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From YouTube: Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz Remembers 9-11
Description
Arlington Fire Chief James Schwartz tells the story of the attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11 2001 from his perspective as the site commander on the scene for the Arlington County Fire Dept. The talk was recorded on Sept. 11 2014 and was sponsored by the Arlington County Historical Society.
A
A
As
we
know
it
back
then,
and
from
that
you
know,
I've
been
able
to
you
know
Garner,
so
much
information.
You
know
the
beginning
of
the
first
fire
company
in
1898.
You
know
know
the
acquisition
of
apparatus
over
the
years,
the
building
of
a
number
of
companies
in
areas
of
the
county.
That,
quite
frankly,
you
know,
are
not
even
recognizable.
You
know
to
the
non-historian
today
we
having
started
in
in
1898
were
pretty
much
back
then
like
the
American
fire
service
in
actually
pre-colonial
or
colonial
times
being
volunteers.
A
You
know
men
of
the
community
who
decided
that
protection
needed
to
be
afforded
to
the
residents
to
the
businesses
and
began
to
organize
themselves
and
react
to
emergencies,
to
do
the
best
that
they
could
in
protection
of
their
fellow
citizens
and
their
communities
over
the
years.
You
know
the
volunteer
service
has
endured.
In
fact,
today,
70
percent
of
the
American
fire
service
is
still
volunteer.
A
80
percent
of
the
American
public
is
served
by
a
career
fire
department,
however,
and
that
is
simply
due
to
the
fact
that
we
have
big
concentrations
of
people
in
cities
on
the
coasts
and
that's
where
you
know
a
good
deal
of
the
career
fire
departments
have
developed.
Nonetheless,
we
have
huge
swaths
of
this
country
that
are
still
primarily
served.
You
know
by
citizen
volunteers,
people
who
organize
themselves
in
the
same
way
that
they
did
as
many
as
many
as
300
years
ago
in
order
to
you
know
to
serve
their
communities.
A
I
had
the
Good
Fortune
of
being
on
hand
for
the
delivery
of
those
medals,
because
I
was
asked
to
serve
on
the
design
Review
Committee,
along
with
another
responder
and
two
family
members,
which
is
how
each
of
the
sites
put
forward
folks.
So
you
can
find
some
news
about
that.
I
know
somewhere,
you
know
online.
A
But
at
the
same
time,
fostering
conversation
dialogue
around
peaceful
Endeavors.
You
know
how
do
we
collaborate
better?
How
do
we
avoid
the
kinds
of
circumstances
you
know
that
may
have
contributed
to
to
those
attacks,
so
a
laudable
goal-
and
you
know
we
certainly
in
the
fire
department.
Our
association
with
the
foundation
will
I
hope
continue
because
we
think
that
that
project,
in
addition
to
the
memorial
as
it
exists
today,
is
very
worthwhile.
A
So
let
me
start
by
sharing
this
image
with
you.
Some
of
you
may
know
what
this
is.
This
actually
is
the
July
2nd
1959
fire
at
the
Pentagon,
which
all
the
way
up
until
9
11
was
still
considered.
The
largest
dollar
loss
building
fire
in
the
United
States
in
1959
I'm
told
it
was
a
30
million
dollar
loss.
A
You
know
image
and
probably
memory,
but
whenever
I
talk
about
the
events
of
9
11,
one
of
the
things
I
share
with
people
outside
this
area
is
that
during
my
career,
I've,
probably
been
to
I
have
been
to
more
multi-alarmed
Fires
at
the
Pentagon
than
any
other
area
of
the
county.
In
fact,
three
weeks
before
9
11,
we
had
a
three
alarm
fire
at
the
Pentagon
two
weeks
after
leaving
the
Pentagon,
we
had
another
two
alarm
fire
at
the
Pentagon
so
leaving
there
on
9
11..
A
So
the
the
building
has
had
its
share
of
troubles
over
the
years
and
Arlington
has
been
there
to
react
and
respond
to
each
one
of
them.
In
fact,
I
mentioned
those
fires
proximate
to
the
events
of
9
11..
When
I
came
on
the
job
in
1984,
I
think
within
the
first
year,
because
I
remember,
you
know
it
used
to
be
that
when
you
came
to
work
in
Arlington,
you
were
wore
a
khaki
uniform.
A
If
you
were
a
new
member
of
the
organization,
you
wore
a
khaki
uniform
and
only
after
you
had
finished
your
probation.
Did
you
get
your
blue
uniform?
So
you
sort
of
stood
out
and
my
own
memory
of
those
you
know
early
months
early
year,
because
you
were
expected
to
get
to
get
off
probation,
get
out
of
that
khaki
uniform
with
any
within
about
a
12
to
18
month
period.
I
was
in
khakis
for
a
three
alarm
fire
at
the
Pentagon
all
the
way
back
in
94.
A
A
What
we
always
like
to
point
to
is
the
fact
that
construction
for
this
building
actually
started
60
years
to
the
day
of
the
911
tragedy.
September
11
1941,
is
when
Ground
was
broken
for
this
building.
It
was
obviously
a
massive
undertaking.
This
building
was
built
in
16
months,
16
months.
It
was
done
ready
for
occupancy.
A
This
is
not
the
location
that
it
was
originally
supposed
to
be.
I
was
originally
planned
to
be
just
over
the
side
to
our
side
of
the
Memorial
Bridge,
but
Roosevelt's
plan
for
this
building
after
the
war
was
that
it
was
literally
going
to
be
a
storage
warehouse
for
file
cabinets
which
accounts
for
the
strength
of
the
floors.
Obviously,
there
were
limitations
on
construction
materials
because
of
the
war
effort,
but
the
the
whole
point
of
this
building
was
that
it
was
going
to
be
used
during
the
war.
A
He
was
going
to
move
both
the
Navy
and
the
department
of
War
into
the
same.
