Ny B8 Osha Complaints Fdr- Entire Contents- Letters And Emails To Osha Re Wtc 9-11 Disaster- In Response To Foi By Monica Gabrielle

U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 201 Varick Street, Room 908 New York, New York 10014 Tel: (212) 620-3200 Fax:(212) 620-4121 OSHA Website Address: http://www.osha.gov

November 17, 2003

Monica Gabrielle Skyscraper Safety Campgain Dear Ms. Gabrielle: This is in response to your Freedom of Information request concerning complaints regarding the evacuation of the World Trade Center after the terrorist attack of 9/11/01. These records are now available and have been enclosed for your information. You will note some information has been removed from the documents. This is authorized under the rules and regulations, including exemptions, contained hi the Freedom of Information Act and 29 CFR 70.3. Actual sections deleted are indicated on attachment #1, with numbered exemptions noted in each case. For specific paragraph numbers and wording of exemptions, please refer to attachment #2. Should you wish to appeal any portion thereof, pursuant to 29 CFR 70.22, you may file an appeal within 90 days from the date of the denial stating in writing the grounds for appeal. The appeal must be addressed to the Solicitor of Labor, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210. Since the determination was made that the information provided was considered as primarily benefiting the general public, all fees have been waived. If we can be of further assistance to you, please feel free to contact our office. Sincerely,

Richard Mendelson Area Director RM:rm

Attachment #1 List of deletions 1.

All deletions under Exemption #6

A total of 70 records were redacted.

ATTACHMENT #2 e

FROM 29 CFR PART 70

MOST USED EXEMPTIONS PARAGRAPH #4 (70.24) Information that is classified as trade secrets and/or of commercial or financial value obtained from a person and it is privileged or a confidential source of information. #5 (70.25) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the Agency.

#6 (70.26) This exclusion is intended to exclude from disclosure all personnel and medical files, and all private or personal information contained in other files which, if disclosed to the public, would amount to a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of any person, including members of the family of the person to whom the information pertains. #7 (70.27) Information contained in investigatory files complied for law enforcement purposes except to the extent available by law to a party other than an agency. (70.27 (a) (3)) Information pertaining to the privacy interests of individuals, including information about an individual which he could reasonably assert an option to withhold from the public at large because of its intimacy or its possible adverse effect upon himself or his family. (70.27 (a) (4)) The identification of a confidential source or confidential information furnished by a confidential source.

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 25, 2002 9:40 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC evacuation 9/11/01

Original Message Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 3:23 PM Subject: WTC evacuation 9/11/01 Department 201 Varick Room 646 New York, Attention:

of Labor Street NY 10014 Robert Stewart

RE: WTC OSHA Investigation Dear Mr. Stewart. I wrote to you earlier regarding the lack of adequate evacuation protocols-, in WTC2. Both the physical design of the building and the lack of attention to human behavior factors resulted in unnecessary loss of life. I now wish to add some additional information. According to the conversation I had with my husband •••••••Pbefore he died, he made a second attempt to reach the roof. He told me he momentarily passed out in the staircase due to the heavy smoke. It was clear that the air was much more breathable in the office/floor space where he conducted our telephone conversation. This leads me to conclude that the air in the fire escape stairwells was significantly worse that than the air out on the open floors. I attribute this phenomena to the failure of the Port Authority to install vents in the stairwells as recommended after the 1993 bombing. The soot-stained faces of the people who used the stairs to exit the WTC in 1993 was a clear testimonial to the fact that smoke collected in the stairwells. This predictable scenario repeated itself on 9/11/01 but with much more devastating consequences. On 9/11, the lack of ventilation prevented those trapped from being able to use the stairwells to escape. They simply couldn't breath the air. The stairwells are supposed to afford more protection from smoke and fire than the open floors. The Port Authority ignored safety recommendations with" impunity, and this cost precious lives. Please call me if you would like more details.

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Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To:

Subject:

^^•W Monday, March 18, 2002 9:21 AM Mendelson Richard FW: OSHA investigation WTC

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-• Original MessageFrom: Sentj Friday, March 15, 2002 3:26 PM Subject: OSHA investigation WTC Dear Mr. Stewart: If you haven't already done so, please read the transcript from the link below my name, especially the sections that reference the composition of the core walls. It seems incomprehensible to me that the emergency stairwells had walls made of drywall. According to my husband (who told this to'me directly, shortly before he died) the air in the stairwell nearest to him was much, much worse than the air on the open floor. In fact, he said he passed out for a'while in the fire escape stairwell, after banging on the door leading to floor 106, which was locked. The stairwells should have had reinforced walls, if anything, rather than be constructed of drywall, built that way to save 'weight'- so the building could have more rentable space. There are many other items in this transcript which should lead to the conclusion that the WTC building was, quite simply, not a "safe workplace". I trust that you and others in your agency have the integrity and fortitude to stand up to those who think it was only the terrorist who were to blame for the deaths of so many. The lives of other currently working in skyscrapers may depend on it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/worldtradecentertrans. shtml

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Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 18, 2002 9:26 AM Mendelson Richard FW: 9/11 Resource : Investigative Website"AIITheTruth"

Importance:

High

Original Message Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2002 7:25 PM To:

Subject: 9/11 Resource : Investigative. Website"AllTheTruth" Importance: High ' •

9/11 Resource : Investigative Website "AllTheTruth.eg.st" +Your Feedback Considering Your Activities, => you may find as a useful Resource the investigative Website : " http://AllTheTruth.eg.st " on all 9/1- related Unanswered Questions about Criminal Responsibilities for losses of Human Lives (mainly Families of Victims, but also Civil Liberties, Foreign Relations, etc) . (Frequently updated, according to on-going developments) Your Feedback might also, be interesting, and is Welcome : It's a cooperative and interactive project. Truth;is obtained only at the end of open, active and intelligent Public Debates.

Thanking in advance,

Move your email to a better address. Over 1,000 domains to choose from! FREE! PRIVATE! http://www.MailSpace.com

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Hay 22, 2002 OSHA Compliance Office 2u1 Varick street Room 646 flew York, N.Y. 1U014 K5

Dear Mr. Although I am not accustomed to writing letters of r-i"^ 1 feel compelled to do so in this situation. My beautiful So -2 oo ... *jw

gerald on the 104th floor or Tower 1 in the WTC. When I first heard that the plane hit the building, I was sure that she got out. She was in top physical shape and could easily have made it down 104 floors. She left a message on our home answering machine at 9:17 am telling us that she was safe, was with 3U-40 people and had opened a window in an office in the N¥ corner of thel04th rloor. I later learned that there were no stairs ±"or these young courageous people to use. How could a design of a building put staircases in one central location? I also never understood why helicopters didn't rescue people from the roof. Although I heard from a wife of my daughter's colleague that she watched helicopters hovering above, no people were rescued. On Tuesday, October 2$, 2001 an article appeard in the Wall Street Journal titled "Could helicopters have saved people from Trade Center?" The gist of the article was that the Port Authority had the roof locked despite the recommendation from police pilots that an area or the North Tower roof be kept clear for helicopter landings. How did the city/state allow the roof of a building to be locked? These people were locked in with no way to escape. Yes, terrorists killed our loved ones but the city/state has culpability in how they contributed to these deaths. I would appreciate some reply to this letter. Very truly yours,

' RECEIVED USDOL/OSHA MANHATTAN AREA OFFICE

282 m 26 PH 2' 30

March 19, 2002 Compliance Officer OSHA 201 Varick Street, Room 646 New York, New York 10014 Dear Mr.' ^^^^^^^^ta

On September 11, 2001, my husbandj^^^^^^^^J^and 13 of his co workers lost their lives hi the attack on the World Trade Center7l|jjJi^^as|BHHHHHPor *e P°rt Authority of New York and New Jersey, a government agency, and worked on the 64* floor of Tower One. My family has sgent many frustrating months trying to get some answers regarding the circumstances ofB^ death. We have tried to get officials to investigate why they were where they were, and we have conducted numerous interviews with individuals that spoke to them that morning. The conclusion that we have reached is that V^ and his coworkers lost their lives because they followed the instructions they were given by the authorities in charge. When the first tower was hit on September 11, there was more than sufficient time for these victims to leave the building, for they were below the fire. However, they followed the procedures in place and followed the instructions they were given by the control desk. ^P telephoned me a few minutes after the first plane struck to let me know the tower had been hit and he was fine. I questioned him regarding evacuating the building, and his response was that they were told they were safe and to stay put. They were told therewa^jre above them and the stairway needed to be kept clear for those rescue attempts. fHHHHfc a coworker of my husband's, telephoned his wife after J^had called me. He told his wife that they had been advised by the fkedepartment to stay in their offices on the 64* floor for the same reason stated above. My son,flH|0) was at his job at the New York Stock Exchange that morning when he found out that the World Trade Center was attacked. He immediately called his father and asked him what was going on. He said very calmly that the fire was above them and that they had already talked with the control desk, who told them they were safe and to remain where they were until further notice in order that they would not hinder the rescue efforts. Another Port Authority employee at a different facility contacted my father at 10AM. ^fedvised him they were told to stay on the floor and to await word to evacuate. He said the lights and phones were working, and they felt they were safe or they would have been instructed to leave. The control desk knew they were awaiting word to evacuate. Family members from other victims from this office received similar telephone calls. The media has reported that 98% of the people who were below where the airplanes hit survived the attack. I believe the remaining 2% were lost because of misinformation and poor communications. It has also been reported that there was much confusion with rescue personnel rushing into the building. I believe, as do members of the other families, that is highly likely with all the confusion, the Port Authority employees and the instructions they were given were

forgotten about. My husband and his coworkers were responsible, educated people who would not risk their lives and the future of their loved ones by staying in a dangerous situation. These innocent people had 1 1/2 hours to evacuate the building. Because of the directions they received, they stayed in their office in order that others who were injured and in danger of losing their lives could be rescued. I hope you will include this information into your report on the evacuation procedures and rescue attempts on September 11, 2001. My husband his coworkers deserve to be acknowledged. Their deaths could have been avoided. Very truly yours,

RECEIVED USDOL/OSHA MANHATTAN AREA OFFICE

m. 25 AH !!: f|5 March 16, 2002

OSHA Compliance Officer 201 Varick Street Room 646 New York, New York 10014 Dear Mr.! My husband, Hfp was killed in the World Trade Center attack on the 11th of September. He did not work in the building. He was having a breakfast meeting with his partners at Windows on the World. My son called his father's cell phone after seeing the attack on the buildings knowing that they held a weekly breakfast meeting there on Tuesdays. My son spoke to my husband. He said he was trying to find a way out. There was no way out. How do you let people build q building knowing that if a fire or something else happens on one or more floors, that anyone above it will be trapped. The Manager of Windows on the World told me they didn't have a chance, like everyone else above the plane. They were alive and were trapped. This event has devastated our family's lives and the families of 3,000 other innocent victims. Before buildings such as these are built there should be a plan to evacuate in the event of a tragedy. I guess if the plane had hit the 60th floor the loss of life would have been unimaginable. Someone should be held accountable for the lack of planning for such an incident. How do you allow a restaurant to be built on the top floor of a building knowing that there would be no way out for patrons in this situation. Our lives have been ruined because of this lack of planning. Sincerely

RECEIVED USOOL/OSBA MANHATTAN AREA OFFICE Safety Compliance Officer n U.S. Dept. of Labor 2QJZ H A R I ' 2 AH ||: 52 201 Varick St., Room 646 New York, NY 10014 .

March 2,2002

Re: Safety Violations at WTC

My husband, ••^•••f, worked for Aon Risk Services. His office was on the 98th floor of World Trade Center 2.1 believe his life could have been saved on September 11th if effective evacuation procedures had been in place that day. One reason he did not survive was because the evacuation of WTC 2 was delayed for approximately 15 minutes after WTC 1 was attacked. The need for immediate evacuation of WTC 2 was clearly evident by the extent of the damage to, and the proximity of, WTC 1. Evacuating nearby buildings is standard procedure when there is a fire nearby of any magnitude, but this rule was not followed with sufficient urgency on September 11th". Furthermore, my husband and others who worked in WTC 2 were never told in the course of fire drills or other safety bulletins that fire doors to the roof were locked. When confronted with heat and smoke at the 78th floor while trying to descend, they thought they had another option. They struggled to the 105th floor, only to be met with a locked door leading to 106.1 base this on statements my husband made to me on the phone before he died. Had he known that 'down' was the only choice, he and hundreds of others may have persisted in their search for a way to descend and may have found the unobstructed stairway (A) that led to safety that day. Safety precautions should include mandatory file drills with mandatory participation. In WTC 2, there was a history of lack of enforcement of adequate fire drills by the Port Authority and in turn, by the employers who were tenants. AH should be held accountable by OSHA for contributing to this tragedy. Buildings should be designed so that stairwells descend directly to the ground, rather than in stages. Evacuees should not have to exit to an open floor (78*) in search of the next stairwell and escape route, exposing themselves to smoke or fire. Not only were the fire doors to the upper levels locked, doors were locked at other levels as well, adding to the confusion. I implore you to conduct a full investigation into WTC evacuation procedures and building design, so that in the future the lives of those living or working in other skyscrapers can be saved. Sincerely,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Wednesday, March 13, 2002 9:18 AM Mendelson Richard FW: World Trade Center Concerns

OSHA Concerns (March 12, 2002)...

