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Suddenly, there was a monsterous explosion, with extremely high wind and debris, and the lights went out immediately. I was physically picked up and hurled across the concourse, slamming into a wall
A couple of minutes later, it sounded like bombs going off. That's when the explosions happened...
EACH ONE of those explosions picked me up and threw me....
Remember being in the South Tower lobby before the collapse. During collapse, I was blown towards Albany and West. Sustained serious injuries including a broken neck and multiple trauma. Crawled 200 feet till surrendered to condition. Was found unconscious at intersection of Albany and West.
Originally posted by thedman
Describes not an "explosion" but collapse of the towers - the air blast from the falling building was strong
enough to pick up and flip fire apparatus and blow men considerable distances
Originally posted by turbofan
Hey BsBray,
Do you know of any 'noise' that would pick up a person and throw them across a room, slamming them into a wall
as "thedman" suggests?
Kevin Shea of Ladder 35 - blown out of South tower lobby by collapse
Remember being in the South Tower lobby before the collapse. During collapse, [color=gold]I was blown towards Albany and West. Sustained serious injuries including a broken neck and multiple trauma. Crawled 200 feet till surrendered to condition. Was found unconscious at intersection of Albany and West.
''Look at that,'' Shea said, suddenly pointing out the opposite window. ''That's Engine 40. That's the rig we drove in on.'' On the side of the road was a huge red truck, the number 40 painted on the side. ''It must've been moved,'' Shea said. ''We weren't parked there.'' He looked at me for reassurance. ''Right?''
As we passed through the final checkpoint, Flaherty said: ''This is it. You're in.''
''There's the south tower,'' said Stacy.
''Where?''
''There. By the crane.''
''Oh, my God,'' Shea said.
All we could see was a giant hole in the sky. We parked the car and climbed out. Flaherty got us hard hats and yelled at us to be careful as we approached the debris.
''Where's the lobby command post?'' asked Shea.
''Ten stories underground,'' Flaherty said. ''It's still burning.''
Shea opened and closed his eyes. He began to recall all the pieces that he had strung together, his words flowing out faster and faster. ''I grabbed a Purple K,'' he said. ''I was going to look for my men in Ladder 35. There were bodies falling. I remember them hitting the ground. I remember the sound. I went to put out car fires. Then I went into the command post. I saw Patriciello.'' He closed his eyes. ''I hugged him. I told him to be careful.''
He stopped. How could he have gotten from the lobby command post to Albany Street? He couldn't run that fast. ''Maybe you were blown out,'' Flaherty said. ''A lot of guys were picked up and blown out from the concussion.''
''Where's Albany?'' Shea asked.
''It's over here,'' Flaherty said. We started to run, mud splattering on our shoes. We turned down a small street. There were cars still covered in ash, their windows shattered. Shea said the doctor told him he had crawled 200 feet toward light, and now he walked several paces, then stopped and turned around. ''This is where they found me,'' he said. ''Right here.'' He looked back at the tower, surveying the distance. ''Is there a garage around here?'' There was one up the road, Liam said, and we ran again, past a burned-out building and several men in surgical masks. ''This must be it,'' Shea said.
He stopped. How could he have gotten from the lobby command post to Albany Street? He couldn't run that fast. ''Maybe you were blown out,'' Flaherty said. ''A lot of guys were picked up and blown out from the concussion.''
As he finished his story, drawing new theories from Flaherty about being blown out, estimating the wind speed and the power of the concussion, we were all cold and exhausted. By the time we got back to the site, it was dark, and the workers had turned on their spotlights. While the others wandered off, Shea walked toward what was left of the south tower.