September 11th

[missmoore]

Now, I'm aware this is a sensitive subject but something has always left me wondering - why wasn't the second tower evacuated once the first one was hit?

[Dizzieblonde]

I could be wrong, but didn't they start evacuating it once the first one was hit? I vaguely remember some documentary-type programme saying the 2nd tower realised there had been some kind of incident but there wasn't enough time to get everyone out before it was struck.

[Rufio]

I cant remember how much time there was between the planes hitting the tower, but i dont think it was evident that it was deliberate until the second plane hit. It seems almost normal now that it was terrorist activity, but at the time not many people would have been thinking "holy crap, our towers next". The desire to get out of the second tower would have been instinctive, some people would have run straight away, others would have stood around trying to find out what happened or been rooted to the spot in utter puzzlement. I think some people did evacuate, but the sheer number of people made it impossible to get everyone out. I saw a news report where someone had been filming in the stairwells and people were crushing each other to get out, it truly was the most harrowing thing ive ever seen.

[Dizzieblonde]

Just had a look for the time frame and apparently the first one struck at 8.46am, then second at 9.02am, so there wouldn't have been enough time to clear the 2nd building completely

[Loosehead]

It was but over 100 stories takes time.

[Pippa68]

I was watching the news when it happened. Mr Pippa had telephoned me to ask if I had seen 'something about a disaster in New York' on the TV, so I switched it on to find out.

I then saw what I thought was a replay, but it was in fact the second tower being hit. There was definately not enough time for the people to be evacuated...sadly :o(

[frenchfriar]

There was no great reason to think the second tower should be evacuated, until the second plane hit, we all just innocently thought it was a horrible flight accident. Until the second plane hit, we were thinking it was an eery repeat of the accident in which a plane was flown into the Empire State building in the 30's. After the second plane hit, was when they started to look for others, and found out about the one for the Pentagon, and the one that crashed short of the White House.
It's all too easy to look back on it in hindsight, and say, it was obvious, when at the time, it wasn't thinkable that it could happen, here.
America lost a lot of innocence, that day.

[horselady]

I still find it hard to believe what happened that day. I was on holiday and it was a beautiful day, I went off horse-riding for a couple of hours and when I got back it had all happened, I felt as though I had ridden off out of one world and returned to a different, far nastier one.

[rhona_j]

I'm with you horselady, it was sureal.

We were having a leisurely day fishing in Cornwall, and I wandered off to the shop to get something to eat (probably a pasty!) and everyone in the shop was just silent, listening to the radio. No one could quite work out what had happenend and when I returned to my husband and said there had been an attack, he brushed it off as being just a terrible accident. It was only a few hours later when we got back in the car to head home that the horrific truth became clear.

That journey was horrible, and if I remember correctly we pulled over into a layby to stop and listen to the news it was that unbelievable.

It's one of those thigs that everyone will remember where they were when it happened.

[qapmoc]

Maybe part of the problem was that both of the towers were originally designed to withstand collisions from the largest aircraft in use at the time they were designed - Boing 707 which is about the same size as the 767's which did hit them, so maybe nobody believed that they could just fall down after such a small impact.
In fact many people today still believe they did not just fall down but were brought down by explosives planted in the towers beforehand.
Who planted the explosives - good question, just google 911 and do some reading.

[Loosehead]

Hi qappy, missed you! thought this fly paper may attract you!

[saxy_jag]

I think it's very hard to visualise just how many people were in those towers. I remember afterwards, just everyone I knew, knew of some individual who'd been involved or affected. My eldest was working in the aircraft industry at the time and regularly spoke to/faxed a company that were based in one of the towers.

[mimififi]

my husband works in a skyscraper in london and when they have an evacuation to empty the wole building takes 58 minutes and that is if it goes like clockwork. The alarm goes off and he sits at his desk listening to some 192 woman saying "The emergency alarm is now sounding. Please do not leave your desk. The security department is investigating the cause. Please do not leave your desk." She then goes on to say either " the alarm is now being terminated. " or "The security department have locked down the cause of the alarm. Please would floors 35,30,25,20,15,10 and 5 make their way into the stair well. designated first aiders must consult their manuals and follow protocol." She then goes on to invite other floors to leave and various intervals and then all the wheelchairs etc... It takes way longer than 58 minutes to do it in reality. Then they do the whole vacuum floor thing which is supposed to kill fire etc. even then, some traders carrying on trading right up untill they are supposed to leave.

After 9/11 I said to mr mimififi: you have 5 children at home: if you hear that alarm sneak out into that stair well and get the heck out pdq. but he is a first aider so wouldn't do that anyway, so I guess he would be dead.

i still think there should be a fireman's pole kind of thing happening to speed evacuation. There must be a better way.

he knew lots of people who died in the tragedy as his bank had an offices inthe trading towers.

[missmoore]

58 minutes for an organised evacuation?? There's a bit of me that thinks it'd be quicker if everyone just ran for it! Thanks for your answers everyone - it's always niggled me that a lot of people could've been saved, but after hearing what you've said I can see I'm wrong.

[coni2004]

i watched this the other week...

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-594 6593973848835726

[NikkiB]

Again, I'm probably using the blessing of hindsight too but I always envision skyscrapers in close proximity to one another - like trees - can fall any way, including onto neighbouring structures. Had I been in Tower 2 that day, the minute Tower 1 was hit I would have made a run for it. I believe many people did that, ignoring the orders from their respective management and it saved their lives. Amazingly too, there are sole survivors of certain companies that tell of their colleages in Tower 2 calmly remaining at work whilst they themselves run.
Although all buildings/companies have their emergency procedures, there are times when eyes and ears and common sense must over ride it. In skyscrapers, there's only one safe way out and that's DOWN the stairs.

[rhona_j]

I don't work in a skyscraper (don't intend to either) but I can understand why they have the sectional escape systems, I mean, could you imagine the carnage there would be if every person on every floor rushed for the fire escape stairs at the one time? People would get trampled, it would be a nightmare.
I agree, it must be hard to stand and wait until your floor is called to take your turn to leave, but would you not rather that than have people crushed in what may or may not end up in false alarm?