Original Message -From: ^•••••iHBHHMBtaHliHHHiMBHI Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 3:44 PM To: ••••••••••••(•••••••i Subject: World Trade Center Concerns Enclosed please find an attachment detailing my concerns with the World Trade Center evacuation.

e-mail: phone: fax: «OSHA Concerns (March 12, 2002) .doc»

Memo Date:

3/14/02

Re:

World Trade Center Evacuation Concerns

I spoke with you on Monday, March 4th, and I wanted fenelay to you my concerns regarding the World Trade Center tragedies that occurred on September 11th. MyflHBBHHBHMBBBBf died that day. He worked in Tower 1, oathe 105th floor, for Cantor Fitzgerald. I have several concerns regarding the evacuation plan and the evacuation procedures followed on that day. I would like for each of these issues to be investigated. Below is a listing of my concerns: Evacuation Procedures What was the procedure and protocol for evacuating the building? I have several questions relating to this: 1.

I read several accounts of a Port Authority employee saying she had to stay where she was and wait for someone to come get her. She made several phone calls to her boyfriend and kept saying she couldn't leave until she heard from someone. She has been on the CNN People in the News series and her boyfriend has a voicemail from her saying that she is supposed to wait until she hears from someone. She survived the building collapse and was one of the only survivors pulled from the debris. a. Was this the procedure? That people were to wait for someone to come get them? I hear so many accounts of people who were waiting to be rescued - why was this? Were they supposed to wait? b. I also read that people were supposed to wait for official word regarding what to do. Is that true? Were people supposed to wait for an announcement over the loudspeakers telling them how to proceed? c. What about the announcement in Tower 2? I heard from several different sources that after Tower 1 was hit an announcement was made informing people that Tower 2 was secure and to go back to their offices. Is that true? i. What were the announcements made that day in both Tower 1 and Tower 2? ii. Who made them in both Tower 1 and Tower 2? iii. Who authorized these announcements in both Tower 1 and Tower 2? iv. What was said in these announcements? d. If there were no announcements made why was this in both Tower 1 and Tower 2? i. Who should have made these announcements in both Tower 1 and Tower 2? ii. Who authorized not making the announcements in both Tower 1 and Tower 2?

Page 1 of 4, World Trade Center Evacuation Concerns

911 Operators 2. What information was being relayed to the 911 operators from people in the buildings and from rescue personnel? a. What were the 911 operators telling people in these buildings? b. Were they telling them to stay put, go up? go down? c. Were 911 operators using, or supposed to be using, an established protocol for the WTC? i. Who developed this protocol? a. The Port Authority? b. Silverstein Properties? c. The city of New York? ii. Was the protocol used standard procedure in high-rise fires? iii. What are the standard procedures in high-rise fires? 3. Were the 911 operators informed that fire doors were locked as they were talking to people trapped in the buildings, family members calling on behalf of those trapped, or by rescue personnel? i. Were the 911 operators informed that the access to the roof was restricted/locked/or otherwise unavailable? ii. If so, whom did they relay this information to? 1. Once this information was relayed to someone, who then did this person relay the information to? 2. What is the chain of information with this information, along with who received what information, the time they received this information, and the decisions that were made7 iii. What time was this information relayed? iv. Which building(s) were they aware that this was occurring in? v. What plan was put into place to rescue these people? 1. What were the people in the building told at this point? vi. What was the plan for evacuating people from the upper floors on that day? vii. Given the number of people seen jumping from the windows what was the plan to get them out of the building? Evacuation Protocol for Upper Floors 4. What was the evacuation protocol for people on the upper floors? a. Was there ever any plan in place for evacuating the upper floors in case the stairwells were not accessible? i. If so, what was this plan? ii. How often was this plan rehearsed? -...,' 5. What safety procedures were in place to ensure that all employees knew what to do in >the event of an emergency? 6. Given the 1993 bombing of the WTC, what additional safety procedures were put into place? a. The WTC was a known terrorist target and there was a security person from Silverstein~Management assigned to looking into security issues specifically related to Bin Laden (this man also died in the tragedy). Apparently this person was focused on Bin Laden because he suspected that the WTC would be a target for future terrorist acts given the 1993-bombing attempt. Thus, I have several questions relating to this: i. Given this, what procedures were put in place as a direct result of the '93 bombing? ii. How were these procedures conveyed to employees? iii. Given the devastation caused by the '93 bombing what procedures were put into place in the event that the exits to the outside were blocked by fire/explosives? 1. What were the expectations of employees in exiting the building under" these conditions? 2. Were these procedures followed in September 2001 ? 7. Related to item #6, there was an employee that worked for Sherson Lehman (a safety director) who was directly responsible for evacuating 2100 employees. Apparently he had predicted that something like this would happen and had prepared for such an evacuation. a. Were these plans shared with any other companies in the WTC? i. Were they shared with OSHA?

Page 2 of 4, World Trade Center Evacuation Concerns

ii. Were they shared with Port Authority? iii. Were they shared with Silverstein Management? b. If they were shared, what was done with them? , c. What did other companies in the WTC do to prepare? d. What does OSHA require?' e. How could it be that the WTC, a known terrorist target in the past, did not have an adequate evacuation plan for people on the upper floors? 8. What were the rules regarding the locking of fire doors? phone the entire time with his wife and that he descended the stairwell to the 70th something floor (not sure which) only to find the door closed, locked, and much too hot to try and break down. He then ascended the stairwell to the top floor only to find access to the roof blocked due to a locked door. b. What was the policy regarding the locking of the door to the roof? c. How were employees of the upper floors expected to exit the building? September 18th, he told us that he heard/knew that many of his employees went up, not down, and when they reached the access to the roof found the door to be locked. Evacuation Drills 7. What did evacuation drills consist of? a. I have heard (through hearsay) that fire drills consisted of employees standing in the stairwell and that instructions would be forthcoming in the event of an actual emergency. b. If this is true, what instructions were given that fateful day? c. Were fire drills mandatory for Cantor Fitzgerald? d. Were all employees aware that the stairwell ended at the 78th floor and that you needed to find another stairwell to descend to the exit? e. Did all employees know where the stairwells were located?

Rooftop Rescues 8. What were the procedures for rescuing employees from the rooftops? a. Why were there no helicopters on the roof to try and rescue people? b. I understand that helicopters were available and on the scene. i. What were they doing? ii. What were their orders? c. What were the written procedures for rooftop rescues? i. Were these procedures followed? ii. If not, why not? iii. What orders were given that day regarding rooftop rescues? d. Did the fire department/911 operators/police officers, etc know that the access to the roof was blocked in either Tower 1 or Tower 2? i. If not, how could they not have known this if somehow families know this? ii. If they knew the roof was locked was there a plan to break into the building to rescue people? e. Were people told to go to the roof? f. Was going to the roof part of the evacuation procedures? g. Why were the doors locked? h. Where was the key left? i. Did employees know where to find the key? j. What was the plan to get people on the upper floors out of the building?

Building Integrity 9.

I am curious about the integrity of the building. When it was designed why were the stairwells placed in the center of the building? Was any consideration given to having stairwells around the outer walls? a. What safety concerns are there, if any, of the stairwells being located so close to the elevators?

Page 3 of 4, World Trade Center Evacuation Concerns

b.

c.

I have heard reports that the fireproofing in the WTC was sub-standard and I saw on one of the TV shows (either on the TLC show Anatomy of a Collapse or on MSNBC Investigates) that the fireproofing was missing on many of the beams. i. Is this- because it was inadequate or is there some other explanation? I have heard conflicting information about what role the diesel fuel caused in this tragedy. I have read accounts that give the impression that the fuel dumped outside the building and wasn't as much of a factor in the fire and eventual collapse as has been stated; on the other hand 1 have heard that the fire and collapse were a direct result of the diesel fuel.

Lastly, I have questions regarding whether the fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and loudspeakers were operational? Were these operational on all the floors, some of the floors? In which building and which towers were these operational? «

As you can see I have many concerns. Please dont hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help. Sincerely,

Page 4 of 4, World Trade Center Evacuation Concerns

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 1:05

To:

Mendelson Richard

•

Subject: FW: WTC Original Message— Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 11:54 AM Subject: WTC The story I heard over and over was that everyone in the towers were advised to stay at their desk and not to leave the building. A terrible mistake with an inferno going on in tower one. My one of the victims.

3/14/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 9:10 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC South Tower

Original MessageFrora: Sent: Monday, March 11, T602 11:44 PM To: ^•• ••• •••• •1 Subject: WTC South Tower My son was employed 89th floor on September 11, 2001. and I

'at Keefe Bruyette & Woods on the He was a Chartered Financial Analyst His name

isl After the second plane hit his building, he called me twice. The first time to say that he was alright and was trying to find a way out. The second time (some minutes later) he called and asked me not to worry, that he was still trying to find a way out, he was having trouble finding the stairs. Between calls to me, tH^p called his fiancee and told her that he was trying to get to the stairs, but every time he put his foot down, it would go through the floor. flHI^f and many more like him, was trapped in a building" with only one way out. He was a very athletic young man and had there been adequate stairways throughout that tower, he may not be dead today. Even though the plane struck his floor, he was located in his office away from the immediate damage and not harmed by the hit. He would have been able to get to stairs, if there were any at his side of the building, Instead he had to make his way directly into that inferno b/c there was no choice. Sincerely,

Page I o f 3 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 9:12 AM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: Comments regarding World Trade Center evacuation Original Message Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 10:18 PM To:| Cc: Subject: Comments regarding World Trade Center evacuation procedures

Occupational Safety and Health Administration De Having just read your request for comment and cognizant of your deadline of March 11,1 am forwarding comments I send to the Science Committee of the House concerning the building collapse. I wish to highlight some points relevant to your particular subject. Elevator evacuation was apparently poor on 9-11-01. I do not know if we could determine how many people were stuck in elevators at the time of the building collapse. Many firefighters supposedly were involved in getting people out of elevators, and some people were able to escape, but my husband and others did not It was widely reported by the press that the firm hired to maintain elevators was supposed to participate in the elevator had expressed concern to her that bidding procedures required low bids and potentially compromised safety in elevator operations, and presumably evacuations. In the time in which people were stuck in elevators, they may have been exposed to extensive, acrid'smoke and hot aviation fuel, compromising their ability to escape the towers and, had they lived, their future health. Respectfully, my letter to Representative Boehlert follows.

Tuesday, March 5, 2002 The Honorable Sherwood Boehlert Chairman, House Science Committee Regarding: March 6, 2002, "Learning from 9/11-Understanding the Collapse of the World Trade Center" Dear Representative Boehlert: This hearing and more research into the collapse are critically important to me. Because of legislation passed on 9/22, while my family and the nation were in shock, and done at the request of lobbyists for American Airlines of Dallas TX, I cannot address World Trade Center safety issues through standard judicial channels, and investigations to date have been shoddy. The bypass of the American judicial process to this date against the heroes of September 11 is shocking. These hearings are, therefore, more critical than had this legislation not passed. Any investigation should have subpoena power to be able to make a meaningful contribution to understanding how to prevent future disasters.