You
know
co-location,
but
he
had
every
expectation
that
when
the
war
was
over,
they
would
go
back
to
their
respective
areas
and
this
place
was
going
to
be
filled
with
filing
cabinets
in
perpetuity
all
right,
so
a
large
building.
A
In
fact,
we
regularly
refer
to
this
as
five
buildings
in
close
proximity
to
each
other
because
of
the
five
concentric
Rings
I'll
talk
more
about
that
in
a
in
a
few
other
pictures
that
we've
got
I'll
draw
your
attention
to
that
Center
Courtyard,
which
is
five
acres
in
size.
If
you've
never
been
in
there,
it's
a
you
know:
it's
actually
the
smoking
area
for
the
Pentagon.
Now
it's
the
only
place
you
can
smoke
you
know,
depending
on,
is
to
go
into
the
into
the
Center
Court.
A
A
A
Some
of
these
theorists
have
written
letters
to
just
about
every
member
of
the
United
States
government,
saying
that
my
FBI
colleague,
who
was
part
of
our
Command
and
myself,
are
complicit
in
the
deaths
of
184
people
and
that
we
should
be
tried
for
a
variety
of
things.
I'm
not
sure
I
can
even
keep
up
with
now,
but
this
is
in
fact
the
result
of
a
passenger
airliner
that
takes
off
from
Dulles
airport.
A
A
It
comes
back
obviously
towards
us
and
it
makes
one
pass
over
the
Pentagon.
It
makes
a
pass
over
the
building.
A
large
Ark
comes
back
around
again
and
then
comes
down
to
an
incredibly
low
angle,
low
enough
that
many
automobile
drivers
and
pedestrians
on
Columbia,
Pike
and
Washington
Boulevard
are
marveling
at
the
low
altitude
of
this
aircraft
as
it
is
coming
in
for
its
appointed
destination.
It
is
clipping
light
poles
on
Washington
Boulevard,
as
it
approaches
the
west
side
of
the
Pentagon,
and
this
impact
is
the
result
of
this
757.
A
Okay,
I'll
show
you
the
the
result
of
all
of
that
in
just
a
minute,
but
the
force
of
that
explosion,
which
penetrates
quite
a
distance
into
the
building,
is
probably
first
most
felt
by
the
crash
fire
rescue
vehicle
from
the
Fort
Myer
fire
department.
Many
of
you
know
that
Fort
Myer
has
its
own
fire
department.
A
They
actually
run
with
us
on
a
fairly
regular
basis
and
they
are
responsible
for
the
helicopter
standbys
at
the
Pentagon
in
large
part,
because
they
don't
pay
me
to
do
it
right.
So
we
we
are
the
First
Responders
for
the
Pentagon.
We
go
there
every
day,
but
for
the
helicopter,
standbys
Fort
Myer
takes
that
responsibility.
Well
in
the
morning
of
September
11th,
three
firefighters
from
Fort
Myer
and
their
crash
fire
rescue
vehicle
are
right
where
this
airplane
goes
in
the
building.
These
three
firefighters
literally
run
for
their
lives.
A
A
This
is
another
view
of
the
building,
probably
a
better
one
than
the
than
the
earlier
shot.
Again,
you
can
see
the
Rings
which
are
labeled
a
through
e
beginning
on
the
inside
ring
going
to
the
outside
ring.
This
is
fairly
common
knowledge
for
for
a
lot
of
folks,
what
may
be
less
known
is
a
e
Drive
on
the
top
right
hand,
side
of
the
slide
right
there.
A
A
e
Drive
is
actually
a
covered
roadway
and,
as
I've
mentioned
a
couple
of
times
already,
when
we
have
responded
over
the
years
to
this
building,
we
have
used
that
we
did
use
that
roadway
to
our
advantage.
We
would
take
our
apparatus,
we
would
drive
it
up
that
roadway
and
position
ourselves
in
that
inner
court,
because
in
each
of
the
corners
of
the
Pentagon
that
shapes
the
Center
Court,
there
are
entrance
ways
into
the
building
that
made
it
pretty
easy
for
us
to
get
where
we
needed
to
go
position.
A
In
the
front
of
the
picture,
you
see
what
we
refer
to
as
the
camp.
You
see
the
heliport
and
again
where
engine
161,
the
crash
fire
rescue
vehicle
was,
and,
of
course,
the
gash
in
the
building.
Now
I
talked
about
the
speed
and
the
force
with
which
this
airplane
pushes
through
the
building
and
I,
can
tell
you
that
the
damage
to
the
building
directly
from
the
impact
goes
all
the
way
through
to
the
inner
wall
of
the
c-ring.
A
So
you
see
the
between
the
B
and
the
C
ring
that
is
actually
a
roadway,
so
the
size
of
it
there's
vehicular
traffic
that
moves.
You
know
between
the
B
and
the
C
ring.
The
force
of
this
explosion
of
this
crash
goes
all
the
way
through
and
cuts
out
a
hole
on
the
inner
wall
of
the
c-ring,
the
first
and
second
floors
of
the
Pentagon.
A
All
the
way
through
are
connected,
and
so
this
force
is
taking
out.
You
know,
columns
and
pretty
much
everything
in
its
way
and
it
injects
6,
000
gallons
of
jet
fuel
into
the
building,
along
with
material
from
the
airplane,
rivets
hot
metal,
molten
metal.
Essentially,
so
the
combination
of
the
fuel,
the
molten
metal,
the
concussive
forces
of
the
airplane,
is
obviously
doing
extreme
damage
to
the
occupants.
A
A
A
It
was
just
nearing
completion
of
this
extensive
renovation,
everybody
that
normally
worked
there
had
been
relocated
to
leased
space
off
the
site
and
on
September
11
2001.
