September 11 Digital Archive

email600.xml

Title

email600.xml

Source

born-digital

Media Type

email

Created by Author

unknown

Described by Author

yes

Date Entered

2002-08-25

September 11 Email: Body

Hello everybody,

This is Andy. First of all, I'm fine. I'm home now, and I just wanted to let everyone know I'm OK. Please forward this on to anyone I missed who might be curious regarding my whereabouts. Here's what happened to me today....

I was in my office 4 blocks from the world trade center this morning, when I heard the explosion from the first plane impact. As it so happens I was listening to the radio, but the station I listen to used a transmitter on top of the twin towers, and so was immediately knocked off the air. A few coworkers and I stared out the window at the burning tower, and listened for news. We were watching when the second plane hit, and I saw the explosion.

At this point, the building we were in was evacuated, and the general order given the police was to evacuate all of lower Manhattan. It was 9:45 AM. As I walked northward with coworkers, we heard a huge crunching sound. I turned around, and one of the twin towers simply wasn't there. In place of the tower was a large cloud of white dust and debris, covering the entirety of lower Manhattan. The cloud missed us by about 2 blocks. As we walked farther on, the second tower fell.

All transportation, subways, trains, bridges, and tunnels in Manhattan and to New Jersey were closed, so I walked 6 miles north to my sister's office. She works at Sloan-Kettering Hospital. Needless to say they were busy. I hung out in my sister's office until they started running ferries to NJ. I walked another 4 miles to the ferry station, and waited in line with about 1,000+ others for two hours.

Upon arriving in NJ, a haz-mat team greeted the ferry. All those who had been within 10 blocks of the trade center (including me) were separated from the crowd, and brought to a decontamination area. We were given a plastic bag to place our electronic equipment into, and then made to walk into a series of tents, where a fireman hosed us off with a fire hose. The water was cold, and everything I had on was soaked.

The trains in NJ were running, so I was then able to make my way home. I arrived at home just after 8:00 PM. I'm all showered and safe, and am going to eat dinner now.

Andy

September 11 Email: Date

09:21 PM 9/11/01

September 11 Email: Subject

I'm Home, and OK

Citation

“email600.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 26, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/37436.