I was standing at my desk on the 70th floor of One World Trade Center when the tower was rocked by the impact of the plane and began swaying back and forth for what was only a few seconds but seemed much longer. The first thing that went through my mind was “looks like they got us this time.” But the building settled back on its beam and I thought that another attempt to destroy the World Trade Center had failed.
Having lived through the first bombing in February of 1993, I had a sense of confidence that all would be OK. I walked around the office and told everyone to leave. Then I went back to my office, turned off my computer, picked up my briefcase and headed for the staircase. As I entered the staircase I called my wife to let her know that something happened at the World Trade Center but that I was OK and safe.
There was a stream of people moving down from the upper floors in a calm and orderly manner. People comforted each other and maintained a positive attitude throughout the 45 minutes it took to walk down 70 flights of stairs and exit the complex. I think that the experience from the 1993 bombing and the frequent fire drills really prepared us all for this fateful day.
In retrospect the saddest thing I saw was the sight of firefighters in full gear as they went up the stairs to fight a fire that could not be contained. I can’t imagine that any of those brave men and women survived the day.
Once outside, we proceeded to City Hall Park where we looked back at the burning towers. After a while I told my staff to go home and I started walking up Broadway to meet my wife who worked at the New York Times. Then Two World Trade Center imploded sending a huge cloud of dust and debris in every direction.
Later, my wife and I went to our friends’ apartment on East 85th street. The TV was on in what seemed a constant loop showing the collapse of the buildings. Their 2 year old daughter kept saying “uncle Kurt’s building is burning.”
For me that was not just the end of the World Trade Center where I worked since it was built. Because, as General Manager, IT Infrastructure my team was responsible for restoring all of the PA’s computing systems. So, the next morning, I worked my way to the Teleport on Staten Island where we had created a fully operational data center after the 1993 bombing.
When I got to the Teleport, the process of calling everyone’s home to see how they were doing and to keep them informed about what was going on was already underway. Sadly, not everyone could be reached. We lost two friends and co-workers that day.
Kurt Nordman 08868
General Manager, IT Infrastructure
Retired