They
were
only
then
beginning
to
to
to
to
reoccupy
that
space
people
were
moving
new
desk
Furniture
in
some
files
were
being
brought
in,
and
this
accounts
for
the
relatively
low,
though
still
tragic,
loss
of
life
in
this
incident.
184
people
59
on
the
aircraft
and
the
remainder
in
the
building.
A
The
other
fortunate
part
about
this
incident,
such
as
it
is,
is
that
where
this
airplane
strikes
again
as
tragic
as
it
is,
it
is
as
far
away
from
the
Secretary
of
Defense
The
Joint
Chiefs
of
Staff,
the
military,
the
entire
leadership
of
DOD,
which
is
on
the
other
side
of
the
building,
all
the
way
on
the
other
side
of
the
building,
so
not
to
dismiss
the
losses
on
this
side
of
the
building.
But
you
know
from
a
standpoint
of
DOD
leadership.
We
could
have
had
a
secondary
tragedy
associated
with
this.
A
A
A
I
referenced
the
building
because
and
we'll
get
into
a
little
bit
about
the
fire
and
some
of
the
challenges
that
we
were
dealing
with
here.
But
I
reference
it
in
part
because
later,
in
the
event,
long
about
September
13th,
we
actually
had
or
authorized
to
have
built
partition
walls
on
the
corridors
three
and
six
so
that
essentially
the
secretary's
desires
of
getting
the
building
back
those
unaffected
parts
of
the
building
back
into
operation
could
happen.
We
essentially
walled
off
the
area
that
we
were
continuing
to
work
in.
A
You
know
trying
to
accommodate
the
needs
again
for
a
very
large
building.
These
are
the
scenes
on
scene.
The
car
in
the
top
right
hand,
photo
right.
There
actually
belongs
to
the
air
traffic
controller
in
that
small
building
that
you
saw
approximate
to
the
heliport,
the
guy
who's
guiding
the
actually
met
him
a
year
ago.
First
time
I'd
ever
run
into
him.
He
actually
had
changed
jobs
and
he
was
in
another
presentation
that
I
was
doing
and
he
introduced
himself.
That's
his
car
destroyed
there.
A
We,
when
we're
doing
this
from
a
different
perspective,
we
always
try
and
emphasize
and
I
thought
it
would
be
instructive
for
this
group
tonight
to
understand
a
little
bit
about
how
we
are
looking
at
an
incident
scene
like
this,
because
what
we're
really
trying
to
do
is
deal
with
a
lot
of
competing
priorities.
Obviously,
the
first
priority
is
all
designed
around
Life
Safety.
A
It
is
all
rescue
medical
care
for
those
that
are
injured,
but
to
do
that,
you
know,
we've
got
a
lot
of
other
work
to
do
like
getting
a
system
of
organization
together
which
we
call
incident
command.
It
is
about
in
an
incident
like
this
recognizing
that,
shortly
into
the
incident,
you
better
be
having
some
pretty
robust
scene
security,
because,
again,
what
other
threats
are
coming
your
way,
given
what
we've
witnessed
in
New
York,
this
became
a
very
high
priority
and
then,
as
the
incident
wears
on,
there
are
other
threats.
A
If
we
go
to
a
typical
incident
today,
a
routine
incident,
you
know
as
small
as
a
medical
emergency,
we
will
use
the
concepts
of
incident
command.
It
is
how
we
use
our
chain
of
command.
It's
how
we
use
our
standard
operating
procedures.
It's
how
we
use
our
communication
procedures.
It
really
is
a
standardized
framework
in
my
world.
A
A
It's
been
well
documented
by
the
911,
Commission
and
other
after
action
reports
that
this
probably
still
stands
today.
As
the
best
example
of
unified
command,
that's
ever
occurred
in
emergency
response
throughout
the
country
and
command
is
something
that
is
initiated
with
the
arrival
of
the
first
responder.
So
in
the
morning
of
September
11th,
the
first
unit
to
arrive
two
minutes
after
the
airplane
struck,
the
building
was
truck
105
from
the
crystal
city
fire
station,
the
that
particular
morning.
The
person
in
charge
of
that
unit
was
actually
a
firefighter,
not
a
fire
officer.
A
He
was
not
an
appointed
supervisor.
For
that
day,
he
was
in
an
acting
officer
position.
He
was
working
up
a
level
And.
Yet
when
that
unit
arrived
on
the
incident
scene
that
firefighter
firefighter
Derek
specter
had
the
authority
of
the
fire
chief,
he
could
call
for
any
unit.
He
could
call
for
as
many
of
them
as
he
needed
and
he
could
direct
every
one
of
them
that
was
coming
in
to
the
response
to
do
what
he
thought
they
needed
to
do
in
those
moments
now,
because
of
the
gravity
and
the
size
of
this
incident.
A
Chief
Cornwall
did
not
retain
command
too
long,
either
because,
as
I
say,
I
arrived
very
quickly
and
assumed
command,
and
my
first
substantial
Direction
was
for
chief
Cornwell
to
lead
our
first
cruise
into
the
building
to
begin
the
search
and
rescue
effort.
Let
me
take
a
moment
to
observe,
however,
that
for
all
of
the
work
that
this
department
and
our
partner
agencies
from
around
the
the
area
did
that
day,
the
real
heroes
of
that
morning
were
the
occupants
of
the
building.
A
The
real
heroes
were
the
military
and
civilian
workers
at
the
Pentagon,
who
did
more
to
affect
rescues
more
to
get
their
colleagues
out
of
the
building,
many
who
were
obviously
distraught
and
or
lost
by
the
Smoke
by
the
fire,
by
the
Heat
and
by
new
features
in
the
building
like
600
pound
fire
doors
that
were
newly
added
as
a
part
of
the
renovation
that
activated
and
slid
across
hallways.
That
really
were
the
only
way
in
and
out
that
many
people
knew,
and
so,
when
they
ran
into
that
door
thinking.
