WTC attacks questions.

[An_Gadai]

I saw the documentary following a FDNY firehouse before during and after the attacks on the WTC last night. It was, as you can imagine, a harrowing thing to watch. I have a number of questions that weren’t addressed in the film.

1. Did they begin evacuating the second tower before the second plane hit?
2. There are a few scenes that show the FDNY radios not working, was this a function of the event, ie too many people trying to use them, or was there an inherent fault in them, or some other factors?
3. In both towers were any individuals above the crash line able to survive?

Thanks,
An Gadaí.

[MikeS]

@An_Gadai

1. Did they begin evacuating the second tower before the second plane hit?

Apparently so. From American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center (bolding mine):

More than 15,000 [people] walked out safely, in stairwells that were well lit and smoke-free. In 1993 the mood of the crowd inside the stairwells had been confused and fearful. This time there was little of that. Indeed,m the mood was rather too restrained. In the South Tower, before it was struck, a Port Authority man made an announcement on the public-address system that the problem was contained to the North Tower, and that people could return to their offices—this depsite the fact that jumpers could be seen falling to the plaza just outside. Most people ignored him. But in both towers a strange, Orwellian calm prevailed. … Those who tried to move fast or get ahead were reprimanded. But most were well behaved. They stayed obediently to one side, leaving open lanes for the firemen to climb.

@An Gadaí

3. In both towers were any individuals above the crash line able to survive?

The airliner that crashed into the North Tower severed all three staircases; there was no escape from above the impact point there. However, one of the three staircases in the South Tower was left intact, and I believe that a handful of people (a dozen or so) managed to escape from above the impact point there. Here’s an interview with one of them.

[An_Gadai]

Thanks for your informative reply, MikeS.