3/14/02

Page 2 of 3 An elevator evacuation should not require outside assistance in an emergency^ provided there was a way for people to reliably open doors and get to a floor unaided. My husband, flMHMMTwas found dead 6 after September 11, having been trapped in an elevator while going up to his office when the first plane hit. In the 45 minutes that 25,000 people escaped, no rescue worker opened his elevator's doors. Not even my husband and his trapped colleagues, who all had been told after the 1993 bombing how to escape a World Trade Center elevator, were able to exit it. What will happen to city workers and dwellers in Los Angeles in the event of another quake, to Chicago in the event of a major fire, or to anyone who lives or works in a building that relies on elevators, in the event of something catastrophic? Building collapse aside, elevators should be made for people to get out. A skyscraper on fire always generates smoke and heat, and people should be able to exit from any point in it More time in the building exposes the trapped people and rescue workers to more smoke, heat, and danger of burns. A person trapped in an elevator creates two problems in an emergency. The first is problem is danger to himself. The second is the need for a rescue worker to check every elevator across any floor at which it may have stopped. The third is to reach the stopped elevator and perform the rescue. This effort is needles s provided people could exit an elevator unaided. Do not be surprised at how difficult it is to get out of an elevator. If you live or work many stories up, your odds of being in an elevator at the moment of catastrophe are better than your odds of winning a state lottery. In the 1993 bombing a gentleman (•••H^) similarly trapped on the way to a high floor was unable to get out of an elevator for 8 hours; this man perished on that same high floor on 9/11. Last month I was stuck for several minutes in the. elevator of a Newark skyscraper, could not figure out how to pry open the doors or kick through the wood paneling, and was eventually pulled up and cut by a maintenance worker. (Either my late husband was trying to send me a message, or the Lord was sending me an extra reminder of my own mortality.) Why did the 9/22 legislation make hearings and research into the collapse more important? The liability cap was passed before the extent of potential negligence could begin to be investigated, and so subsequent investigations of the collapse have been pitiful. Our legislators were uninformed and made gross assumptions about the interests of the heroes of the decade with no opportunity for a considered and balanced discussion. Your committee can begin to right this wrong by launching a complete investigation with subpoena power.. If a construction problem contributed to the collapse, victims would normally be able to sue for significant damages and send a message to other builders that they must be careful. Instead, the law that gave the airlines billions of dollars and limited rights of people who died in the buildings to sue, even if their families never take a cent from the Fund administered by the Justice Department. The limitation on legal liability that everyone with a claim against the airlines, landlords of the twin towers, and owners of the buildings could ever receive makes any legal case for wrongful death problematic. Potential claimants include 3,000 victims, injured survivors, business owners with offices destroyed in the towers, any businesses affected by the towers' collapse, and local residents displaced. If a catastrophic earthquake occurs, I wonder if the residents of Los Angeles or San Francisco would stand for a limit on their rights to pursue contractors who are later found to have created unsafe situations? So many legislators voted for this hasty and unwarranted attack on our legal rights because it was rushed through under the guise of being an emergency measure without an opportunity for reflecting on the consequences. Because of the cap on liability, evidence regarding the collapse has not been cared for. What evidence was destroyed? The World Trade Center site itself held evidence; who was trapped where, what smoke conditions occurred, what was damaged by fire, and how stresses were generated by fire. If the owner and manager of the twin towers, the City, and the State had sought to protect themselves from lawsuits for construction liability, details about the building would have been better recorded, and remnants would have been preserved for examination. Instead they were melted down for cash, "recycled." The City allowed body parts to be carted off without precisely noting where they were found and with what other objects. As far as the City is concerned, the details do not matter. Even after the City declared the site a "crime scene," the information it gathered was minimal compared to a true crime investigation.

was killed apparently because he couldn't exit a stopped elevator when the World Trade Center was being evacuated. The elevator may have been overlooked in the evacuation because it was a freight, not a passenger, elevator. He and his colleagues also found in the elevator did their best to help each other out, I am certain, but still died a terrible death that day. Sincerely,

V14./07

Page 3 of3

CC: The Honorable Marge Roukema; The Honorable Robert Torricelli; The Honorable John Corzine^

Thank you Sincerely,

3/14/02

, for your consideration in this matter.

.Page i ot i

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 9:08

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC evacuation Original Message From: Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 4:24 PM Subject: WTC evacuation

Thank you for taking information regarding concerns over the evacuation process at the World Trade Center. My brother, fllMIPBHHBR was killed on September 11, while attending a conference on floor 107 North Tower. During the incident, we received e-mails from him stating that they were "trapped" an the floor. After confering with other family members of deceased relatives, we found out that an attempt was made to exit to the roof, however, the doors were locked. This is understandably disturbing to the family. Also, in the video which aired last night on CBS (9/11), firefighters are heard to be saying about those on the top floors "How are we going to get them out?". It appears that even the FDNY was ill equipped in handling a tragedy such as this. Hopefully, some changes in evacuation procedures will be written and implimented. Again, thanks taking my concerns. Sincerely,

3/14/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 9:07 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC Evacuation

-Original Message-

From.

Sent^ Monday, March 11, 2002 3:22 PM Subject: WTC Evacuation My brother-in-law was trapped in Windows on the World. His name was JlBMHHIlMHHP' & he was an outside contractor (Colonial Art Decorators) there for a scheduled meeting with a client to discuss painting and decorating for the restaurant. I personally spoke to him by cell phone at approximately 9:50am that morning and all he said to me was " I'm on the 107th floor, there's a fire and I can't talk". Then he hung up. My questions is concerned with the roof doors. Between the restaurant and the roof there are mechanic stations for the elevators and a communications station for the antenna. I have read that according to procedure these sites are manned'all the time and were still manned at impact and thereafter in an attempt to get the elevators working. According to some of the local news networks the communication stations were manned to maintain the broadcast to the TV stations. The people in these sites had to have keys to the doors which led out onto the roof. Were they used? If by some un-imaginable reason no one had keys to the doors, there had to be other methods to either break down or pry open the doors. Emergency tool boxes by the doors? Crowbars? If the doors weren't opened, why not?? If they were opened, why were there no rescue attempts? Were there no people on the roof? Certainly there were emergency helicopters equipped with heat seeking cameras which could have penetrated any smoke to locate humans, drop some ropes etc. Nearly 90 minutes elapsed from the moment of impact until Tower 1 fell. If this was enough of time to evacuate almost everyone else from the 86th floor down, (20000 people?) certainly it was enough time to get 2000 people to the roof.

Thank you and best regards,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:57 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC Evacuation Procedures

'Original MessageFrom: Sent; Sunday, March 10, 2002 10;57~PM Subject: WTC Evacuation Procedures

My husband tfHHBHHR worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of Tpwerl at the WTC. I am concerned about the evacuation procedures of this building. Were the doors to the roof and stairwells locked? What steps were taken to evacuate those people above.where the airplane hit? I am concerned about all of the emergency procedures, especially since this building had already had a terrorist bombing in 1993 and should have been more prepared. Please inform me of your findings in this matter. Thank you. Sincerely,

-

Page 1 of4

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:56 AM - Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: OSHA Hearings/Investigation into Collapse of WTC —--Original Message—~

From: < Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 2:50 PM Subject: OSHA Hearings/Investigation into Collapse of WTC 9/11/01 Sunday, March 10, 2002 TO: <

My niece was murdered 9/11/01.

murdered, on September 11,2001 at the World Trade Center. North Tower, 92nd fir., offices of Carr Futures. Such a beautiful, talented, smart, fun, and sweet girl. Such an unnecessary waste of her life and potential, and so many others. Below the point of impact, the offices on 92 were intact, and almost all of the 70 employees there were unhurt. Uninjured and not burned. Cell phone calls came out, try as they might, they could not bypass a blocked stairwell. There they waited, hoping for rescue or an escape route. There was none, and for an agonizing hour and a half, they endured, until they were killed. We can only imagine the circumstances of the end. It is an added difficulty for us to absorb these horrifying facts, knowing that she was visiting New York for the first time, traveling from her Chicago office the evening before, to the NY branch of Carr Futures. She had never been to the city or these offices until that very morning, so had no familiarity with the facilities or any emergency exit or escape plans. A nightmare. As a result, her family, friends and all those close to her struggle with the horror of this travesty. We question what might have been done or planned differently with these buildings from their inception, throughout the lifespan of the structures from either a maintenance or retro-fit/re-engineering standpoint. We especially wonder about the evacuation plans for these buildings, and the appropriateness and viability of those plans as they were in place and implemented that morning. Sad, haunting questions constantly come to mind about evacuation plans, survival equipment, consistency of enforcement of regulations [assuming there are regulations], vigilance in light of realized inadequacies following the attack on the the World Trade Center in 1993, and preparatory changes made, or not made, from 1993-2001, when considering possible future threats to Trade Center workers' safety. After the attack in 1993, our research shows that fortifications were made at the ground level, to deter vehicles carrying bombs. Add'l security measures were implemented with regard to gaining access/entry to the buildings — ID tags, check-in upon entry, etc. Did no one look up in the sky, and wonder, "What if the next attack comes from above instead of below?" And if someone DID ask that question, it would seem to so obvious, even to a layperson, that severe and extreme vulnerabilities existed, that to think those issues were not addressed is incomprehensible. If the following questions, or elements within these questions were raised, and not acted upon, it becomes even more heinous. Vulnerabilities/Weaknesses

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Page 2 of 4

1) Fire Dept. responsibility. Our hearts go out to Ladder 10 and Engine 10, "10/10 Company" which was the firehouse assigned specifically to the Towers. We have been to their "house", we have thanked them, we mourn with them for the loss of 5 of their own. Their rescue efforts, and the rescue efforts of all the Fire Dept, Port Authority, Police Department and all other municipal employees involved, will stand forever as the epitome of heroism and humanity at its finest. We must wonder, however, if it was ever really feasible for any fire department company/brigade outside the buildings to have the capability to efficiently and effectively respond to a massive fire, be it like the one that came about as a result of the terrorists methods on Sept. 11, or any other immense blaze, in a structure so tall. On the tape made by the French documentary filmmakers,flMMHBHHHIHMIHMMiBP£houlishly airing this tonight on CBS, it is reported to show a segment where^HBBP, chief of Battalion 1, tells a firefighter, "Don't go any higher than 70." Are we to assume that NO ONE operating in a rescue function was going to go any higher than 70? Did the Battalion Chief immediately recognize that it was an impossible task? If it was an impossible task that day, wouldn't it always have been so. from the day the buildings were conceived? From the moment the first tenants took occupancy? All that we've read indicates that the brave and gallant firefighters, loaded with gear, didn't make it much higher than the 30s due to sheer exhaustion from the climb. This is entirely understandable. In fact, it seems absurd to think that anyone could climb upJOO stories in an emergency or extremely hazardous situation. We wonder, after 1993, why weren't several firefighter units stationed IN the buildings, at different levels? Wouldn't that have possibly made a positive difference in communications, response and evacuation?

2) We have questions regarding exactly was/is'OSHA's oversight role and responsibility concerning the safety and security of the employees who worked in those buildings and other tall structures throughout the country. What OSHA actions, if any, were taken to give those workers not immediately killed by the impact or explosions/fires, a fighting chance at surviving a catastrophic incident, especially considering such high elevations? If there was any expert prediction, knowledge or understanding that a building of this height and configuration presented extremely difficult and limited rescue options, why, why, why, weren't those concerns taken into account and addressed over the years, especially post '93, and why weren't better plans organized? Or if suggestions were made, but not implement, to improve worker safety and security at the WTC, who/what persons or agencies dropped the ball or failed to follow-through? 3) We understand that post-'93, some companies instituted comprehensive evacuation procedures, including mandatory drills on evacuation, and provided survival kits that were to be on the backs of chairs. [We have no information to date on whether these types of procedures or tools were available to the employees of Carr Futures.] Should the city where a building resides, building leaseholder/owner/management or other governing agencies take a greater role in this type of effort, instead of leaving it up to individual firms/tenants in the building? What is OSHA's role in this type of situation? It is their place to institute some sort of minimum standards of safety and security protocol, and then ensure it with on-going inspection and enforcement? If not OSHA's role, who would be in charge of this? 4) It has been stated that the evacuation process was to go in waves, bottom first: Firs. 1-30, then 30-60, then 60-90, and above. If this is the case, doesn't that seem preposterous? Why would you not evacuate those nearest the immediate threat FIRST? This evacuation should have been from the top down where possible. Which leads to the next point. 5) Rooftop rescue. Incredibly sad to think about those at the top levels, above the impact, alive, trapped, unable to open the rooftop door. We understand it was locked. 6) Our research on floorplan, building plans indicates"that at the higher floors there was less actual rental space; because

3/11/02

Page 3 of 4 additional square footage had to be used to accommodate mechanical equipment (air conditioning and the like) installed at/near the core on the upper levels to service the higher floors. Because of this, the number of stairwells on the upper floors dwindled to one or two. Does this seem reasonable? Or ridiculous? All those people, occupying 20 or 25 floors of one acre_each, expected to funnel down as few as one stairway — which, as was the case on 9/1 1, could be blocked — until they might reach a level with more access to emergency exits? 7) The use of asbestos on the support columns. Or, in this case, the non-use of asbestos and/or improper application and/or maintenance of said asbestos. Would have enabled towers to stand longer, and saved lives? 8) Newer construction of the "Twin Towers" in Malaysia. Understand they have stairwells as a separate but integrated part of the structure; stairs and elevators surrounded by concrete, 8 ft. thick. Has the structural integrity to survive and not collapse following a blow such as Sept. 11. And allow more people to safely evacuate. 9) Have read about the automatic window-washing system employed at the towers, a pulley-type system. Wondered why that could not been envisioned to function as a possible rescue mode? We know electrical was working, and with buckets for people, wouldn't it have been wonderful if some could have been saved by riding those to safety; if not to the bottom, possibly to a floor not as immediately threatened? Instead of the horrible reality of them "riding the building down" from the inside, with the crushing weight of it on top of them? This may seem farfetched, but if some were willing to jump to their deaths, guessing they would have been willing to take a chance on some form of controlled exterior escape, frightening as that would have been.

Shouldn't there be more than one way — stairs — to evacuate buildings the size of these? Shouldn't several "fail-safe" mechanisms or systems be in place when so many people are involved?