A
This
was
the
way
I'm
going
to
get
out.
It
was
a
revelation,
and
it
was
only
because
other
people
in
the
building-
you
know
who
kept
their
wits
about
them
and
could
provide
assistance.
Did
those
doors
get
moved
enough
for
people
to
actually
get
get
past
them
the
real
heroes,
the
military
and
civilian
occupants
of
the
building?
That
morning,
our
Emergency
Operations
Center
is
what
goes
into
action
when
we
have
a
crisis,
a
large-scale
crisis
in
the
county,
the
Emergency
Operations
Center,
has
a
lot
of
responsibilities.
One
of
them
is
to
support
the
incident.
Response.
A
Incident
command
calls
all
the
shots
on
the
incident
scene,
but,
to
the
extent
that
we
need
more
resources,
that
somebody
needs
to
pay
attention
to
the
rest
of
the
county,
to
make
sure
that
you
know
the
next
9-1-1
call
for
a
heart
attack
or
a
smell
of
smoke
in
somebody's
home
is
answered.
That's
the
job
of
the
EOC,
the
guy.
On
the
right
hand,
side
of
the
right-hand
picture
happens
to
be
Captain.
Mark
pen
mark
on
September
11th
was
a
25-year
veteran
of
the
department.
A
This
is
his
second
day
as
the
emergency
manager
second
day
is
the
emergency
manager,
the
county
manager,
who
is
by
law
the
Emergency
Services
director
of
the
county
walks
into
the
Emergency
Operations
Center
his
appointed
destination
during
a
crisis
like
this
and
looks
at
Mark
and
says:
who
are
you
because
they
have
yet
to
work
together?
They
have
yet
to
exercise
together.
They
have
yet
to
establish
any
kind
of
a
bond
or
Rapport.
Nonetheless,
Mark
knew
exactly
what
he
was
doing,
if
that
is,
if
Marx
being
there
for
two
days,
catches
your
attention.
A
Let
me
share
with
you
the
other
side
of
that
equation,
which
was
the
man
who
was
our
emergency
manager
for
several
years,
leading
up
to
this
incident.
In
fact,
he
spent
about
15
years
with
us
on
the
department
left
the
department,
the
Friday
before
September
11th,
so
the
biggest
dance
of
all
of
our
lives,
and
he
missed
it
because
he
went
to
work
for
the
Department
of
Justice
and
his
last
day
of
work
was
the
Friday
before
Kevin
Fannin.
He
was
a
great
guy.
He
is
a
great
guy.
We
still
maintain
regular
contact.
A
I
will
tell
you
too
just
you
know
as
Citizens.
One
of
the
things
that
you
should
understand
is
that
in
our
system
of
government
disasters
like
this,
you
will
hear
very
often
language
about
you
know
when
you,
when
you
hear
about
hurricane
damage
or
tornado
damage,
you'll
hear
about
disaster
declarations.
A
Those
disaster
declarations
come
about
because
a
locality
is
saying
in
a
crisis
we
are
tapped
out,
we
don't
have
any
more
resources,
we
need
assistance
and
they.
What
the
locality
then
does
is
turn
to
the
state
and
say
to
the
state.
We
need
assistance
on
September,
11th
and
even
today,
for
the
most
part
states,
don't
have
a
lot
of
resources
that
we
need
for
these
kinds
of
responses,
so
the
states
immediately
turn
to
the
federal
government.
The
locality
can't
go
right
to
the
federal
government.
A
Our
conduit
is
through
the
state
and
what
the
state
is
saying
to
the
federal
government
under
the
Stafford
disaster.
Act
is
we're
out
of
resources
and
we
need
federal
assistance.
Most
of
the
federal
assistance
comes
in
the
form
of
money.
The
dastard,
the
disaster
declaration
is
a
presidentially
authorized
declaration.
That
says
the
money
can
flow
to
support
the
response,
but
there
are
also
other
kinds
of
assets
which
will
describe
here
in
just
a
few
minutes,
but
that
whole
that
that
operation
goes
through
the
the
Emergency
Operations
Center.
I
should
tell
you
that.
A
That's
also
where
the
the
local
disaster
declaration
is
made,
the
manager
signs
off
on
that,
and
it
then
has
to
be
ratified
by
the
elected
body.
In
our
case,
the
County
Board
again
just
a
little
bit
more
in
terms
of
the
pictures
and
I
promised
you
some
evidence
of
an
airplane.
That
is
part
of
the
skin
from
American
Airlines
flight
77.
A
Many
more
around
and
I'll
show
you
another
image
later
on
of
where
some
of
that
was
collected.
One
of
the
great
fortunes
that
we
had
and
continue
to
have
today
is
our
system
of
partnership
with
our
adjacent
jurisdictions.
So
Northern
Virginia,
today
responds
under
a
system
of
automatic
Aid.
Automatic
Aid
means
that
we
dispatch
the
closest
units
to
an
incident
to
a
request
for
service,
regardless
of
the
jurisdiction.
A
So
you
all
would
be
familiar
with
the
West
End
of
Columbia,
Pike
and
I
can
use
as
an
example.
The
fact
that
the
closest
units
to
much
of
the
West
End
of
Columbia
Pike
is
actually
Bailey's
Crossroad
in
Fairfax
County
those
units
respond
into
the
county
and
serve
our
citizens
at
the
same
level
of
expertise
that
my
people
do
four
five,
sometimes
six
seven
times
a
day.
They
are
part
of
a
larger
system
than
we
operate
just
in
the
county,
which
not
only
extends
our
resources
but
creates
enormous
coordination.
That
is
already
pre-scripted.
A
in
any
example,
set
by
Northern,
Virginia
Northern
Virginia
set
that
example
back
in
1975,
and
they
said
it
after
another,
particularly
disastrous
incident,
and
that
was
the
collapse
of
the
Skyline
Towers
apartment
building
in
Bailey's
Crossroads.
