The New View from Ten House

For so many years, firefighters at FDNY Station-10 were reminded of 9/11/01 by the giant hole that stood just 50 yards from their station. Today, the view is much different, and although we will NEVER FORGET what happened, the new view from Ten House reveals what Americans do following horror and disaster -- they rebuild. Thanks to all of the trade unions for taking One World Trade to the 75th Floor in time for the 10th Anniversary.

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Ground Zero Diary

by: Lou Angeli

Recalling America's Tragedy

The attacks on the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001 tested the determination of emergency responders well beyond their experience and imagination. As emergency calls poured in,-- New York City firefighters, police and emergency personnel -- whether on or off duty -- rushed to lower Manhattan.Unaware of the impending collapse of the twin towers, their sole focus was to get in and rescue tens of thousands of people.

As those first responders conducted the search and evacuated victims, the intense heat had rapidly weakened and distorted the massive steel structures.In less than 2 hours it was all over.Just after the twin towers collapsed, casualty estimates were in the tens of thousands. With many of New York’s most seasoned rescue personnel missing in the collapses, surviving firefighters took the initiative of breaking workers into teams to begin search and rescue.

Within minutes, emergency and support personnel across the nation responded to New York City’s – call for help. It would become the greatest rescue and recovery mission in the America’s history.

This is not a tale of heroics -- nor is it an account of the devastation. Those facts are already evident and well documented. This is the story of the people who worked at the worst emergency scene imaginable -- firefighters, law enforcement, and medics -- united as one group, and bound by a common goal.

Please Read "Eight Years Later"

Volunteer Firefighter’s Family To Get 9/11 Benefit

A Bittersweet Victory for the Family of a 9/11 Hero

by: Lou Angeli

(New York, NY) – January 16, 2008 – On September 11, 2001, attorney Glenn Winuk rushed from the Broadway law offices of Holland & Knight (1) along with the rest of the firm's staff. But instead of running north, away from the carnage that was unfolding at the World Trade Center, the attorney grabbed a mask and a pair of gloves from passing firefighters and charged toward the billowing smoke. It was the same thing he had done in 1993, when terrorists set off a bomb in the center's basement. It was the same thing he had done hundreds of times over 20 years as a volunteer firefighter in Jericho, NY.

Glenn was found 6 months later, his remains cradling those of a woman victim. He was wearing surgical gloves and a stethoscope. His family, friends and colleagues all asked that Glenn be remembered as a rescuer, but government felt differently denying that Glenn was a “real” firefighter. Even though Winuk was not counted among the FDNY’s 343, the department itself acknowledged that the 20 year veteran was serving in a capacity as a volunteer firefighter-EMT.

State and Federal attorneys spent thousands of hours trying to build a case against Winuk and his role as a 9/11 volunteer rescuer. Why? The feds didn’t want to payout the Public Safety Officers’ Benefit of $250,000 (2), fearing that other families would come forward with the same claim. It is estimated that government spent perhaps 10 times the PSOB amount in its effort to disprove Glenn Winuk’s worthiness to serve behind the badge.

For the Winuk family, proper recognition of Glenn’s contribution at the World Trade Center had nothing to do with money. In fact, the bronze 9/11 memorial that runs alongside the length of FDNY Fire Station 10 was donated by the Winuk family and Glenn’s co-workers.

After years of bickering, last March the New York State Assembly finally brought resolution to the issue in a bill that was passed posthumously giving Glenn Winuk active status in the Jericho Volunteer Fire Department. (3)

Today, after a five-year fight, the U.S. government has dropped its effort to prevent a volunteer firefighter killed at the World Trade Center from receiving a federal death benefit for public safety officers who die on the job.

The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance fought his family's effort to collect a $250,000 payment due to police officers, firefighters and other government emergency workers killed in the line of duty. The agency argued that the benefit was intended only for active-duty public safety officers, and that Winuk didn't qualify because he hadn't been on regular duty with his volunteer department.

Fight has gone on too long (4)

The long court battle finally ended on Jan. 10, after the Office of the Solicitor General decided to drop its last appeal in the case."It's really terrific. This fight has gone on too long," said Glenn's brother, Jay Winuk.

Although the move clears the way for Winuk's parents to receive the $250,000, the family says their primary interest is in achieving proper government recognition for Glenn's public service.

"It's very meaningful to my parents," Jay Winuk told AP.