I am formally requesting a response to all above questions, as they relate to regulatory, statutory and legal roles and responsibility of all parties involved, under the Freedom of Information Act. If you, §•••••?cannot supply such information, I formally request additional guidance on who to contact and how to procure such information in a timely way. I would also request, via e-mail or other response, information on how to access the OSHA hearings data, both as they are going, and when they are completed, and report(s) generated. I also hope you are actively seeking out survivors to speak to them directly about these matters. Some suggested contacts from the North Tower (almost to a person, those on 91 and below lived, no one from 92/above escaped. This, at least, is our understanding, from an in-depth article published in USA Today on Dec. 19, 2001) : ps a survivor from the 91st fir. Employer: American Bureau of Shipping. i artist working in donated studio space on the 91st fir., is another survivor. She was in the studio space via an affiliation with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Each of these individuals might have important first-hand information to share about the emergency exit access, survival equipment availability, evacuation procedures, etc. that morning. If you reach these, or other individuals, and they are called to relate their experiences or testify in any way, I request notification, so I can procure transcripts or similar information. We grieve with all those who lost loved ones to the attacks on Sept. 11. If anything can be changed to prevent this from happening again, I hope you will push vigorously for corrective measures to be undertaken with no wasted time. 3,000 innocents paid the ultimate price. And all they did was go to work in the morning. Please contact me if you have the interest or need. Thank you for your time.

3/11/02

Page 4 of4

Respectfully submitted, On behalf of and as an advocate fo

3/11/02

MendeJson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:55 AM Mendelson Richard FW: February 26,1993

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 1:08 PM Subject: February 26, 1993 Dear Mr. My name is ttHHHmp My brother fell victim to the September llth attack on the W.T.C. My brother was an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald. Incidentally, I was a victim of the February 26, 1993, bombing. I am a former employee of Cantor Fitzgerald. On February 26, 1993, I was on the 105th floor at the time the car bomb detonated inside the garage of 1 W.T.C. I felt the building shake. Because there was a storm that day, not to many people were questioning what we had felt. Luckily, my father is a retired Lieutenant from the Fire Department of New York. My father had called me about 15 minutes after the explosion to tell me the situation and how to evacuate. I looked into the hallway and noticed the thick black smoke quickly rising., There were no announcements from the building nor the company to evacuate. First of all, there were three stairways to escape to. Everyone went down the same stairway, it was extremely crowded. There were no Fire Marshals nor any directions announced, we were in control of ourselves. The smoke seeped into the stairway, it was thick, black and it was getting harder to breathe. On the 74th floor we all stopped and got low to the ground for a few minutes, there were no pressurized fans to clear the smoke. The lights finally went out and there were no emergency back-up lighting. .A few of us who were walking down actually paved the way with lighters and pen lights, until we saw the firemen running up with their flashlights. All in all it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to the ground level and finally outside.

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:53

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC evacuation complaint Original Message From: ••••••• SenfcSaturxlay^arch09,2002 7:46 PM Subject: WTC evacuation complaint Dea

employed an an apprentice .electrician on 9/11/01. i^mpwas killed the World Trade CenterthatdayBHBFworked for an electrical contractor, Denino Electric, and was doing an assignment on the 95th floor of Tower 1 for Marsh and McLellan. It was his second day on that job site. It is my understanding that in order to escape to the ground floor from the upper floors, one had to exit one stairwell and enter another. I am outraged that my son and others would have had to do this...especially in a smoke condition as existed that day. Additionally, my son was a contractor who had not had the benefit of fire drills or a working knowledge of the lay-out of floors. I have come to learn that, in all likelihood, my son had made his way out of the building when the tower collapsed and killed him. Perhaps, a couple of more minutes of time would have saved his life. I request that OSHA investigate whether outside contractors were given adequate information about evacuation procedures, the lay-out of floors and starirwells, etc prior to beginning work there. I can be contacted at either

Sincerely,

3/11/02

rhank you.

Page 1 of 1

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:53

To:

Mendelson Richard

.

:

Subject: FW: WTC Original Message

,

Sent; Friday, March 08, 2002 9:50 PM Subject: WTC I have some concerns about the way the Port Authority handled the evacuation at Tower 2. My daughter phoned my husband that morning of Sept. 11th after the first plane struck Tower one. He stated that Tower One had a large hole in it and there were people falling out of the building, but he was OK. He also stated that that he was advised over the loud speaker that everything was OK in his building and that he should remain there. He then said he was going back to his office on the 61st floor to get his belongings and that he would be leaving shortly after. We were later told that he went into the elevator on the 61st floor and that it stopped between the 55th and 50th floor. We know this for a fact because he spoke with a friend via a walkie talkie. He said there was no fire, but that he had no way out. Then they lost contact with my husband and his partner. Knowing what I know now, and that being, the people on the floor where he originally stood at the time of the first plane attack had gotten out: he should have too. If that announcement was not made, he would be here today and so would hundreds of others.

3/11/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:52 AM Mendelson Richard FW: 9-11

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 9:26 PM To: Subject: 9-11 My husband, ^fjjj^fffff, was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center on 9- 11. He worked on the 64th floor of Tower One dMBHMHMMPHHIBpHUpthe Port Authority of NY . & NJ. He and his coworkers had over 1 1/2 hours to evacuate the building. They stayed in their office because they were instructed to do so until further notice so that th.e rescue personnel could reach the victims of the fire.20 floors above. These people had no idea of the magnatude of the attack, and the followed the instructions given from the command center. They were never given any further information or instructions and followed the directions they were given. We feel the confusion of the rescue personnel bravely running into the building and the people in charge not having control of the whereabouts of everyone lead to the death of'many people, including my husband and his coworkers.' These were unnecessary deaths that could have been avoided if they were provided with fixrther information.

Page 1 of 1

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:50

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: --—-Original Message— From: Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:58 PM Subject: I am writing to you requesting that an investigation be made regarding the possible negligence of the World Trade Center during the September 11th disaster. We feel that a lot of lives could have been saved if Tower Two was evacuated immediately after Tower One was hit. Please re-think your decision

3/11/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 11, 2002 8:50 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC Letter Of Complaint

Original MessageFrom: Sent; Friday, March 08, 2002 1:51 PM Subject: WTC Letter Of Complaint We are writing to you requesting that an investigation be made regarding the possible negligence of the World Trade Center during the September llth disaster. We feel that a lot of lives could have been saved if Tower Two was evacuated immediately after Tower One was hit. Please, please re-think your decision. Thank you,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Friday, March 08, 2002 12:25 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC emergency evacuation procedures

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 11:5TAM Subject: WTC emergency evacuation procedures

Dear Mr.| The website maintained by GiveYourVoice encouraged family members of victims to contact your office about any concerns we may have relating to emergency evacuation procedures at WTC. My brother^BBB^ was a broker for CarrFutures which maintained its corporate offices on the 92nd floor of the North Tower/ His normal place of employment was at the New York Mercantile Exchange Building located a few blocks from WTC, However, he was attending a business meeting at the Corporate Offices on the morning of September llth. Since he was not regularly in the Towers we have had concerns about what evacuation procedures were in place for persons who were guests in the buidlings. Specifically, I have heard that there may have been. OSHA or New York State regulations that required employers to notify persons who are attending meetings in a building where the stairwells were located in case of a fire. This is particularly of concern to me since we have heard from some CarrFutures employees that there had not been fire drills, that they had not been given masks to where (like some other companies provided) in case of a fire. As you know, there were several staircases that serviced each floor of the towers. Did evacuation procedures provide for telling the occupants about the location of alternative staircases in case the one near their location was blocked. As can imagine these type of questions have run through all of our heads on numerous occasions since September llth. While the answers will not bring back our loved ones it may help in giving us piece of mind. I would also hope that the answers could assist in an investigation of whether new procedures are warranted in order to help save more lives in the future. Thank you very much for the opportunity for us to address our concerns. God bless,

Page 1 of2 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:17

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: North Tower Concerns —-Original Message FromM

Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 2:12 AM Toj .Cc:l Subject: North Tower Concerns

My beautiful, intelligent daughter,flHHBBpmj^mBFwas killed on September llth. An employee of Carr Futures in Chicago, Illinois, she was on her first business trip of her career. She was to meet her boss at Carr offices on 92nd floor of the North tower. She knew no one in New York. She was in New York nine hours and in the building for forty five minutes. The lives of all were lost in her offices. We watched in horror as the building burned and then, frantically awaited a phone call that was never to come. We drove non-stop from Wisconsin to find her. We as of this date have still not accomplished this. Part of my wife and I have died also. We have been to the site and have witnessed the destruction. The 91st floor made it out. The 92nd and above did not. Why? We have heard that the stairwells were blocked. People were making phone calls out to loved ones. They were alive and unhurt, according to these reports, after the impact of the plane. There were reports they were told to stay, help was on the way. As the final hour and a half progressed there pleas became more frantic and helpless. Prior to being dismembered crushed and scattered they were tortured in anguish awaiting help. Helpless themselves. The horror of this haunts so many. We have met with brave firemen and police. They have also lost brothers and sisters and children. Brave selfless people died trying to reach our daughter. Our hearts go out to them. The thought of them going up perhaps to meet my daughter coming down will forever be in our hearts and minds. The questions yet remain however. In particular: We have not been able to gather information about either the floor plans of the building or evacuation procedures of the Port Authority. Why. How many stairwells were there on that floor? After 1993 one would think that a fire department company would have been located in the building on the upper floors. How is it conceivable to think that anyone could have been rescued from the upper floors from the ground up? This single act alone, especially in context of 1993

3/8/02

Page 2 of2 would have perhaps saved hundreds, perhaps more. Also after 1993 why was this type of attack not contemplated as a threat, not only to the WTC but to all tall buildings. And if it was by OSHA, what were those recommendations and requirements. If there were none, why not? If there was, was compliance made to the satisfaction of OSHA. Did OSHA require the Port Authority to have on file evacuation plans by floor? If not, why not? If yes I would like to know where they are. Were employers required to have an evacuation plan and disaster equipment? If so who has those records? We have heard certain doors Were locked. Both to the roof and perhaps some stairwells. Is this true? I have more questions and concerns, perhaps I will call you before the llth, however please consider this e-mail a formal request to be advised of OSHA procedures and requirements in buildings of this nature. I hereby am also making a request for any OSHA reports or requirements or notices of deficiencies or orders to the owners of the WTC1 and WTC2, Port Authority or the City of New York on the World Trade Center Towers, since February 26th, 1993. If these documents are public information and accessible please advise where I can find them. If not I am making this request under the Freedom of Information Act. Sincerely,

3/8/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

To: Subject:

Friday, March 08,2002 9:15 AM Mendelson Richard FW: evacuation procedures

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Friday, March 08, 2002 1:16 AM Subject: evacuation procedures Hellof From Give Your Voice, I was told that you would like to hear comments. It was very sad for me, in fact, PURE AGONY to watch as the events of the Towers on Fire, unfolded, in front of me on the television. It SICKENS me to find out that the Evacuation Plan that was given to employees of Cantor Fitzgerald, was to GO TO THE ROOF in case of fire,,,,,,well, , , , ,as I understand from those who did try to get up to the roof,,, the door was LOCKED...!!!!!!. You see, my daughter, 32 years old, worked for Cantor. forever broken !!!!!!! Sincerely,

My heart will be

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:15 Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC concerns —Original Message— From:( Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 10:56 PM Toil Cc:( Subject: WTC concerns Dear I am writing to voice my concerns about procedures and conditions in effect at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11,2001. My brother died in the WTC attack. He worked on the 90th floor of Tower 2. He left his wife and three children a message at 9:00 after the first tower was hit saying occupants of Tower 2 were instructed to return to their offices - "the building is secure". Large numbers of people who disregarded this announcement and left the building survived. People from my brother's firm who evacuated immediately survived this tragedy. But those who followed the well meaning but misguided building announcement and returned to their offices lost their lives that day. I am gravely concerned by the emergency procedures in place on that day. Had more cautious and preventive measures been taken that day after Tower 1 was hit, many more lives would have been saved, perhaps including my brother's life. Buildings the size of the Twin Towers should have multiple fire, safety, and evacuation plans prepared. I have heard that there was no access to the roof in Tower 2. The roof could have provided an escape route if doors had been unlocked and a plan had been in place. Every occupant of a high rise building should know what to do in an emergency and it is the building management's responsibility to devise these emergency plans, test them, practice them and ensure they work effectively. Before Sept. 11 it was easy to feel a false sense of security and think that nothing would happen. We now know that the unthinkable can happen, and we should try to be as prepared as possible forthese dangerous situations and have a plan for managing them. Thank you for your efforts toward improving the safety of all buildings and thereby protecting the lives of all Americans. Sincerely,