If
you
go
up,
George
Mason
drive
all
the
way
to
Route
7
and
you
look
across
at
those
big
high
rises
there.
Well
one
of
those
collapsed
under
construction.
Fortunately,
there
were
not
a
lot
of
people
a
lot
a
lot.
There
were
not
a
lot
of
construction
workers.
A
Still
there
I
don't
know
exactly
what
the
loss
of
life
was,
but
it
was
relatively
minimal,
but
that
particular
area
of
Northern
Virginia
is
you
know
one
of
many
sort
of
intersections
of
the
jurisdictions
right.
There's
a
there's,
a
point
right
there,
where
Alexander,
Arlington
and
Fairfax
all
come
together,
and
in
the
wake
of
that
incident
the
Chiefs
at
the
time
said.
A
You
know
we
can
serve
our
communities
better.
If
we
forget
about
the
jurisdictional
boundaries,
if
we
just
send
the
closest
units-
and
that
will
have
the
added
benefit
of
providing
more
safety
to
our
to
our
members
right,
our
firefighters
will
be
safer
because
we'll
get
faster
backup,
we
will
get
We
Will,
We,
Will
control
incidents
faster
with
that
kind
of
an
arrangement,
and
so
that
Arrangement,
that
collaborative
partnership
started
in
1975
and
evolved
to
the
point
where
again
in
September
of
2001
in
the
wake
of
9
11,
the
entire
country
is
talking
about
Communications
interoperability.
A
Why
can't
fire
and
police
talk?
Why
can't
fire
departments
from
different
jurisdictions
talk
right
on
their
radios?
Well,
here
we
had
that
solved
back
in
the
late
70s.
We
didn't
have
to
completely
solve
with
DC
or
Suburban
Maryland,
but
we
had
it
largely
solved
in
Northern
Virginia
and
we
set
the
the
the
actual
path
where
the
rest
of
the
national
capital
region,
the
Washington
metropolitan
area,
could
achieve
that
shortly
after
September
11th.
A
So
these
are
all
the
jurisdictions
that
sent
resources
in
assistance,
automatic
aid
from
Alexandria
Fairfax,
Fairfax
city
Loudon
and
Prince
William,
and
mutual
aid
from
Montgomery
Prince
George's
in
the
District
of
Columbia.
What's
the
difference
between
automatic
and
mutual
Mutual,
Aid
is
you're,
actually
calling
the
jurisdiction
and
asking
for
assistance
in
automatic
Aid
We're,
actually
dispatching
somebody
else's
resources,
but
in
mutual
Aid
we
call
up
the
other
jurisdiction.
We
tell
them
what
our
problem
is
and
we
ask
for
their
assistance
again
going
back
in
history.
A
A
in
January
of
1982,
an
airliner
tries
to
take
off
in
a
snowstorm
from
National
Airport.
It
fails
to
clear
the
14th
Street
bridge
and
crashes
in
the
river,
and
at
the
time
the
metropolitan
area
has
no
operating
plan
for
jurisdictions
to
work
together,
not
not
across
the
river.
Certainly,
and
so
we
don't
have
communications
interoperability.
A
A
A
But
in
another
example
of
our
ability
to
look
forward.
We
began
that
relationship
with
the
FBI
in
1998.,
so
you
may
know
that
by
Presidential
Directive
harking
back
to
the
mid
90s,
any
Act
of
terrorism
in
the
United
States.
The
lead
law
enforcement
agency
is
the
FBI
local
law
enforcement
does
not
have
the
lead
for
an
act
of
terrorism.
They
are
a
partner
they
participate.
Just
like
I
will
show
you
here
shortly.
A
They
did
in
Arlington,
but
the
FBI
is
the
lead
law
enforcement
agency
in
1998
as
the
result
of
events
that
they
had
studied,
it
became
clear
to
the
Washington
field
office
of
the
FBI
that
their
traditional
partners
in
response
to
large
crisis
was
not
going
to
be
local
law
enforcement,
local
law
enforcement.
They
were
certainly
going
to
be
there.
A
They
were
going
to
be
a
part
of
the
response,
but
the
main
partner
they
were
going
to
need
to
get
close
to
was
the
fire
and
EMS
service,
and
so
that
field
office
in
1998
reached
out
to
the
the
Fire
Chiefs
in
the
national
capital
region
and
not
only
began
to
establish
a
relationship
with
us,
but
they
attended
Regional
meetings
they
attended
exercises.
In
fact,
we
had
a
massive
Northern
Virginia
exercise,
attended
by
the
FBI
on
September,
8th
2001.,
a
chemical
exercise
in
Fairfax
County.
A
The
FBI
participated,
as
did
most
of
the
fire
departments
from
the
region,
and
so
when
we
went
to
work
on
the
morning
of
September
11th
The
Trusted
relationships
already
existed.
There
was
no
jockeying
for
position
right.
There
was
a
very
good
understanding
about
how
things
were
going
to
work,
how
things
who
was
going
to
be
in
charge
and
how
we
would
we
would
do
things
our
Effectiveness
that
morning
also
came
about
because
we
weren't
sitting
back
here
in
Arlington
waiting
for
this
event
to
make
terrorism
real
in
1995.
A
A
We
worked
with
our
metropolitan
area.
Colleagues,
and
we
wrote
a
letter
to
the
president
of
the
United
States.
We
wrote
a
letter
to
Bill
Clinton
and
that
letter
said
you
want.
You
witnessed
what
happened
in
Tokyo
if
that
were
to
occur
here
in
our
Subway,
a
Subway
by
the
way
on
which
the
federal
government
depends
mightily,
we
are
not
trained.
We
do
not
have
the
knowledge,
we
don't
have
the
equipment
to
deal
with
that
kind
of
an
incident.
