North American Network Operators Group
Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical

Re: More CNN reports...

  • From: Dean Robb
  • Date: Thu Sep 13 14:01:47 2001 
At 04:05 PM 9/12/2001, David Charlap wrote:


Roeland Meyer wrote:
>
> I'm impressed. From all of the reports, the appearance is that
> they've managed to empty most of the building in less than 10
> minutes.

According to:
        http://www.foxnews.com/images/36149/1_22_wtc_layout.jpg

There was 18 minutes between the first crash and the second.  People in
the second tower who began evacuation as soon as they saw the first
crash had enough time to get out (or at least below the level of the
fire from the second crash), if they moved quickly.
A survivor interviewed last night (at ohgawdthirty - I'm a news junkie) said that she and several co-workers started to leave #2 after seeing the fire in #1. She reported that there were a very large number of people doing the same - the stairwells were full of people leaving. Building management came on the internal intercom and told everyone "We are in no danger, this building is safe. Stay where you are, don't leave, etc.".

A large percentage of the evacuators followed those instructions and went back up; she took the "like hell!" attitude and left - the plane hit #2 before she got to the bottom. It would *appear* that the building management announcement *may* have contributed to the loss of life by causing people who would have left earlier to stay put.

OF COURSE, the building management could not possibly have imagined the consequences - that another plane would hit them and they would suffer #1's fate. Undoubtedly a well-intentioned instruction - with tragic results.


ADM Yamamoto: "I fear we will awaken a sleeping giant". Terrorists: "History repeats itself..."

Dean Robb
PC-Easy
On-site computer services
www.pc-easy-va.com