3/8/02

Pag-e 1 of 2

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:11

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: world trade center

—Original Message—

From: Sent; Thursday, March 07, 2002 7:41 PM Subject: world trade center I am writing to discuss my many concerns regarding the events that took place at the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001. At 8:47 am an American Airlines plane crashed into my sisters place of business. Her finace spoke with her at 9:30 am that morning and she told him she was ok and was being checked out. That was the last conversation she had with anyone who knows her. We all made numerous telephone calls to her work phone, cell phone, we beeped her and tried to reach her by her blackberry but none of these attempts have worked. Her cell phone and her blackberry all powered down around 10:30 - 11:00 am. Our lives have been turned upside down since that day. To make matters worse information has been made available to us regarding the evacuation or of evacuation made available to them. They did not have access to a staircase up or down. The access to the roof was locked. My sister was trapped like an animal waiting to die. This is not acceptable. I cannot imagine what 3,000 family members are feeling. I can only express to you that this has made me and my family violently sick. My parents have suffered heart failure since that day and I feel that they may not made it. Her fiance is suicidal and I have to hold this whole family together, and hold my marraige together while working and trying to concieve a child. I do understand that when buildings are built that the main concern is the bottom line profit that will be gained once the building is rented. You cannot build a structure that large if you cannot guarantee the safety of the occupants of that building. There were no sprinkler systems on floors over 50. The people in that building did not stand a chance. Who was checking my sister out when she was spoken to? We do not know? Where is she now? I can only assume that she is in the debris there. It makes me sick, to think that we will never see her again and possible never recover anything of her. She worked for Alliance Consulting on the 102nd floor of the North Tower. Please Mr.^BBBB^ do not allow this to ever happen again. I know that you are only one person, but one person can make a difference in this world. If I can be of help at all, please contact me. I will be changing my internet server within the next month. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely,

3/8/02

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Mendelson Richard Sent:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:09 AM

To:

Mendelson Richard

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Subject: FW: Evacuation procedures at the —Original Message-— Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 6:38 PM Subject: Evacuation procedures at the WTC

Dear These are evidently concerns of those who KNOW what it was like orv 9/11 trying to escape from the inferno. 1. Lack of "complete evacuation" drills of the towers 2. Non-mandatory fire/evacuation drills 3. Not knowing where the stairs were 4. Not knowing stairwells ended at sky lobby 5. Locked fire doors 6. Viable access to roof, etc. In reading a recent guidepost magazine, one survivor spoke of how he negotiated the stairs till he was in the 72nd floor area and had to CROSS through a work area to find the next set of stairs. He lost fellow workers in the smoke and crowds. Here in New Jersey, an adjacent town would not allow the building of a wedding hall unless the building owners purchased the necessary aerial ladder truck which would reach the top floor. What types of rescue plans are in place in other skyscrapers in this and other cities? Logically, we should be prepared for any repeat attacks as there are other national "tall targets" that exist. What is being done to prepare the employees in those buildings? Perhaps we need to reconsider the zoning that allows buildings that overreach the capabilities of rescue personnel and available apparatus. Senior fireman and rescue workers should be involved in the approval of building plans and accompanying escape plans. One other thing that is a big problem that I remember from 9/11 is that there was no backup for the information for who had arrived in the building for work, etc. There must be alternate sites for the information to be retained for just such a scenario. We must start to think ahead and think about the worst things that could potentially happen. These terrorists evidently have and targeted specific floors of the WTC which

3/8/02

Page 2 of2 included the influential companies of Cantor Fitzgerald and Marsh McLennan. Thank you very much for your attention. Sincerely,

3/8/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: Subject:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:06 AM Mendelson Richard FW: Complaint re: WTC 9/11/01

Importance: Sensitivity:

High Personal

To:

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 "5:23 PM Subject: Complaint re: Importance: ^High Sensitivity: Personal

WTC 9/11/01

Sir, I wish to file a complaint as an individual, not on behalf of my company, so please disregard the reference to my company or my job title below. In short, it is my understanding that OSHA might be entertaining investigating the possible negligence of the staff(s) of the facilities management of the World Trade Center ("WTC") or of the employers of the businesses operatingt within the WTC on September 11, 2001. Towards that end I would strongly encourage OSHA to- continue with its investigation, as much of what we know of the events of September 11, 2001 is well documented and, in fact, well recorded. Many people who perished spoke to persons from cell phones and told them that they were advised by facilities management and/or their employer representatives to remain at their desks after the first tower had been struck" and while there still remained sufficient time to escape. People like me who have lost family members from the WTC ask that the facts be made known, and we feel that one means for doing so is through the.office of the Federal Government. Please don't let us down.

Thank you. Respectfully,

To: Richard Mendelsonn, Area Director U.S. Dept. of Labor 201 Varick St., Room 646 New York, NY 100 14

March 2, 2002

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Re: Safety Violations at WTC •£= ^

My husband, (•••••P worked for Aon Risk Services. His office was on the 98th floor of World Trade Center 2. 1 believe his life could have been saved on September 1 1th if effective evacuation procedures had been in place that day. One reason he did not survive was because the evacuation of WTC 2 was delayed for approximately 1 5 minutes after WTC 1 was attacked. The need for immediate evacuation of WTC 2 was clearly evident by the extent of the damage to, and the proximity of, WTC 1 . Evacuating nearby buildings is standard procedure when there is a fire nearby of any magnitude, but this rule was not followed with sufficient urgency on September 1 1th'. Furthermore, my husband and others who worked in WTC 2 were never told in the course of fire drills or other safety bulletins that fire doors to the roof were locked. When confronted with heat and smoke at the 78th floor while trying to descend, they thought they had another option. They struggled to the 105th floor, only to be met with a locked door leading to 106. 1 base this on statements my husband made to me on the phone before he died. Had he known that 'down' was the only choice, he and hundreds of others may have persisted in their search for a way to . descend and may have found the unobstructed stairway (A) that led to safety that day. Safety precautions should include mandatory file drills with mandatory participation. In WTC 2, there was a history of lack of enforcement of adequate fire drills by the Port Authority and in turn, by the employers who were tenants. All should be held accountable by OSHA for contributing to this tragedy. Buildings should be designed so that stairwells descend directly to the ground, rather than in stages. Evacuees should not have to exit to an open floor (78th) in search of the next stairwell and escape route, exposing themselves to smoke or fire. Not only were the fire doors to the upper levels locked, doors were locked at other levels as well, adding to the confusion. I implore you to conduct a full investigation into WTC evacuation procedures and building design, so that in the future the lives of those living or working in other skyscrapers can be saved.. Sincerely,

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U.S. Department of Labor/OSHA 201 Varick Street, Room 646 New York, New York 10014

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Re: Evacuation Procedures /Two World Trade Dear I have been advised that your office has responsibility for issues concerning evacuation procedures at Two World Trade Center. If that is the case, I would like to receive any information you may have about what procedures were in place on September 11, 2001. My husband,^mmp was employed by Aon Corporation on the 105* floor of Tower Two. After Tower One was hit by the plane, he left a message that they were going to be evacuated. That is the last word I had from him. I would be interested in knowing the rules about fire drills and if the occupants of the building were made aware of transfers to different stairwells at floors 44 and 78. I would appreciate any information you would be able to provide. Very truly yours,

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 12:58

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC 9/11 Original Message Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 10:08 AM Subject: WTC 9/11 For your kind attention.

3/7/02

Thursday, March 07, 2002

My son was ne Perished in the catastrophe at the World Trade Center on September 1 1th. I have been waiting patiently for some part of the government establishment to let us know why there was no access to the roof. Alex worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104 floor. It is my understanding that access to the roof, even in emergency situations, was impossible. Further, the opportunities for egress from these buildings were inadequate as demonstrated in the 1993 incident. Why are these problems not being addressed? Why has your agency or some other agency of the government not held hearing or investigated these problems? Why did anyone die who did not need to die? This calamity has affected everyone in this country. Our City is the world leader in so many areas that it is incumbent upon the City of New York to investigate every aspect of this disaster. No person, certainly not the bereaved, are served by useless manhunts, but an effective inquiry as to what really happened needs to be performed so that we who mourn will have another part of this horror set in place. Most Sincerely,

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 12:58

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC 9/11

Original Message

From:

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Sent: Thursday/March 07, 2002 9:57 AM To:

Subject: WTC 9/11 find attached a letter regarding the 9/11 disaster. Thank you

3/7/02

March 6,2002 Dear^ NYC OSHA Representatives: I am writing to you as a mother who lost her son in the World Trade Center, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald. He was young and energetic with a bright future before him and his beautiful wife of nearly seven years. Obviously, that future has been taken from him and from all of us. We will never have a true, detailed or adequate picture of what actually happened in 1 WTC on that day. I would ask, however, that you, in your capacity as protectors of those of us who labor, investigate fullv and honestly what happened so we might have some peace struggle. on the upper floors of 1 WTC, and it is this fact that compels me to write to you with regard to what was done, or not done, inthat building to maintain a safe work environment, which might have permitted^HP* at least a chance at escape. We have read so many stories, seen so much reporting on TV, and heard so many rumors, that it is impossible for us to receive them without both hope and skepticism. The following are things I have read and heard. I want YOU to investigate their veracity. 1. The fire doors locked automatically and no one could escape to the roof. 2. When fire drills had been conducted, they were done so half-heartedly, minimizing the possible danger and enormous challenges to anyone attempting to escape the building from such a remote spot. 3. No emphasis or instruction was given about roof evacuation. 4. Despite the fact that desperate victims were jumping out of windows from high floors, police helicopters above the building reported that there was no one on the roof to evacuate. 5. People evacuated to the stairwells, but were instructed not to attempt to walk downstairs or up to the roof, as there was no real, immediate danger. 6. Stairwells did not go straight down to the ground, but went to various floors (we heard 78th and 40th), where workers needed to "transfer" to another stairwell leading down.

As difficult as it is for me to contemplate what I have asked you to investigate, believable facts, no matter what they might be, would be easier to bear than the constant feelings of not knowing. In closing, I would like to convey my puzzlement and concern at being told that there is a deadline, or statue of limitations, of six months with regard to contacting you. We struggle to get through each day and for us, time will never have the same meaning. I expect that you want to do the right thing by those who perished and their families, and not merely do it within an arbitrary timeframe. I look forward with eagerness to hearing from you as you labor for the truth. Sincerely,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 12:57 PM Mendelson Richard FW: Evacuation of World Trade Towers

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:25 AM Subject: RE: Evacuation of World Trade Towers

Mr. Robert Stewart, I am writing with regards to the delay in evacuating both of the World Trade Towers. Please investigate why the evacuation was not ordered immediately after the first tower was hit. Especially in light of the bombing of the towers in 1993. What does it take for someone to take action to save lives. Thousand lost???? Best Regards,.

Pag-e 1 of 1

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:23 To: Mendelson Richard Subject: FW: WTC Tower Two Investigation

— Original Message —

From:

Sent; Wednesday, March 06, 2002 7:25 PM Subject: WTC Tower Two Investigation Attention: I

This email is to support the demand that OSHA do an investigation for the people who were in the Tower 2 who were initially told that to remain at their desk and that Tower Two was secure. It wasn't until AFTER Tower Two was struck that they (WTC) started the evacuation process - by then (those crucial 17 minutes between hits) it was too late. I personally knew someone who was a victim of this tragedy. : THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED - the public has a right to know the truth. Please don't let these people die and be forgotten without a proper investigation. Thank you for your attention and action regarding the above. Sincerely,

3/7/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:09 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC Evacuation Procedure Complaint

Original MessageFrora: Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002~6;56 PM Subject: WTC Evacuation Procedure Complaint

Dear i On behalf of my husband,| (104th floor, 1 WTC), who died

employee of Cantor Fitzgerald 'on September 11, 2001...