He added that he hoped President Bush would now see fit to award his late brother the 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor, which was given to the relatives of 442 other public safety officers killed in the terrorist attacks.----

Resources:

(1) The Glenn J. Winuk Humanitarian Fund

(2) Public Safety Officers' Benefit

(3) New York State Assembly Bill (March 2007)

(4) AP Story on MSNBC.com

Ground Zero's Silent Heroes

Mt. Sinai Study Fails To Enroll Out-Of-State 9/11 Responders
by Lou Angeli

New York, NY (September 6, 2007) -- On the eve of the 6th anniversary of the attacks on America, the Brooklyn Borough Hall will play host to a Congressional Sub-Committee which is scheduled to listen to statements regarding the health of 9/11 responders who reside outside of New York City and State. For those of you who served at Ground Zero, you are well aware that a huge percentage of emergency service volunteers at Ground Zero hailed from other locales.

Last week a plea was issued by the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform -- Urgent: Out Of State 9/11 Responders Needed To Testify. The intent was to listen to statements from non New York responders to determine how to identify out of state responders, and convince them to enroll in the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program.

But - wait. Hold the applause.

Today, the committee agenda was altered. The once urgent plea for out of staters was revoked so that constituents of committee members could be heard. I'd buy into that change, had the hearing been held in DC, before Congressmen representing many other of states. But the hearing in Brooklyn will be attended primarily by New York delegation members, which means that there will be more self-serving New York testimony -- and no voice for Ground Zero's Silent Heroes.

Who are the men and women who responded from outside New York City to serve at Ground Zero? And where are they now?

In its report on the World Trade Center attacks, The Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware noted that volunteer responders, both trained and untrained, were vital to the rescue effort in New York City, especially during the first 72 hours. Excluding FEMA, nearly every agency which has studied the Trade Center disaster makes note of the importance of an organized volunteer response.

The numbers of volunteer workers who responded to Lower Manhattan during the first days following the attacks has been estimated at 40,000, and there are some reports that suggest numbers as high as 70,000.

During the early stages of rescue and recovery, the volunteers who made it to Ground Zero did so on their own. Many were trained emergency professionals, who were never summoned, but rather “self responded” to the site. Because of their expertise, they immediately began to work assisting FDNY search teams. Others “walk-ins” included steel workers, operating engineers, chiropractors, massage therapists, clergy, college students, and housewives.

The vast majority of the men and women who served at Ground Zero were never asked to respond – they did so because of their desire to help. It's what Americans do well -- helping one another during troubled times.

They came from every state and from Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Israel and Italy. Unfortunately, we may never know the names of most of 9/11’s out of state responders, especially those skilled in emergency response – the firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, military and nurses, who served at Ground Zero...then disappeared.

Finding them will be like “finding the needle in a haystack” largely due to FEMA’s ongoing directive to restrict volunteer “self-response” during major disasters. (1) It is a concept that is shared and enforced by many local emergency agencies. In many jurisdictions, especially those that operate as career agencies, such a violation could result in disciplinary action, or even worse -- dismissal.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, FEMA and the US Fire Administration distributed a questionnaire in an attempt to gather statistics regarding the response to the World Trade Center disaster. Many of those who could have answered the questionnaire did not, fearing reprisal.

To make matters worse, published newspaper stories and discussion on “non official” web forums suggested that individuals who had taken it upon themselves to respond, had breeched a crime scene and could possibly face local, state and Federal criminal charges. Out of state responders went off the radar.

According to the 2004 Mount Sinai Study it is estimated that some 70% of all 9/11 responders suffer from illnesses related to the rescue and recovery effort. Like their colleagues in New York City and State, hundreds, if not thousands of out of state first responders are ill as well. After all, they worked under the same horrendous conditions and ingested the same hazardous materials as local emergency personnel. Are they being cared for properly – or are they just biding time?

In a few short years, the Medical Monitoring Program has created an extremely detailed database, which allows healthcare professionals to carefully follow treatment and progress of thousands of World Trade Center responders who reside in New York. Reaching out to responders in other states, who served an extremely important role at Ground Zero, is a very important step.

How to effectuate such a response is determined by two very important criteria: A guarantee to those who enroll that their information will remain confidential. And allowing the screeners to take to the streets to enroll these silent responders in their own hometowns.

Oh -- and there's one more critically important criteria. Having Congressional Committees stick to their published agenda -- not placate their colleagues' constiuents.

(1) FEMA Restricts Volunteers at Disasters