The
president
tasked
the
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services.
A
A
Nobody
else
had
we
had
detection
capabilities
for
chemical
warfare
agents
that
nobody
else
other
than
the
military
had
we
had
protective
clothing
and
equipment
that
enabled
us
to
work
in
contaminated
environments
for
extended
periods
of
time,
beyond
what
we
do
in
a
fire,
we
had
a
cache
of
chemical
antidote
mark
one
kits
that
carried
on
the
battlefields
that
were
in
our
possession
that
traveled
with
us.
Wherever
we
went
and
we
had
another
cache
that
we
could
deploy
anywhere,
we
wanted
should
an
incident
like
this
occur,
beginning
in
January
of
1996.
A
We
were
deployed
forward
deployed
for
presidential
inaugurations.
In
fact,
in
the
last
three
presidential
inaugurations
members
of
that
team
were
positioned
underneath
the
inaugural
platform
on
the
steps
of
the
capitol,
their
role
was
to
get
people
off
the
platform,
should
it
be
attacked
during
the
inauguration
in
every
State
of
the
Union
Address
beginning
in
1996.
Until
two
years
ago,
when
the
team
went
dark,
the
team
was
pre-positioned
underneath
the
house
chamber
and
their
role
was
to
rescue
the
legislative
leadership
of
the
United
States
Congress.
A
A
I
use
the
slide
here
of
the
national
Medical
Response
Team,
because
that
was
the
response
element
that
we
created
and
it
was
the
team
deployed
on
911
that
did
our
Hazmat
assessment,
that
I
described
before
the
chemical
and
radiological
assessments.
So
back
in
1995
we're
already
focused
on
this
issue.
We
realized
that
as
a
metropolitan
area
and
the
seat
of
the
federal
United
States
government,
we
could
be
a
Target.
How
do
we
begin
to
plan
and
prepare
for
those
kinds
of
events,
the
military
assistance?
A
Obviously
it
is
the
Pentagon,
but
interestingly
the
Pentagon
as
a
reservation
is
not
part
of
any
other
military
command.
It
is
a
separate
and
independent
reservation
and,
quite
frankly,
the
leadership
in
DOD
didn't
have
much
interaction
or
much
experience
working
with
locals,
and
so
they
assigned
Major
General
James
Jackson.
Then
the
two
star
in
charge,
in
the
military
District
of
Washington,
to
be
our
liaison
and
at
six
o'clock
on
the
evening
of
September
11th,
when
I
called
a
meeting
of
all
of
the
representatives
of
the
response
agencies
that
were
there.
A
That
meeting
was
held
in
Secretary
rumsfeld's
press
briefing
room
in
the
Pentagon,
because
it
was
on
the
other
side,
and
we
could
do
so
safely.
General
Jackson,
presented
himself
to
me,
introduced
himself
said
that
he
had
been
appointed
by
the
secretary
to
be
our
liaison,
and
if
there
was
anything
that
DOD
could
provide
in
support,
he
would
make
that
available.
He
then
appointed
two
colonels
to
sit
in
the
unified
command
post
with
us
24
hours
a
day,
and
that
became
our
access
to
military
resources.
A
A
Another
picture
you
see
this
is
a
little
bit
beyond,
but
the
fire
this
is.
This
is
where
early
pictures
that
you'll
see
the
crash
fire
rescue
vehicles
from
the
airport
doing
their
work.
It
is
at
this
point
that
they
become
completely
useless.
They
their
streams
cannot
get
in
underneath
this
collapsed
area
and
again,
a
significant
added
dimension.
A
What
happens
next
to
us
of
significance
is
that
in
our
unified
command
area,
I
have
my
FBI
colleague
at
the
time
special
agent
Christopher
Combs,
who
was
one
of
those
Liaisons
from
the
Washington
field
office
that
I
described
before
Chris,
turns
to
me
in
the
command
post,
and
he
says:
there's
another
airplane
headed
our
way:
the
FBI's
national
headquarters.
What
is
called
the
Strategic
information
and
operations
center,
which
goes
live
during
any
national
crisis,
has
activated
for
9
11.
As
you
would
expect,
some
of
the
representatives
in
the
FBI
psyoc
include
the
FAA.
A
We
are
told
at
one
point
that
there
are
still
eight
aircraft
that
are
unaccounted
for
now.
Remember,
there's
an
order
that
goes
out
shortly
after
the
situation
begins
to
shape
up
that
says
all
aircraft
goes
to
ground.
All
aircraft
are
ordered
to
go
to
ground.
By
the
way
we
don't
have
enough
parking
spaces
for
all
the
airplanes
right.
Some
of
them
have
to
go
to
Canada.
A
Who
is
getting
information
from
the
psyock
and
he
says:
there's
another
airplane
headed
our
way
and
he
has
been
told
it's
20
minutes
out
now
it's
hard
for
me
to
say
what
I
might
have
done
with
that
information
had
I
not
witnessed
the
second
airplane
into
the
World
Trade
Center
I
turn
on
the
air.
The
television
like
many
of
you
and
see
that
the
first
Tower,
the
North
Tower,
has
been
struck
and
is
burning.
A
I
have
a
sense
already
that
it's
terrorism,
because
the
silhouette
of
the
airplane,
for
me
is
just
a
little
too
crisp.
Didn't
look
to
me
like
there
was
an
opportunity
like
there
was
an
attempt
to
avoid
hitting
the
building,
as
you
might
have
thought,
and
those
fears
are
confirmed
when
the
second
airplane
goes
into
the
building,
as
we
all
witness
on
the
television
and
with
that
knowledge.
It's
now
clear
to
me
that
airplanes
are
being
used
as
weapons
and
there
are
secondary
waves
of
attack.
A
It's
10
minutes
out.