This email is to voice my complaint regarding the evacuation procedures at the World Trade Center on this tragic day. I understand that evacuation to the roof during a fire was established as an official building procedure after the first WTC bombing years prior. However, according to reliable sources and cell phone calls from Cantor Fitzgerald employees to their families that morning, the doors to access the roof of WTC Tower 1 were locked. This left at least 1,000 people trapped with nowhere to go, as the roof was the only escape route for those who were above the floors where the plane crashed. Many media at the time reported there were police/emergency helicopters ready to pick people up from the top of the building immediately following the first plane collision, but there was no one there to pick up. Needless to say, the failure to unlock the roof doors was a tragic mistake that resulted in the deaths of many people who might have been saved. Please tell us why the roof doors were locked if this was a planned evacuation route? You must agree that this - - a s well as other safety violations that day -- deserve a thorough investigation. While it will not bring back our loved ones, the truth must be uncovered. There must be something to be learned to help ensure the safety of all the people in our country who work in high rise buildings. Thank you for your time and consideration,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:08 AM Mendelson Richard FW: World Trade Center

Original Message

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Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 5:53 PM To: (•••••••••••••P

Subject: World Trade Center

It has come to ray attention that possible negligence on behalf of the World Trade Center may have caused many unnecessary and horrible deaths in the 9/11 disaster. . . As a concerned New Yorker and American, I want to know the truth. Please add my name to the list of people demanding an investigation. Sincerely,

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:08 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC evacuations

Original MessageFrotn: Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 4:31 PM Subject: WTC evacuations Dear! I spoke with you on Monday, March 4th, and I wanted to relay to you my concerns regarding the World Trade Center tragedies that occurred on September, llth. My brother, dHMHHVdied that day. He worked in Tower' 1, on the 105th floor, for Cantor Fitzgerald. Below is a listing of my concerns: 1. What was the procedure for evacuating the building? I have several questions relating to this: . ' . . * I read several accounts of a Port Authority employee saying she had to stay where she was and wait for someone to come get her. I believe she is the last survivor pulled from the debris. Was this the procedure? that people were to wait for someone to come get them? I have so many accounts of people waiting to be rescued - why was this? Were they supposed to wait? * I also read that people were supposed to wait for official word as to what to do. Is that true? Were people supposed to wait for an announcement over the loudspeakers telling them how to proceed? * . What were the announcements that day? * Who made them? Who authorized them? * What about the announcement in.Tower 2? I heard from several different sources that after Tower 1 was hit an announcement was made telling people that Tower 2 was secure and to go back to their offices. Is that true? * What information was being relayed to the 911 operators from people in the buildings and from rescue personnell? What were the 911 operators telling people in these buildings? Were they telling them to stay put, go up? go down? * Was this part of the protocol established by the Port Authority or by Silverstein Properties? * Whose protocol was this? Was this standard procedure in high rise fires? * Were the 911 operators informed that fire doors were locked? * Were the 911 operators informed that the access to the roof was blocked? * If so, who did they relay this information to? * What time was this information relayed? what building? * What plan was put into place? * What was the plan for evacuating people from the upper floors on that day? * What was the protocol for people on the upper floors? * Was there ever any plan in place for evacuating the upper floors in case the stairwells were not accessible? * If so, what was this plan? * How often was this plan rehearsed? * What safety procedures were in place to ensure that all employees knew what to do in the event of an emergency? 2. Given the 1993 bombing of the WTC, what additional safety procedures were put into place? 1

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* The WTC was a known tk.get and I heard that there was a safety person from Silverstein Management assigned to looking into security issues specifically related to Bin Laden (this man also died in the tragedy). Apparently this, person was focused on Bin Laden because he suspected that the WTC would be a target for future terrorist acts given the 1993 bombing attempt. * Given this, what procedures were put in place as a direct result of the '93 bombing? * How were these procedures conveyed to employees? * Given4 the devastation caused by the '93 bombing what procedures were put into place in the event that the exits to the outside were blocked by fire/explosives?• * What -were the expectations of employees in exiting the building under these conditions? * Were these procedures followed in September 2001? 3 . What were the rules regarding the locking of fire doors? * I have heard that someone in Tower 2 tiMHHpwas on the phone the entire time with his wife and that he descended the stairwell to the 70th something floor (not sure which) only to find the door closed, locked, and much too hot to try and break down. He then ascended the stairwell to the top floor only to find access to the roof blocked due to a locked door. * What was the policy regarding the locking of the door to the roof? Given my questions in #2, how were employees of the upper floors expected to exit the building. Plaza on September 18th, he told us that he heard/knew that many of his employees went up, not down, and when they reached the access to the roof found the door to be locked. * access to other floors 4. Evacuation drills * What did evacuation drills consist of? I have heard (through hearsay) that employees were only required to go to the stairwell and that instructions would be forthcoming in the event of an actual emergency. * If this is true, what instructions were given that fateful day? * Were ^fire drills mandatory for Cantor Fitzgerald? * Were all employees aware that the stairwell ended at the 78th floor and that you needed to find another stairwell to descend to the exit? * Did all employees know where the stairwells were located? 5. What were the procedures for rescuing employees from the rooftops? * Why were there no helicopters on the roof to try and rescue people? * I understand that helicopters were available and on the scene. What were they doing? What were their orders? * What were the written procedures for rooftop rescues? * Were these procedures followed? * Did the fire department/911 operators/police officers, etc know that the access to the roof was blocked in either Tower 1 or Tower 2? * If not, how could they not have known this if somehow families know this? * Were people told to go to the roof? * Was going to the roof part of the evacuation procedures? * Why were the doors locked? Where was the key left? Did employees know where to find the key? * What was the plan to get people on the upper floors out of the building? 6. I am curious about the integrity of the building. When it was designed why were the stairwells placed in the center of the building? Was any consideration given to having stairwells around the outer walls? * What safety concerns are there, if any, of the stairwells being located so close to the elevators? * . I have heard reports that the fireproofing in the WTC was sub-standard and I saw on one of the TV shows (either on the TLC show Anatomy of a Collapse or on MSNBC Investigates) that the fireproofing was missing on many of the beams. * Is this because it was inadequate or is there some other explanation? * I have heard conflicting information about -what role the diesel fuel caused in this tragedy. I have read accounts that give the impression that the fuel dumped outside the

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building and^ wasn't as much wi a factor in the fire and eventual collapse as has been stated; on the other hand I have heard that the fire and collapse were a direct result of the diesel fuel. 7.

Were the fire alarms working? the sprinklers? the loudspeakers?

As you can see I have many concerns. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help. . ' Sincerely,

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Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:07 AM Mendelson Richard FW: wtc investigation

-Original MessageFrom: Sent; Wednesday, March 06, 2002 3:10 PM Subject: wtc investigation Dear Sir Having witnessed the crash into the towers and lost 5 friends in the disaster, I am voicing my disappointment that OSHA is not investigating the possible negligence involved with the fact that tower 2 was not immediately evacuated after tower one was hit.

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:06 AM Mendejson Richard FW: WTC Evacuation Complaint

Original Message Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 1:55 PM Subject: WTC Evacuation Complaint

March 6, 2002 Dear | It has come to my attention that the statute of limitations is running out on whether or not an investigation will occur regarding the WTC disaster on September lith. I lost my brother-in-law that day and know for a FACT that there was gross and severe negligence on the part of the security in the World Trade Center. ^HBPworked on the 76th floor of Tower Two for Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods. After Tower One was hit - he was told by his superiors that their building was SECURE and to remain at their desks. They did so for that crucial 17 minutes before the 2nd plane struck. It was not until AFTER the 2nd plane hit that Tower Two started their "evacuation" procedure. Due to the height of the floor he worked on -d^was forced to evacuate up toward the roof. Unfortunately the fire doors were sealed - he and dozens of others never had a chance to escape. ^j^Pwas able to phone my-sister literally moments before his impending death. He told her he loved her and their three children - and they were starting to evacuate - but it was too late. He and the many other traders knew they would never make it out. Sir, I implore you. . .my sister and her children must live with this nightmare for the rest of their lives. You must do everything in your power to disclose everything that happened that day, all the wrongdoing, errors, miscommunications, oversights, etc. so this never, ever happens again. The public and the victims families have a right to know the truth. .It is your responsibility to us all. I remind you - if seats" and simply he would be alive loving wife of 20 Please help us.

Sincerely,

my brother-in-law ignored the directive to "remain in your walked out after Tower One was hit today, ^^p leaves behind three teenage children and a years that miss him desperately.

Page 1 of 1

Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Wednesday, March 06, 2002 9:30

To:

Mendelson Richard ,

Subject: FW: Concerns on 9-11 Original Message

From: ^•••••••••••^•••i Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 3:19 PM Subject: Concerns on 9-11 Dean lam writing on behave of my concerns regarding the emergency evacuation procedure at the WTC. Things that I have heard that were wrong on the 9-11 tragic event. Fire doors were locked, The upper floors did not have access to roof. What was done to help the people of the upper floors? Did the walls cave in, did the floors buckle under them? These are my concerns on the safety of the building. I lost my son who worked the 105th floor. I believe he never had a chance to escape to safety do to the fact that there was to much faulty in the structure of building. Please Respond,

3/6/02

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:06 PM

To:

Mendelson Richard -

Subject: FW: Concerns regarding the evacuation procedures at the —-Original Message— SentjTuesdayJarcl^S, 2002 12:09 PM Subject: Concerns regarding the evacuation procedures at the WTC: My brother was killed after he went back into tower 2 to help some people to get out. I believe he was not properly prepared to be a "Fire marshal". He should have access to a Flame retardant jump suit and a face mask. Buildings over 20 stories can't be evacuated from the top by NYC. The city should have air-evacuation capability. What about parachutes? Fireproof and manually operable elevators, down only, may have helped. Evacuation drills especially after the WTC became a terrorist target. Better protected stairwells would have saved lives.

3/5/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:05 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC EVACUATION CONCERNS

Original MessageFrom: Sent; Tuesday, March 05, 2002 10:48 AM Subject: WTC EVACUATION CONCERNS Dear I My father,- ^IHHBHHHPbas a victim of the attack on the WTC. He worked on the 100th floor of Tower One. I was very concerned when I learned that no one made it up to the roof in either building. Surely there were people who survived the initial crashes and would have made attempts to escape by going to the roof to wait for helicopter rescues. I believe people went up to the roof after the 1993 bombing. I feel there must have been something that prevented people from making it up to the roof. Perhaps locked doors or stairwells. I think that this could have led to the deaths of many people that could have been rescued - as there were police helicopters looking for people on the roofs but they found no one. Please investigate this further. Thank you. Sincerely

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

-,

Tuesday, March 05,2002 1:05 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC evacuation

Original Message

Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 10:47 AM Subject: WTC evacuation

1 have several concerns regarding the WTC evacuation procedures. My brother is one of the Policemen who perished in the stairwell of 2 WTC and I worked for the PANYNJ for 'several years and was very familiar with the WTC. 1. Lack of a clear total evacuation plan, especially for the upper floors - if there was one I was not aware of it even though I was with the PANYNJ during the aftermath of the 93 bombing. 2. Apparent lack of coordination by the WTC with the NYPD and Fire Department regarding communications and procedures. It seems that the command center located within the WTC was relied on as a panacea and that basic procedures in the event of a major incident, much less what actually happened, were never fully developed. 3. Related to the issue above, the issue of communications with rescue personnel in the buildings was never clearly dealt with and police and fire men were sent in without the means to adequately communicate with their commands. 4. Compliance by the PANYNJ with workplace and building safety issues, for example, the fireproofing of the central core on the upper floors, the presence ^and placement of gas and oil storage tanks in the complex and the lack of access .to the roof. 5. Control and honest discussion of presence of dangerous substances'in the aftermath - like asbestos and various potentially harmful metals. Best Regards,

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:03

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: wtc —Original Message— From: Sent^uesdayJ1arch05,2002 10:31 AM

Subject: wtc that there were doors from the stairwell to many floors or bottom floor LOCKED is and was ludicrous. It was a major problem in '93 & was also one on 9/11 .

3/5/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:02 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC 2 Evacuation

Original Message From: Sent; Tuesday, March 05, 2002 9:44 AM Subject: WTC 2 Evacuation Here is information excerpted from an email I received from an AON employee who was delayed getting for work on Sept. 11 and therefore survived: VHHHMP^ do not recall any formal notice that the fire doors above 105 would be locked.... The fire drills would go from lax attention to in later days simply gathering everyone in the main cooridors who chose to listen to the sirens. Long ago we stopped actually entering stairwells to learn where to exit in case of an emergency. Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:02 PM Mendelson Richard FW: Evacuation Procedures at WTC

Original MessageFrom: Sent; Tuesday, March 05, 2002 9:35 AM Subject: Evacuation Procedures at.WTC Dear My name is < ind I am the sister o f ! who lost his life on . September llth. dHHlHPwas t*15 second youngest of seven children. My family is devastated at the loss this young beautiful human being. It has come to my attention that you are accepting e-mail notifications from family members who wish to express concern over the lack of organized procedures and proper training to instruct occupants how to evacuate the World Trade Center buildings during a crisis. I was blessed to at least have the opportunity to speak to my brother on the day that changed our lives forever. His exact words to me were "I am stuck on the 105th floor". AHHIV^as definitely moving while speaking to me and I had the sense that he was trying to find a way out. His voice will ring forever in my ears and the fact that ^MHPdid NOT know where to look for a way out represents a tragic failure of the building managment and safety operators. Knowledge of the fact that locked do9rs prevented people from at least trying to save their lives and find an alternative way out is unforgiveable. Who is responsible for this? routes?

