NY, DC attacks underscore dedication, sacrifice
Many stories are emerging from the Sept. 11 atrocity in which hijackers took the lives of hundreds of airline passengers along with thousands more in New York and Washington.
At least 25,000 people were evacuated safely from the New York World Trade Center. Nearly 5,500 people were killed or are missing and 8,700 were injured in New York; in Washington, DC; and Pennsylvania.
Hundreds of members of the Fire Department of New York responded, including firefighters, fire officers, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and others. Thirty-four members of the department have been confirmed as killed in the line of duty. Another 309 members are missing. Another 186 members were injured, with nine still hospitalized as of this writing, some in critical condition.
Twenty-three members of the New York Police Department are listed as having died in the line of duty.
We have no way to number other public safety workers and citizen volunteers who may have been sacrificed or injured while assisting in evacuations, including Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police, security and other staff working at the World Trade Center, and Pentagon employees. What is certain is that many thousands survived the fires and rapid building collapses thanks in large measure to well-trained, dedicated and selfless public safety workers.
Our mission in publishing our magazine and Web site is to gather and disseminate information that helps radio communications professionals in a variety of ways based on technology, operations and regulation. The radio communications perspective is a small, yet important, piece of the greater story of efforts to cope with the immediate emergency and the following recovery connected with the losses of Sept. 11. In focusing our coverage on that aspect, we do our job.
As we go about that job, we are humble in our recognition of sacrifices made by members of the Fire Department of New York, the New York Police Department, other public safety agencies and volunteers in their immediate response to the World Trade Center disaster. We are grateful for their dedication and courage, and we offer our sympathy to those who were injured and to the families, friends and colleagues of those who were lost.
Last month’s issue went to press at the same time news was breaking about the attacks on New York and Washington. This issue is going to press as news is breaking about American and British armed forces launching a coordinated attack on Taliban-controlled military installations and on Al Qaeda-operated training camps in Afghanistan, along with an airlift of food and medical supplies for the Afghan people. We hope for the safety of the U.S. military and those of American allies as they are placed in harm’s way to stop the forces of terrorism.
Attacks affect industry
For more in-depth coverage see www.mrtmag.com
- From Fire Department Dispatch: A First-person Account, by Frank Raffa
- Terrorist Attacks Fall on National 9-1-1 Day
- FEMA Mobilizes Task Force to Assist New York in World Trade Center Disaster
- Metrocall’s Jacoby Dies in Crash of American Airlines Flight 77
- Telecom Attorney and Former FCC Official Karen Kincaid Among Hijacking Victims
- World Trade Center Amateur Radio Volunteers Bearing Up Well
- Subcarrier Communications Offers Rent-free Assistance to Replace Sites
- Nextel Lends Phones, Boosts Capacity to Aid Disaster Recovery on East Coast
- Motorola Responds to Emergency With 86 Truckloads of Communications Gear
- ITA Leadership Moves to Cancel Conference
- PCIA cancels GlobalXChange, event not to be rescheduled
