8/14/2019 NY B30 PA Police Reports 1 of 2 Fdr- Flynn- Sgt John F

1/4

The PortAuthority of New York and New Jersey

Handwrit ten

TO:FROM:DATE:SUBJECT:

Chief JosephMorrisJohn FlynnMarch 5, 2002RESPONSE-9-11

COPY TO: File

As requested, the following is a chronological account of myactivities on September 11, 2001. To the best of my knowledge andrecollection this account is accurate.On September 11, 2001 at approximately 0850 hours I was in routeto the Port Newark Police Command when my wife called me on mycell phone and informed me that an airplane struck the WTC.Upon my arrival at Port Newark I secured a marked vehicle, (CVISuburban) and responded to the WTC. I notified the PATH Desk viacell phone and advised Sergeant Holland that I was going to thescene. Sergeant Holland advised me that emergency units andpatrol units were on scene and that "its bad".At the entrance to the Holland Tunnel it was apparent that thetunnel was closed to all traffic except for emergency vehicles.Port Authority Police, Jersey City Police, Port Authority TunnelOperations personnel and Port Authority maintenance enforced thisclosure.At the entrance to the tunnel I met Inspector Sbarra (formerCaptain, Commanding Officer HT). The Inspector informed me he hadwitnessed the second plane strike the North Tower and that bothtowers were burning. Inspector Sbarra, after advising the TourCommander accompanied me to the WTC Command. Upon arrival, weparked on Park Pi and West Street and proceeded to the CommandPost on West and Vesey. It was apparent that many Port AuthorityPolice Units were mobilizing at that location and I was directed

PridePORT AUTHORITY POLICE

Service Distinction

8/14/2019 NY B30 PA Police Reports 1 of 2 Fdr- Flynn- Sgt John F

2/4

by Chief Morris (former Inspector Morris Commanding Officer LGA)to organize the response and to ensure accountability of themobilized officers prior to assisting in the rescue effortalready underway.I requested all members who responded with emergency equipment,Bunker Gear, SCBA, and Tools to form up for team and workassignments. All other members of the force were going to be usedfor security purposes and relief of the first teams on scene.Team assignments were going to consist of one supervisor or squadleader and five Police Officers. The next order given by ChiefMorris was to evacuate the area. The order to evacuate wasunderscored by the sound of an imminent collapse. As a largecloud of dirt and debris approached, I watched daylight turn tonight. My biggest fear was suffocation in the enveloping cloudthat consumed the entire area of lower Manhattan. I placed ahelmet over my face and dove for the ground. Minutes seemed likehours. I found a hose line on the ground and started to crawlNorth on West Street looking for the nozzle. I eventually foundit in the area of Park Pi and West. I turn the nozzle on anddirected the stream upward. This allowed me to wash my face andmouth, to catch a breath and to establish a gross decon.As black turned to gray, shadows started to appear. Some werewalking, crawling or were being dragged North on West Street. Istarted to decon people with a water fog as they passed by withparticular attention to the facial area. EMS treated as manyvictims as possible however; many people refused treatment andjust wanted to get out of the area.I knew from past experience that Truck One (1) PATH would deployfrom West Broadway and Vesey Street. I made my way down to thatlocation in hope of finding members of the unit who would regroupat the Truck. The Truck was parked on West Broadway and Vesey andall SCBA and high angle rescue equipment had been deployed. Usingthe PATH R2 radio, I call to all units to regroup to Chambers andWest. I did not receive any acknowledgement to the transmission.I relocated Truck One (1) to Chambers and West via West Broadwayto Barclay and Barclay to West Street. At Chambers and WestStreet I attempted to establish a gross decon using FireApparatus and hand lines. This operation was curtailed due to thecollapse of the North Tower. I found shelter in the cab of Truck1 and was soon joined by three other unknown individuals. Thescene from earlier was repeated with the addition of rubblestriking the cab and body of the truck.As the dust settled, I directed officers to move North ofChambers Street. In an attempt to seek shelter, and to establisha base of operations we entered the courtyard of the Borough ofManhattan Community College. Chief Hall was on scene along with