Why weren't people informed of the various escape

' Why were there no floor man posted at various levels of the people to monitor saftey? We will never enjoy James's smile again. Likewise - we will never have answers from any of the irresponsible parties. Thank you,

Page 1 of 1 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:01

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC collapse —Original Message-— From: 1 Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 8:00 AM

To:f Cc:< Subject: WTC collapse My husband was killed in the collapse of the WTC. He was located in tower 2 on the 89th floor. He worked for Keefe, Bruyette and Woods. He phoned me at 9:11 am from a cell phone after the second plane hit his building. He told me they were told to stay in their office by the announcement from the Port Authority. There was smoke so they decided to try to go up. The doors going were sealed and they could notopen them. There were repeated announcements to stay in their offices. I heard alarms in the background. He was present for the 1993 bombing of his building. There was time to evacuate that morning because people from his firm on the 88th floor got out safely. The doors seemed to be sealed and they could not open them below as well. They ended up in a conference room on their floor until the building collapsed. Many of them were still alive as there were open connections to cell phone conversations and background noise of coughing and alarms. As you can see I am in extreme pain because there was such a lack of safety measures in place.. After the 1993 bombing there were trapped in their offices for hours. There were no evacuation or escape plans instituted after 93. If there were they didn't enforce them. JThey depended on the announcements that were totally wrong. I urge for a in depth investigation.

3/5/02

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:01 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC\9-11 Concerns..

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Tuesday^March 05, ~2002 12:12 AN Subject: WTC\9-11 Concerns..

My name is •I am the Brother was lost on September llth as a result of the attack on our country, was a local 3 electrician contracted to AON corp. in the South\ Tower. to the 98th floor but was last heard of on the 105th floor. I have several concerns that I would like to discuss with you. Especially what role AON played in showing my Brother the proper route for escape in the event of a tragedy, The other items will be listed below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Lack of "complete evacuation" drills of the towers Non-mandatory fire/evacuation drills Not knowing where the stairs were Not knowing stairwells ended at sky lobby Locked fire doors Viable access to roof, etc.

Please contact me at the number listed below.

Page 1 of 2 Mendelson Richard From: Sent:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:00 PM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: Evacuation Procedures Original Message From:( Sent; Monday, March 04, 2002 9:16 PM Subject: Evacuation Procedures - 2WTC Dear My sister, ••(•••••••••? AON, 92nd floor, 2WTC, died as a result of the terrorist attacks. In my search for her, I have numerous eyewitness accounts of her role in helping hundreds of her coworkers evacuate from the 92nd floor, stepping out into the corridors of the stampeding, hysterical crowd calming them and leading them to stairwells - she later is holding the stairwell door open for all of them and guiding them through. She was VMMMMV_why didn't anyone stop and help her and tell her to evacuate? Where was the leadership? •••Vwas the receptionist, not the fire warden. It was to be her last day at AON on Sept. 12th, her desk was closest to the stairwell - she could have been the first one out. I understand that this was a new business unit on 92 and a majority had been hired in the past two weeks, •••jj^nd two female coworkers were overheard saying that many employees would not know their way around the building or where the exits were. These three courageous women took charge and saved hundreds of lives at the expense of their own. (I had the dubioushpnor of being the only person who found any eyewitness accounts of the two other women with •••P and had to notify their families on September 15th and 16th when I found their pictures on the Armory wall on Lexington Ave.) Would^BHB^ have survived if the right evacuation procedures were in place? While my family is proud of her selfless acts, at the end of my interviews of survivors and AON employees I had many concerns. My professional background is in risk management, disaster recovery of skyscrapers and natural gas facilities, safety procedures etc... What were the evacuation procedures fro 2WTC, 92nd floor? What were AOn's evacuation procedures and who were the fire wardens for AON and the 92nd floor

on 9/11? Where were the men - why do I have a summary of lower level women on 92 taking leadership roles and the "male heroes" lived to tell about it? Where were the supervisors/management - they can answer many are alive (few exceptions who are deceased) when all of this broke out. Some were crying in shame that they left my sister behind, that they trampled her - I forgave them they have a lifetime to feel guilty. Who made the PA announcement "the building is secure - return to your work stations"? Why? Many more questions???????? You probably have identified many more. I have more details about what happened immediately after the first tower was hit in my eyewitness account file at home if you feel you need more information. Thanks for investigating and caring about this issue - it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I heard things from survivors (who did not see my sister that day) that were unbelievable but I called as many people when it was raw/fresh/accurate/9/11-20 - they wanted to tell me. I wanted to know what happened to my only sister. Why were the fire doors locked on floors 104 and 105 trapping everyone inside? Are there 911 recordings from trapped victims describing the events - is my sister Yolanda recorded on tape or identified as being trapped with the prayer groups in the conference rooms on

3/5/02

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rage z 012. '

104/105 after returning back up as per the PA announcement ( we believe she may have helped a fatigued coworker who was pregnant or with that group) after evacuating 92nd floor - she was last seen on 72nd floor elevator bank getting on the elevator going up. . ' ". ' I never received a thank you from AON - some employees did thank my family however. Thank you.

3/5/02

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Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 1:00 PM Mendelson Richard FW: World Trade Center Attack

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 2:18 PM To: Cc: Subject: World Trade Center Attack I have been asked by flHHHHHHHPto contact you concerning my understanding of the safety procedures implemented at WTC prior to the 9/11 attack. I worked for Aon Corporation at 2 World Trade Center from April, 1997 through April, 2001. During my tenure at Aon I worked on the 92nd, 103rd and the 105th floor. During that period there were routinely scheduled fire drills.- We were typically warned in advance when the drill was to take place. Each floor had designated fire wardens whose duty was to make sure each person on the floor evacuated to a designated area. This area was the nearest stairwell. All employees were to meet and await further instruction. Although I do not fully recall, I beleive we were told that in the event of a fire condition we were to enter the stairwell with caution (i.e. make sure first there was no fire behind the door.) We were to. go down two (2) flights and await further instruction. I want to point out that we were never told what to do in the event of a total evacuation. I was surprised to hear that people had exited the stairwell at the skylobby on 78. I couldn't understand why they didn't continue walking down the stairwell to ground level. It was ultimately explained to me that the stairwell did not continue down. I never knew this was the case and can now understand why there was much confusion during the evacuation. If you want to discuss this further I can be reached at work I or at home < • • • • • • ! • ' • My home email address is flBWHi regards, The information in this email and in any attachments is confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy this message, delete any copies held on your systems and notify the sender immediately. You should not retain, copy or use this email for any purpose, nor disclose all or any part of its content to any other person.

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Tuesday, March 05, 2002 12:59 PM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC 2 Evacuation

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 1:38 PM Subject: WTC 2 Evacuation

U.S. Dept. of Labor 201 Varick St., Room 646 New York, NY 10014 Re:. Safety Violations at WTC Dear My husband, flHHBIHHPworked for Aon Risk Services. His office was on the 98th floor of World Trade Center 2. I believe his life could have been saved on September llth if effective evacuation procedures had been in place that day. One reason he did no.t survive was because the evacuation of WTC 2 was delayed for approximately 15 minutes after WTC 1 was attacked. The need for immediate evacuation of WTC 2 was clearly evident by the extent of the damage to, and the proximity of, WTC 1. Evacuating nearby buildings is standard procedure when there is a .fire nearby of any magnitude, but this rule was not followed with sufficient urgency on September llth. . Furthermore, my husband and others who worked in WTC 2 were never told in the course of fire drills or other safety bulletins that fire doors to the roof were locked. When confronted with heat and smoke at the 78th floor while trying to descend, they thought they had another option. They struggled up to the 105th floor, only to be met with a locked door leading to 106. I base this sequence of events on statements my husband made to me on the phone in the minutes before he died. Had he known that 'down' was the only choice, he and hundreds of others may have persisted in their search for a way to descend and may have found the unobstructed stairway (A) that led to safety that day. Safety precautions should include mandatory file drills with mandatory participation. In WTC 2, there was a history of lack of enforcement of adequate fire drills by the Port Authority and in turn, by the employers who were tenants. All should be held accountable by OSHA for contributing to this tragedy. Buildings should be designed so that stairwells descend directly to the ground, rather than in stages. Evacuees should not have to exit to an open floor (78th) in search of the next stairwell and escape route, exposing themselves to smoke or fire. Not only were the fire doors to the upper levels locked, doors were locked at other levels as well, adding to the 1

confusion.

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f

I implore you to conduct a full investigation into WTC evacuation procedures and building design, so that in the future the,lives of those living or working in other skyscrapers can be saved. Sincerely/

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Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 04, 2002 12:47 PM Mendelson Richard FW: 9-11

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 11:44 AM Subject: RE: 9-11

Mrs.

'spoke with her husband and they were told to stay put. Mr. 'stayed in his office on the phone to his wife and London office.

We did not hear from 41 but then went back up.

He began evacuating which is most likely why,

I did receive three calls at work with no one on the other end. Can conclude it was him calling to say goodbye to our three children. Evacuation rehearsal?

I cannot confirm nor deny this.

Original MessageSent: Monday, March 04, 2002 11:41 AM To: Subject: RE: 9-11

Please add the following info.

How do you know the information below? Did you speak to him on a cell phone? Did he ever do a complete evacuation rehearsal?

How dcr you know?

Thanks again

Original MessageFrom: | Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 11:18 AM To: Subject: 9-11

Deceased:

*- 92nd floor, Tower 2.

Was partially down, told to go back up.

Went back up and died.

There were about 20 department people that stayed in their group and all Derished.

The deceased listened to direction and instructions. stay- put until further notice.

911 told them too to

Mendel son Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 04, 2002 11:26 AM Mendelson Richard FW: WTC - evacuation procedures

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Monday arch 04, 2002 11:18 AM To:

Subject: WTC - evacuation procedures Dear MP?

.

.

I am writing with the hope that a full investigation into the emergency evacuation/fire procedures at the WTC will be conducted. My husband, ^ • • • • • • • • • P worked for Aon Corporation, 2WTC, 103rd floor. From what I've heard, he suffered broken legs when the marble walls collapsed on the 78th floor Sky Lobby after the 2nd plane hit. He was alive and conscience at that time, unable to continue down. He and others were waiting for one of the elevators at the time. i Why was he on 78 waiting for an elevator? Why was he not further down or out? Did he know what to do, where to go? Why were not all elevators working? • I have heard many disturbing reports, from locked stairwell doors, doors to roof exits locked, not knowing where the stairs were, stairwells that ended. I quote an email from a former co-worker of Rich's: "...wtc did a fire drill regularly. They would tell you when it would happen. You were then told to go to the nearest exit where they instructed you what to do in the event of an emergency. Instruction was typically that in the event of an emergency go into the stairwell and wait for further instructions, although to be honest I don't recall exact instructions. I don't remember ever being told to go downstairs. Even if so, certainly never was told what to do when we got to the skylobby on 78. I had heard from others there was confusion at 78 because no one knew where to go..." There needs to be a complete investigation into the compliance of OSHA regulations regarding safe evacuation. We need to find out what went wrong,v why it went wrong. We need to correct guidelines for safe evacuation of buildings, especially, mammoth skyscrapers. We need to know that going to work will not present a life-threatening hazard. I look forward to hearing from you that an investigation will be conducted. We have so many questions. We need some answers. We need to be sure that this NEVER happens again. The horror and pain is unimaginable. I could not stand to think that I didn't do everything I could to prevent someone else from going through this. Thank you very much.

Mendelson Richard From: Sent: To: Subject:

Monday, March 04,2002 11:24 AM Mendelson Richard FW:

-----Original MessageFrom: Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 11:08 AM To: Subject: Mr.<

worked for Aon on the 92nd Floor of the South Tower. I am a former employee of Aon and worked in the building there for almost 8 years, my last day was 8/31/01. I was a fire warden on the 100th Floor. While being a fire warden, I experienced very uncooperative fire drills. ONly once in all my years there, did a WTC fire safety professional come to supervise the drill. When drills were called, about every 6 months, people would congregate in the hallways and talk loudly to each other, this made it very difficult for anyone to hear the announcements being made over the loud speaker and was difficult for me to hear drill instructions on the emergency phone. Most times, people wouldn't even come out of their offices or away from their desks when a drill was called. They were 'asked repeatedly to participate but stated they were "too busy". Unfortunately, most of those people I remember doing that, who were friends of mine, did not get out of the building that day. How I wished so much that they listened? But what was I going to do? They were adults able to make their own decision. I have also heard that doors to the roof-were locked that day. Many people received phone calls from people who could only go up because stairwells had collapsed and they were stuck and couldn't get onto the roof. What were they to do? We were told in drills, that since we were so high up (100th fir) that our best bet was to go to the roof and wait for a rescue helicopter. Another concern I have is that there were not enough fire drills. My company at the time, hired about 150 people within 3 months and most of these people did not make it out that day only because they were employed after the last fire drill took place. These people probably didn't know what the procedures were or even where the stairwells were. A video or private firedrill or something, should have been given to these people within the first couple weeks of being hired. That should have been the Port Authority's responsibility. They tracked all new employees coming into the building, they should have had weekly or biweekly firedrills for the groups of people that were recently hired. Hell, I would have even took the time to do it myself. I took the fire warden position very seriously because I always had a bad feeling working in that building. But I never thought that I would lost my father. I'm sorry I rambled on, but I was told to write to you to. Thanks for listening'.

