Ny B30 Pa Police Reports 1 Of 2 Fdr- Duane- Sgt M

THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NY & NJ

To:

Lt. E. Gutch

From:

Sgt. M. Duane

Date:

January 28, 2002

Subject:

WTC Disaster 9/11/01

On September 11, 2001, 1 was the PATH New York patrol sergeant during the 6x2 tour. When the first plane struck One WTC I was on the PATH concourse with P.O. W. Stuart. Although P.O. Stuart and I did not feel the impact of the plane, we heard the fire alarms activated in Akbars Restaurant behind us. As we took a few steps to investigate the alarms, we saw WTC P.O.s Finnegan, Fitzpatrick and Amoroso exiting the PATH E-room running toward the escalators. I inquired about the nature of their call and one officer stated they had a report of an explosion in One WTC. P.O. Stuart and I proceeded up the escalators with the WTC officers. As I got off the escalator at PATH Square I encountered Captain Whitaker. As I spoke briefly with Capt. Whitaker, all of the officers I was with continued toward Tower 1. Capt. Whitaker stated there was a report of an explosion in Tower 1 and that he was going into the Tower to investigate. He directed me to stay at PATH Square in order to stop any civilians from entering the Tower areas. A short while later, I spoke with a representative of the NYC OEM office who advised me that an aircraft had struck Tower 1. I radioed the PATH desk to shut down the train service into the WTC due to the nature of the emergency. I also instructed a NYPD officer who was at the entrance to the 1&9 subway to notify his desk to shut down the subway service into the WTC. At my location, a few Summit Security officers approached me and volunteered their services. I asked them to block the entrance to PATH and to go down to the PATH concourse and evacuate anyone on that level. During this time numerous PAPD, FDNY and NYPD officers entered PATH Square. I directed them to the Fire Command Station inside the lobby of Tower 1 where WTC Sgt. Devona was located. I also encountered Inspector Morris who gave me a WTC radio in order to communicate with their desk. As the people escaping the Towers arrived at my location they were all directed to exit the Vesey Street doors and walk north. During this evacuation process at PATH Square I was assisted by police officers Joe Szczepanski, Ed Finnegan and Shawn Fitzpatrick. As thousands of people left the towers I observed and assisted numerous injuries; I requested the WTC desk to have EMS set up at Church and Vesey Streets for medical care. During the time leading up to the collapse of Tower 2 the injured were led outside by PAPD, NYPD, FDNY and EMS personnel, as well as civilians.

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Sgt. M. Duane

Page 2

When Tower 2 collapsed I was standing behind the PATH escalators adjacent to the Gap Store. In my immediate area was P.O.s Finnegan, Fitzpatrick and Szczepanski. I thought a bomb had exploded due to the thunderous noise and ferocious winds that were generated. When the noise and wind stopped there was complete darkness and silence. I realized I had been knocked onto the floor and could only see what appeared to be smoke. Seconds later, I saw a light from a flashlight and told the person with the light to stay where they were. I identified myself and told the person with the flashlight I knew where the exit was located. A woman handed me the flashlight; alongside her was a male who identified himself as a Summit Security officer. In the immediate area was a group of 6-7 individuals. I instructed everyone to hold each other's hand and we would exit the building shortly. I slowly headed toward the direction of the Vesey Street doors which I thought to be the closest exit to where we were located. Approximately 8-10 minutes later my group and I exited the Church Street doors. We did not exit out the doors which I had intended either because they were blocked or I was moved by the force of the winds or both. When I was street side I was directed by EMS personnel to walk up Fulton Street eastbound. At Fulton and Broadway I was assisted by Detective J. Wheeler and Detective J. Fitzgerald. They brought me into a deli and had me rinse my eyes and mouth with water. They then directed me to walk north in order to breathe better quality air. On Broadway and Vesey St. I met a woman who was yelling that she could not see. I identified myself and started to walk north with her when I saw a MTA bus making a u-turn in front of me. I stopped the bus, put the woman on it and instructed other civilians in the area to board. I directed the bus driver to head north away from the WTC area. As I continued to walk north I was stopped by a female doctor who took my vital signs. She said I needed medical attention and instructed two NYPD officers to take me to a triage center. I was eventually transported to Beth Israel Hospital where I was monitored for high blood pressure. At approximately 1500 hours I was released from the hospital and returned back to the PATH command.

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