“You’re talking 220 stories of office building on top of the other buildings that collapsed, with computers, fluorescent lightbulbs, phones, desks, metal chairs” explained 25-year New York firefighter Michael O’Connell (Solnik). This horrible event that occurred on September 11, 2001, will never be forgotten and will remain a major part of U.S. history. The 9/11 twin tower terrorist attack had many negative effects on first responders including physical and phycological consequences that still impact many of them today.
On September 11, 2001, two Boeing 767 planes crashed into the two World Trade Center buildings in New York City and was just the beginning of a long journey. This entire incident started with four teams of hijackers lead by Osama Bib Laden who hijacked four airplanes belonging to US Airlines (Eisendrath). Two out of four planes crashed into the Twin Towers, one crashed into the pentagon, and the last one was taken over by passengers and crashed into an open field. When discussing the 9/11 Twin Tower attack, it is considered that the consequences that came in three separate waves, making it have an ongoing, lasting effects. The first wave is considered to be the initial attack of the two planes crashing into the building, the second wave were those who were immediately injured, and third wave were those who are being affected today (Solnik). The mastermind behind this tragic event was a Muslim living in Afghanistan by the name of Osama Bin Laden. He was very passionate about his Muslim religion and was against anyone not believing the same thing. Osama Bin Laden didn’t randomly come up with this plan but rather, was fueled by hatred of the US who they considered to be the “devils” because of their military presence and influence their homeland and because of their support of Israel who they were enemies with (Eisendrath). To demonstrate his hatred toward the U.S., he decided it was best resort to violence and destroy one of the country’s most prized positions; the Twin Towers.
As can be imagined from such a horrific event such as the 9/11 Twin Tower attack, first responders had many physical consequences which included injuries due to climbing over piles of debris, digestive disorders, and respiratory disorders. While many first responders dug through the remnants of the Twin Towers, debris continued to fall onto them resulting in great injury, some of which included falling injuries like knee and ankle sprains and fractures, back injuries, and carpel tunnel due to repetitive motions (Smith). First responders also developed internal issues such as digestive and respiratory illnesses from breathing in the unhealthy air of the toxic dust cloud; many without a protective mask over their face. According to Claude Solnik, the toxic dust cloud was composed of, “Asbestos, glass fibers, lead, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyl, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and countless other toxins.” In other words, the toxic dust cloud first responders were breathing was very harmful to their bodies and resulted in many consequences like digestive and respiratory diseases. The most common digestive disorder seen in 9/11 first responders is chronic gastro-esophageal reflux disease in which stomach acid travels up the esophagus (Smith). Although this is a common disease for those not exposed to harmful particles and fumes such as the toxic dust cloud, it was discovered that first responders did not respond to any medication, making it a condition responders can never cure (Smith). First responders also struggle with respiratory conditions such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis due to the unhealthy air they breathed in (Smith). Often times responders receive steroids to help with their respiratory issues which thankfully tends to reduce the severity of the condition. Lots of precautions could have been taken to reduce the severity of these conditions, but with the world in such shock and panic, everyone was concerned with helping others, not their own safety.
Not only did first responders have to deal with a physical toll but they also endured phycological hardships like nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder, and “survivors’ guilt.” A few years ago, a study was done where first responders were interviewed on what their lives look like 15 years after the event of 9/11. Erin Smith explained that nightmares are built off “anxiety, stress, and insecurity” and were just one of many phycological hardship first responders consistently brought up in their interviews. One male EMT said he woke up even 15 years later, drenched in sweat because he had a dream that was a flashback to 9/11 (Smith). Many other responders said they would dream of “dead colleagues, something happening to their family, or other tragic events” (Smith). Nightmares were a painful reminder of their tragic past but were unavoidable for most. Many responders also explained their struggle with PTSD. In fact, 80% of the people interviewed in this study were diagnosed with PTSD following the 9/11 incident (Smith). After seeing so many friends, colleagues, and strangers die as well as seeing buildings crumble, it could be imagined that first responders would no longer be their old self after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Smith also discussed that through the interviews, he had learned that first responder’s PTSD had affected many families and marriages. Although living with PTSD is hard for 9/11 first responders, many have sought support and guidance throughout their struggle. Lastly, first responders said they struggled with “survivor’s guilt” which is categorized into three major sections. The first type is guilt about how they were alive while their other colleagues and friends died in the accident. The second type is guilt about what they failed to do in which they constantly replay the incident in their mind to figure out what they could have done better. The third category was guilt about what they did do to keep themselves alive like leaving others behind (Smith). First responders struggle with many negative phycological issues like nightmares, PTSD, and “survivor’s guilt” because they sacrificed themselves to help others in need.