RECEIVED 0500L/OSH A MANHATTAN AREA OFFICE

2U2 FEB 25 PH 2- $ I

February 19,2002

Mr.) Department of Labor/OSHA 201 Varick Street, Room 670 New York, New York 10014 Dear] My brother,! he worked on the 98 terrorists.

worked at 2 World Trade Center for Aon Corporation; died September 11,2001 as a result of the attack by the

I have had a difficult time coming to terms with my brother's death for several reasons.flV was a trained, professional firefighter for his hometown of flHHHP? years. For a time, he was captain and trained other firefighters at ty Fire Academy. After college he decided to work in the fire insurance business. About twelve years ago he joined Aon Corporation as a risk analyst and underwriter. He traveled around the world inspecting properties for fire safety and writing insurance polices. 4H spent twenty-eight years specializing in fire safety and was well respected in his field. On September 11,1 telephoned Aon Corporation and was told many employees had survived the attack. I had hopes thatflB was one of the survivors "because he was highly knowledgeable about fire safety. A co-worker of ^Ulsaid they were at their desks on the 98 floor when they heard a loud "boom." They went to the window and saw what happened at 1 World Trade Center. They felt the heat from the fireball and saw the people falling (or jumping) from the building. ||Pand she quickly headed for the lobby. His co-worker left the building by elevator and^JMayed behind to help evacuate people on his floor. About a week after this incident, I attended an Aon gathering for survivors and victims' family members at the Marriott in Brooklyn. I heard many Aon employees refer to their fire drills as "optional fire drills." They would participate in fire drills if they felt like it; otherwise, they would stay at their desks. I asked these survivors what fire drills were like. They all stated that they would go to the door of the stairwell and stand there. I asked if they ever evacuated the building; they all said, "No." Later, I learned that the stairwell does not go straight down to the ground floor. The stairwell ended at the 78th and the 44th floors. Evacuees would have to know where the continuing stairwells were at both the 78th floor and 44th floor lobbies to make an evacuation. Aon employees never practiced an evacuation. As far as I know, they were not instructed as to where to

make the transfer to the continuing stairwells to make a safe exit from the building. One Aon employee said to me that she would be dead today if she had taken the stairs because she didn't know where to make the connections. I have asked people if they ever saw 50,000 people evacuate the Twin Towers; nobody had. I understand that if the stairwells don't go straight down to the ground floor, the occupants of the building have to be instructed as to how to make the connections to the appropriate stairwells and evacuate the building during their fire drills. I have been told mat standing by the stairwell door, in a building configured as the Twin Towers is, is not in compliance with OSHA regulations. Am I correct? Some of Aon's employees were fire marshals. WB secretary, ^HJIHI^B was a fire marshal. I understand her responsibility would have been to clearher area of company employees. ^f§, being her superior, would not have ^^-j^fJT^ a dangerous situation. ^^HPand many, if not all Aon fire marshals, died that day. If Aon had serious fire drills where employees were made to comply with OSHA regulations, maybe flP would not have perished September 11. I am enclosing a copy of an article from the December 2001 issue of g^mMMp-ecounts the story of his evacuation from 1 WTC. Please refer to page 20. Please read the second column of that page and then page 21. Mr. ••flP describes the horror and confusion he and others had relating to the stairwells and the problems making the transfer to another stairwell. "Not the elevators! ... Where was the exit sign? Who takes stairs from the eighty-seventh floor? At the seventy-eighth floor the stairway suddenly ended. The stairway continued somewhere on the other side... By the time we located the stairs..." It looks as though neither^m^, nor his companions ever practiced evacuating 1 WTC. Also, several victims from 2 WTC called their families and stated that they were trapped on the 105th floor because the door to the 106th floor was locked. Would you please let me know if the 106th floor was considered part of the official evacuation plan of 2 WTC? Please refer to the enclosed article about^BBHMB^. He was one many victims trapped on the 105th floor because of the locked door situation. On page 4 of this article I highlighted the reference to the locked door. A government employee told me that a security guard from 2 WTC said that every third door to the stairwell was locked for security reasons. I was told that, when the buildings were under attack, he had to unlock those doors. Are you aware of locked stairwell doors? It is my understanding that the doors were locked from the outside. I have no way of knowing if stairwell doors at 2 WTC even had locks. I have heard that OSHA does permit doors from the stairwells to lockJj i

I would like to better understand why my very intelligent brother was not a survivor that day. I suspect he gave his life to save the lives of others because OHSA regulations were never enforced during fire drills.

Should you care to contact the Chief Executive Officer of and address is as follows:

Aon Aon Center 200 East Randolph Chicago, Illinois 60601

(312)381-1000

Sincere!

Enclosures: Aon Remembers Article regardinj Aon Remembers Article regarding Guideposts Article, December, 2001

company, his name

Pagel ofl

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent:

Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:51 AM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: if you have concerns about WTC evacuation procedures...

— Original Message — From:

Subject: Re: if you have concerns about WTC evacuation procedures...

i have many concerns about the locked emergency roof doors-I thought all buildings in New york City were required to have roof doors that opened from the inside in an emergency.I read the article in the Wall Street Journal that stated after the 93 bombing FEMA advised the Port Authority to have the FDNY and the NYPD coordinate helicopter roof rescues. In 93 the NYPD helicopter pilots landed on the roof and broke the roof doors down to rescue people. The helicopters were there again on Sept,ll but no one was on the roof due to the locked doors and they were unable to land.I would be interested in seeing the layout of the stairwells, my son tMHHMIpwith rnany other people made their way down a stairway to a point where the stairs were gone,maybe 4 or_5 floors -a man on the lower staircase saw them there and spoke to4BPne suggested thatl^ff could try to jump,but we know^jpn would want to get everyone out. I am very interested in finding more information on the Fire regulations for buildings in New York City.Please let me know who else to contact-it will not help our loved ones but it may help someone else trapped in a high-rise building fire.

f

Pagel ofl

Sent:

Tuesday, March 12, 2002 1:05 PM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC

—Original Message— From: Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 11:54 AM Subject: WTC

The story I heard over and over was that everyone in the towers were advised to stay at their desk and not to leave the building. A terrible mistake with an inferno going on in tower one. My daughter, •••••••£, was one of the victims.

Page 1 of 1

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent:

Friday, March 08, 2002 9:15 AM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: WTC concerns

—Original MessageFrom: Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 10:56 PM To: i Cc:| Subject: WTC concerns Dear I am writing to voice my concerns about procedures and conditions in effect at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11,2001. My brother died in the WTC attack. He worked on the 90th floor of Tower 2. He left his wife and three children a message at 9:00 after the first tower was hit saying occupants of Tower 2 were instructed to return to their offices - "the building is secure". Large numbers of people who disregarded this -' announcement and left the building survived. People from my brother's firm who evacuated immediately survived this tragedy. But those who followed the well meaning but misguided building announcement and returned to their offices lost their lives that day. I am gravely concerned by the. emergency procedures in place on that day. Had more cautious and preventive measures been taken that day after Tower 1 was hit, many more lives would have been saved, perhaps including my brother's life. Buildings the size of the Twin Towers should have multiple fire, safety, and evacuation plans prepared. I have heard that there was no access to the roof in Tower 2. The roof could have provided an escape route if doors had been unlocked and a plan had been in place. Every occupant of a high rise building should know what to do in an emergency and it is the building management's responsibility to devise these emergency plans, test them, practice them and ensure they work effectively. Before Sept. 11 it was easy to feel a false sense of security and think that nothing would happen. We now know that the unthinkable can happen, and we should try to be as prepared as possible for these dangerous situations and have a plan for managing them. Thank you for your efforts toward improving the safety of all buildings and thereby protecting the lives of all Americans.

^Sincerelv^^^^^

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent: To: Subject:

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 7:10 PM Mendelson, Richard Re: OSHA response to WTC complaints

I truly hope that the new regs will help. I read somewhere recently that the powers that were in the FDNY said from the very start that those towers should not have been built the way they were. Maybe more attention should be paid to the recommendations of agencies like the Fire Dept. when high rise buildings are on the drawing board. Thank you for the information.

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent: To: Subject:

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 4:37 PM Mendelson, Richard RE: OSHA response to WTC complaints

Dear Mr. Medelson: Thank you very much for your reply to my inquiries. While I applaud OSHA for its review of safety in high rise buildings, I am somewhat concerned that OSHA's new guidelines for safety in high rise buildings are only going to be recommendations and not requirements. I firmly believe that they only way to increase the safety of employees and residents in high rise buildings is making the new recommendations requirements to be followed by employers and landlords alike. I remind OSHA that after the terrrorist bombing at the World Trade Center in 1993 recommendations were made by what I believe was the Port Authority of NY and NJ for better evacuation procedures at the World Trade Center. Masks were given to employees, fire drills were conducted, etc. While some companies obviously took those recommendations seriously others apparantly did not. I can tell you from having spoken with CarrFutures employees who got out of the North Tower or who were not there at the time of the attacks on September llth, safety precautions were not followed. As far as I know, fire drills were not conducted by the company, and employees (particularly those like my brother who did not work in the Towers but only went there for an occasional meeting) were not told where fire exits were located and not privy to evacuation procedures. While new regulations would not bring my brother back, the kind of safety precautions I note above should be made mandatory for employers and landlords in high rise buildings. If people are there to attend meetings, it does not take much for someone at the beginning of the meeting or lecture to simply let the attendees know how to get out in the event of an emergency. I would encourage OSHA to rethink the weight that is given to these recommendations and consider making them regulations that are mandatory. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Original Message From: Mendelson Richard [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 2:41 PM Subject: OSHA response to WTC complaints

Dear Complainant: Since the tragedy last fall, our nation has sought to find better ways to protect lives during horrifying events that we could never have imagined before September 11. We have all examined and re-examined this tragedy with a view toward preventing future injury and loss of life. Like you, OSHA wants to help assure that others avoid the pain and loss that you and many other relatives and friends experienced in the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Part of our review involves looking at safety in high rise buildings. There are many issues that must be considered and addressed, including emergency evacuation plans, appropriate exits, fire drills, instructions to workers on steps to take during an emergency, and effective communication with emergency personnel. Experience demonstrates that

having established emergency procedures in place can minimize the likelihood of injuries and fatalities when emergencies occur. It would be very difficult to conduct an investigation concerning possible inadequacies associated with the emergency evacuation procedures at the World Trade Center at this point. At the same time we are committed to working to assure that there is no further loss of life in the event of a future terrorist attack. What OSHA can and will do is to address the concerns that you and others have raised about safety in high rise office buildings. The agency expects to distribute recommendations soon to further safety in high rise office buildings. These recommendations supplement information and requirements that OSHA already has developed regarding workplace emergencies and will outline preparation for emergencies and suggest steps for employers and employees to take 'should an emergency occur. We believe that employers who implement strategies suggested in the recommendations will help to assure that their employees have the best chance of surviving an unthinkable tragedy like the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Sincerely, Richard Mendelson Area Director «complaintresponse. doc»

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent: To: Subject:

Wednesday, March 13, 2002 9:22 AM Mendelson Richard FW: OSHA complaints

Original MessageFrom: Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 12:21 AM Subject: OSHA complaints Dear Please extend the cut off date for OSHA complaints because the American public has not been properly informed about this. I have not read about this in the papers nor have I heard about it on the televised news. Where have you posted this information? In any event, I feel that many aspects of the WTC should be investigated such as: "Switchbacks" of staircases, having only 3 staircases for 25,000 people!, having locked stairwells every three floors, Firefighters having radios that did not work, Firefighters being expected to run up 100 plus floors, and other violations. was lost 9/11.

at the WTC. He graduated from the Fire Academy just 6 weeks before

cc: NY Daily News

Page 1 of 1

Mendelson, Richard - OSHA From: Sent:

Thursday, March 07, 2002 9:23 AM

To:

Mendelson Richard

Subject: FW: Twin Towers Investigation

—Original Message From:( Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 7:46 PM To:f Cc:i Subject: Twin Towers Investigation

I would like the following investigated: 1. Why did the firemen's radios not work past the 55th floor of a major skyrise? These buildings have been in place since 1973 and it is the fire department's responsibility to have fully understand the magnitude of these towers. For example, many firemen didn't even know the difference between the north tower and the south tower. The Port Authority staffs radios worked right up until the roof of the towers. The FDNY put their own men in grave danger by sending them up past the 55th floor and losing communication with them. 2. Why did the fire department set up triages in the lobby? Many of these people who made it down to the lobby perished in the end. 3. Why did the fire department not know how quickly jet fuel burns? Perhaps they could have deemed my father (Building Operations Supervisor for the Port Authority) a civilian and told him to leave instead of enlisting his help in learning the exits, stairways, command center, etc. My father did not have any bunker gear or fire protection gear like the firemen did. 4. Why does the NYFD not have foam on their trucks which is what extinguishes jet fuel fires? It would be terrific if you could inform me if they already an investigation addressing these concerns and if not, who I can contact to ensure these matters are addressed. Best regards to you and your family,