Pulaski Skyway, I was able to see that One World Trade Center was on fire, and heavy black smoke was coming out of it. I was riding toward the Holland Tunnel to park at Journal Square and try to get to the Trade Center. Right as I looked up, I saw a fireball coming out of Two World Trade Center. At that point as I was trained, I knew it was a terrorist attack and headed to the Port Authority’s Emergency Operation Center.
By way of background, after the 1993 Bombing I was assigned to the Command Post at the “Big Kitchen” on the concourse and was involved in the restoration for the next few months. A few years after that I was asked by John Paczkowski and Ezra Aviles to become trained in Emergency Management and to be an augmentee to that group which I accepted.
On August 3, 2001, one month before 9/11, John and Ezra conducted a “Tabletop Exercise” in which the Chief Operations Officer, Ernesto Butcher and a large number of Port Authority Police Command Staff and just about every responding local, state and federal agency that we partner within the Port District were present and participated in a scenario of a terrorist attack on a Port Authority facility. At the conclusion of the “Tabletop” Ernesto announced that the Port Authority would be following the Incident Command System.
Once I arrived at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Capt. Ron Striker and PO Bill Saverease were there and we began to fire up all the computers and get the EOC operational. At that point I assumed my position as Chief Logistics Officer and started the timeline of the incident on a large “butcher paper” on an ease,l recording each action that was happening and requests that were coming from the World Trade Center and other agencies. Other members of the EOC were beginning to arrive and we were maintaining contact with the Operations Desk in 1WTC through Ezera who was feeding us situational awareness there.
We were handling phone calls directly from the White House, both Governor’s office and other responding agencies. The worst part was we were routed phone calls from people who were stuck in the elevators in 1WTC. We were receiving notifications that there was an incoming aircraft headed towards the George Washington Bridge and an attack at the Pentagon. One aircraft was still missing. A request came into the EOC from the Mayor’s Office/NYPD to shut down all tunnels and bridges into New York City.
Senior Staff members of the Port Authority were beginning to arrive at the EOC including Ernesto and John Patch covered in dust.
Once both towers were down, I was responsible for providing any and all resources needed at the site.
I stayed at my desk for 36 hours straight and slept on the floor near the EOC as we were operating 24 hours a day. I was able to finally go home for the first time on that Friday night but returned Saturday morning at 6:00 AM and lived in a local hotel until the last beam was taken out. I was in that procession.
Ezra Aviles never made it out of the Trade Center. There is a plaque dedicated to him the EOC.