PORT AUTHORITY POLICEPride Service Distinction

8/14/2019 NY B30 PA Police Reports 1 of 2 Fdr- Flynn- Sgt John F

3/4

other senior staff. The front door was breached and all memberswere order inside for shelter and roll call. All availableequipment was staged inside of the courtyard in an attempt toregroup and commence rescue operations. Shortly thereafter, itwas reported there was a secondary device in IS 89, which wasacross the street. At this time it was also reported that apassenger jet crashed into the Pentagon. All units and equipmentwere evacuated from the auditorium and the courtyard andrelocated to North Moore and West. I requested the Port AuthorityPolice K9 EOT to search and secure the gymnasium prior toallowing Police Officers to enter. Once the area was secure, asecurity perimeter was established and all officers were directedto go inside for a return roll call and a situation update.I requested permission from Inspector Ceccarelli to take an ESUteam down to the WTC site for the purpose of recon and to betterassess the damage and its impact on the Port Authority Police.The following ESU officers were members of that team.

Sergeant John FlynnPolice Officer Tibor TothPolice Officer Mike KuligoskiPolice Officer Richard DePietroPolice Officer Bill Connors

The team equipped with the appropriate personal protective andrescue equipment went south on West Street to the Barclay Streetramp. It was here that we found vehicle 5308 at the base of theBarclay Street ramp. We attempted to make entry into thetruckdock, however we encountered multiple rounds of ammunition weregoing off. Vehicle 5308 was removed and parked on the top of theramp and two hat shields were recovered. (Command Post wasadvised of the numbers). Vehicle 1305 was observed parked on thecorner of Greenwich and Barclay and was heavily damaged fromfalling debris. It was impossible to remove any vehicle from thearea due to the amount of building debris strewn on the ground.The team continued to make its way to Church Street where thescene was surreal. We expected to see injured victims and orresponders only to witness an eerie silence. We moved to LibertyStreet and made our way to Greenwich. Access to West Street fromLiberty was completely blocked by remains of the towers. The teamworked its way around the financial center and through the WinterGarden. We exited on Vesey Street and ultimately onto WestStreet. Police Officer George Howard JFK Truck 8 was found on theNorth West corner of West and Vesey. Officer Howard was coveredby debris \ Thecommand post was notified and Chief Hall responded to the scene.Police Officer Howard was transported to the temporary morguefacility on site. Upon our return to the command post I briefed

PORT AUTHORITY POLICE ersonal PrivacyPride Service Distinction

8/14/2019 NY B30 PA Police Reports 1 of 2 Fdr- Flynn- Sgt John F

4/4

Inspector Ceccarelli (and others) as to what we found or betteryet did not find.At some point in time I returned to the site with my team andcommence in the rescue effort underway. The Command Posttransmitted that members of the Port Authority Police werelocated in the rubble, however they were trapped. Myself alongwith the remaining members of the Emergency Service Unitresponded to the Liberty Street side of the complex. Rescueworkers were snaked up the rubble pile. The time line escapes me,but I do remember starting at the bottom of the pile, passingSCOTT Bottles, Air Bags, Hurst Tools, Generators, Drugs and waterup to the front of the line. In due time I was at the head of theline due to the rotation of manpower to the to the rear forrelief. The smoke was choking and the heat emanating form thepile melted the soles of my boots. My team and myself along withothers Police Officers, Firefighters and Civilians operated in anarea that resembled the biblical description of HELL. I waspresent when Police Officer Will Jimino was extricated frombeneath the rubble. I gave words of encouragement as we handedhim down to the long line of rescue workers on the pile andultimately to a waiting ambulance. I was present when someonestated they were talking to McLaughlin, he was pinned and itwould take at least eighth more hours to get to him.I was physically and mentally exhausted, I worked my way downalong with my team to the bottom of the pile and to the triagearea inside of BROOKS BROS. I saw Capt Sbarra and Lt. Leather. Ientered the Triage area, went on oxygen, washed my face andrested on the floor.I arrived back at the North Moore Staging Area and fell asleep.The next morning we all started again.

4"John&Fly;*/ Police S-e'rgeant #239

/' x/SpecLa"l' Operations/ESU

PORT AUTHORITY POLICEPride Service Distinction