Without a firsthand account of what took place on 9/11, it could never be fully understood the hardships first responders went through. Smith recorded an interview of many EMT’s who discussed the horrors they saw. They reflected on the horrible smells of dead bodies, metal, and burnt plastic as well as how they were required to dig through the rubble. One EMT spoke about how they would find whole bodies at first, some alive, and others dead, but as the days went on, they would find broken off body parts which they surprisingly considered a win (Smith). Throughout responder’s interviews, it was hard for them to answer the questions because it brought back such grief. There was another interview done of firefighter Ken Haskell who was officially off duty of 9/11 but was called into work on short notice. He ended up working on ground zero for many hours that day and served in many more months to come. He had two brothers both of who were fire fighters but unfortunately, they were on duty that day and lost their lives when the towers collapsed (“NYC Firefighters Share Memories From Ground Zero”). In his interview, Haskell said he “was in a unique position knowing that I was looking for my two brothers in addition to doing all of the responsibilities I had as a firefighter” (Qtd. In “NYC Firefighters Share Memories From Ground Zero”). After Haskell took a much-needed month off, he went back to work as a firefighter and said his first call back “was actually pretty strange that once I went to the fire, all of the stress and anxiety were gone. I felt most at ease, during a fire. … The fire went out. Nobody got hurt. And it was just something in the back of my mind that said, ‘This is going to be OK. We’ll survive this’” (Qtd. In “NYC Firefighters Share Memories From Ground Zero”). Ken Haskell’s captain names Jonas accounted his time within the World Trade Center before it was about to fall when he said, ‘the floor started to move, since the collapse started 1,300 feet away, the sound was off in the distance. And it got louder as it got closer. And you could hear the floors hitting the other floors, and it created tremendous vibrations in the stairway. You could also hear the sound of twisting steel all around you’ (Qtd. In “NYC Firefighters Share Memories From Ground Zero”). Although reading these firsthand stories can be difficult, without fully understanding these accounts, people today wouldn’t have the entire picture about what first responders went through on 9/11.
Both the physical and mental toll 9/11 brought upon first responders have had a lasting impact on them and their families. First responders even today, deal with the lasting physical and phycological issues related to the 9/11 Twin Tower terrorist attacks. Many died, leaving their families to mourn over their lost ones while others who survived need additional support from their families, and in some cases, needed professional help from doctors for physical needs, therapists for conditions such as PTSD, or phycologists for counselling. Unfortunately, this advance type of care comes at a fairly expensive price. The extensive health bills put a burden on families who now had an injured first responder and had no one to provide for their family (Smith). Even today, first responders and their families pay the price for their bravery of responding to the 9/11 attacks and will continue to impact them and their families physically and psychologically in the years to come.
In conclusion, nothing can be done to completely avoid tragic disasters such as the Twin Tower terrorist attacks, but much has been learned through it. The U.S. now knows how to better protect first responders and will be more educated and prepared in the future including providing better training and equipment for medical emergency teams (Eisendrath). Although first responders bravely answered the call for help, thousands of lives have been lost and those who live now have physical and phycological consequences because of their heroic actions.