It's
four
minutes
out
what's
happened
here
is
that
the
FAA
knows
that
this
airplane
has
turned
off
its
transponder
and
it's
off
radar.
So
they
are
assuming.
This
airplane
has
gone
to
a
low
trajectory
like
flight
77
does
and
they
have
mapped
out
how
long
it's
going
to
take
to
come
to
the
Pentagon.
A
A
A
There
was
a
second
evacuation
because
for
reasons
that
go
beyond
our
discussion
tonight,
Chris
has
been
pulled
out
of
the
command
post
and
is
unavailable
and
I
don't
have
that
same
chain
of
information
coming
from
the
sciac
or
the
field
office,
but
the
tower
at
National,
Airport
radios
to
our
communication
Center
calls
our
communication
Center
and
says:
there's
another
airplane
out
there
and
it's
headed
our
way.
Now
we've
been
told,
everything's,
grounded
and
nobody's
told
us
that
anything
else
is
authorized.
A
A
The
collapse
was
initially
dealt
with
with
the
three
technical
rescue
teams
of
Arlington
Alexandria
and
the
military
District
of
Washington,
which
has
an
interesting
Mission
itself.
There
is
a
team
of
army,
Engineers,
they're,
technically
bulldozer
operators,
heavy
equipment
operators
that
have
been
trained
to
do
technical
rescue
for
the
largely
singular
mission
of
a
collapse
at
the
White
House,
but
they
arrive
on
the
incident
scene
at
the
Pentagon
on
the
morning
of
September
11th
and
we
incorporate
them
into
our
response
and
incident
command.
A
But
we
know
we're
going
to
need
more,
and
so
we
begin
to
ask
for
urban
search
and
rescue
teams,
Urban
search
and
rescue
teams.
We
call
them
usars
are
local
teams
that
are
funded
by
the
federal
government
and
tasked
during
emergencies
deployed
to
areas
where
they
are
needed.
Their
primary
skill
set
is
in
collapse.
Rescue
Fairfax
County
happens
to
have
one
of
the
Premier
teams
they
deploy
overseas
have
for
decades.
A
So
this
is
the
inside
of
the
building
has
worked
by
these
technical
rescue
teams.
I
have
to
tell
you
of
note,
we
have
I
told
you,
the
Pentagon
is
undergoing
renovation
and
it's
being
done
by
what
amounts
to
an
organization
that
is
running
the
contractors.
But
the
deputy
director
of
that
organization
is
a
woman
who
happens
to
have
or
happened
at
the
time.
A
Her
FBI
Handler
calls
me
in
the
command
post
and
expresses
that
concern
and
I
say
bring
her
down
here.
They
bring
her
down.
We
put
a
hard
hat
on
her.
She
walks
into
the
building
and
she
sees
this
and
she
comes
out
after
about
an
hour's
worth
of
evaluation.
She
comes
back
to
the
command
post
and
she
tells
me
that
the
building
has
been
made
safer.
A
A
We
give
you
this
because,
in
the
right
hand
corner
here,
the
the
usar
teams
actually
bring
their
own
Structural
Engineers
they're,
not
just
firefight.
There's
a
lot
of
firefighters,
a
lot
of
rescue
technicians
that
work
for
us,
but
they
bring
Specialties
that
our
technical,
Rescue
Team,
like
mine,
as
good
as
they
are,
does
not
have,
and
again
this
slide
just
gives
you
a
sense
of
the
scope
of
work.
You
know
the
the
enormity
of
it
again
as
large
as
the
building
is
specialized
equipment
was,
you
know,
really
essential.
A
We
came
to
call
this
particular
piece
of
equipment
fee
T-Rex
because
of
its
ability
to
reach
up
and
grab
pieces
of
what
we
call
widowmakers,
the
overhangs
of
concrete
and
structural
collapse
that
can
actually
kill
responders.
At
the
time
there
were
only
three
of
these
in
the
country.
One
of
them
was
in
Baltimore
and
we
were
able
to
get
it
transported
to
the
Pentagon
by
the
evening
of
September
11th,
and
this
probably
cut
a
good
10
days
off
of
our
of
our
operation.
A
Night
operations
were
a
particularly
difficult
period.
This
is
a
picture
taken
on
September
11th
night
falls.
We've
got
the
majority
of
the
fire
out
in
the
building.
We
have
cared
for
and
transported
all
of
the
casualties
that
have
that
we've
either
removed
from
the
building
or
got
out
on
their
own,
and
we
are
taking
a
bit
of
a
pause
here,
because
we
have
yet
to
assess
the
success
to
effectively
assess
the
structural
Integrity
of
the
building
and
so
moving
through
it.
A
At
night
time
you
know
proved
a
little
bit
more
perilous
than
I
was
willing
to
put
our
people
in,
so
we
we
backed
off
a
little,
but
in
doing
so
the
even
though
the
majority
of
the
fire
had
been
out
the
fire
continued
to
burn
underneath
these
peaked
roof
structures
that
you
see
over
the
corridors
and
the
A
and
E
rings
now
you'll
notice,
the
rest
of
the
roof
is
all
a
concrete
deck
and
actually
that's
what
is
under
those
peaked.
Roofs,
also,
okay,
but
they
have
built
these
roofs.
A
A
A
That's
all
slate
breaking
up
that
slate
deck
and
getting
hose
streams
underneath
that
to
get
that
fire
out
The
Joint,
Operation
Center
we
just
referred
to
because
it
was
located
at
Fort
Myer,
and
this
is
really
where
the
federal
government
organizes
all
of
its
support
to
the
incident.
But
it
also
includes
locals.
A
We
had
people
that
were
assigned
to
the
Joint
operations
center
and
it
does
a
lot
of
things
that
even
an
Incident
Commander
doesn't
have
the
license
to
do
and
the
example
I
always
like
to
use
because
I
think
it's
very
instructive
and
it
showed
government
working
well.
In
an
instance
like
this,
the
medical
examiner
for
the
Commonwealth
of
Virginia
came
to
the
Joint
operations
center
on
the
morning
of
September
12th.
A
If
you
read
any
of
the
Patricia
Cornwell
novels,
you'll
recognize
her
in
those
she's
the
she
is.
The
model
for
the
for
the
female
medical
examiner,
I'm
told
Ian,
Patricia,
Cornwell's
and
and
I
I
can
tell
you.
When
this
woman
showed
up
on
the
morning
of
September
12th
I
could
I
I
was
ready
to
salute
her.
She
was
you
know
she
knew
what
she
wanted.
She
knew
what
she
was
there
for
and
what
she
was
there
for
was
to
say
under
the
law.
It's
my
responsibility
to
take.
A
A
Media
managing
the
media
always
becomes
a
big
deal
for
an
incident
like
this,
and
we
certainly
had
our
challenges
here.
Obviously,
the
building
has
its
own
media
on
a
frequent
basis,
but
they
were
all
escorted
off
the
reservation.
As
the
emergency
was
unfolding,
and
you
may
recall
it's
been
gone
now
for
about
a
year.
A
But
the
fact
is
again
because
of
that
relationship
that
we
had
with
the
with
the
with
the
FBI
that
all
took
a
back
seat
to
the
mission
of
Life
Safety
Fire
Control
collapse,
rescue
those
sorts
of
things,
but
nonetheless
you
know
evidence,
collection
has
to
go
on,
and
so
you
still
you
see
hose
streams
here.
You
see
ladders
in
the
background,
but
there
is
the
collection
of
evidence
which
in
this
case,
became
important
because
it
all
contributed
to
the
prosecution
of
misawi
right.
A
The
20th,
the
suspected
20th
hijacker,
who
was
eventually
convicted
evidence
from
here
you
know,
was
all
used
in
the
misawi
trial.
Moreover,
so
this
is
what
the
inside
of
the
building
looks
like
as
a
result
of
this
incident,
when
we
are
done
stage
one
of
evidence
collection,
it
looks
like
this
and
yes,
we,
the
floors,
are
substantial
enough
to
carry
Bobcats
all
you
know,
literally
everything
off
the
floor
and
out
of
the
building
just
as
a
component
of
evidence
collection.
A
A
A
The
evidence
collection
operation
continues,
I
talked
about
the
things
that
come
out
of
the
building
what's
happening.
Is
they
come
out
of
the
building?
They
are
trucked
around
to
the
north
parking
lot
at
the
Pentagon,
and
what
is
happening
here
is
that
you
see
in
the
very
top
of
the
picture,
just
the
sliver.
There
is
a
pile
of
debris.
This
is
everything
that's
been
in
the
building
and
it
has
been
put
in
a
big
pile
there
and
then
systematically.
It
is
brought
into
piles
that
you
see
the
two
pieces
of
heavy
equipment
there.
A
They
are
taking
taking
debris
and
putting
it
in
a
pile
and
spreading
it
out
in
the
pile
below
that
those
are
the
evidence
technicians.
They
are
going
over
that
pile
to
literally
pick
up
any
piece
of
evidence
that
they
can.
They
are
also
the
FBI
who
has
to
lead.
This
operation
is
also
responsible
for
the
recovery
of
all
personal
effects.
A
A
This
just
gives
you
another
view,
and
the
lines
actually
are
security.
Perimeters
I
told
you
I
would
share
that
green
circle
in
the
middle
down.
There
actually
is
where
airplane
parts
were
housed.
That's
where
all
the
airplane
parts
were
collected.
Faa
still
does
play
a
role
in
these
kinds
of
things,
even
though
it
is
an
act
of
terrorism,
and
so
we
we
do
our
best
to
collect
everything
both
inside
the
building
and
out.
A
So
we
talked
a
little
bit
about
command
on
September
21st.
This
is
10
days
into
the
incident.
The
fire
department,
who
has
been
the
lead
in
command
for
10
days,
transfers
command
to
the
FBI
now
transfer
in
this
context
means
that
we
were
the
primary
decision
makers,
although
we're
not
directing
the
FBI,
our
collaborative
relationship
and
our
common
understanding
of
what
we're
after
here
is
so
good,
based
on
those
three
years
of
of
relationship
building,
leading
up
to
this
that
really
what
we've
done
is
exchange
seats.
A
We
go
to
a
secondary
role
and
they
take
primary
and,
for
all
intents
and
purposes
at
this
point
because
all
of
the
victim
remains
have
been
removed,
the
building
has
been
stabilized,
evidence
is
still
being
processed,
but
now
the
main
focus
is
is
on
the
crime
scene
and
obviously
that's
the
FBI's
role.
So
we
do
a
transfer
of
command.
We
actually
did
it
in
a
ceremony
because
we
had
many
hundreds
of
responders
from
outside
the
area.
A
The
nation
had
not
been
through
this
kind
of
thing
before
and
we
wanted
to
establish
in
a
very
forthright
and
apparent
way
to
everybody.
That
command
was
changing.
General
Jackson
actually
LED,
this
command
change
ceremony.
He
wanted
to
acknowledge
the
use,
our
teams
and
their
good
work
as
they
were
going
back
home
and
it
was
just
a
way
you
know
as
a
symbol
for
us
to
to
sort
of
Mark
the
transition.
A
A
A
I
said
Roger
that
not
a
problem
we'll
take
care
of
it
short
time
later,
young
Soldier
presents
himself
with
the
command
post
with
the
flag,
I
radio,
to
the
people
on
the
roof
that
you
see
in
that
picture
right
there
I
tell
them
what's
happening.
The
soldier
takes
the
flag
up
to
him.
They
prepare
to
unfurl
the
flag
and
quickly
recognize
the
field
of
stars
is
on
the
wrong
side.