Rescue Efforts Made After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 - Case Study Example

Effective Operation Command Effective Operation Command 1 Introduction: 1 The events of 9/11: 3 Motives for the attacks: 7 Personnel Involved: 8 Problems that were faced: 14 The changes and solution: 16 Conclusion: 18 Reference: 18 Introduction: The global community today faces a number of dangers, be it from the natural forces or from man made hazards. Thus, in all societies today there have been developed a highly evolved system to hazard control so that in case an emergency takes place the personnel is well trained and in place to take control of the situation and ensure that the situation is bought under control. In this paper, an analysis of the rescue efforts made after the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001 would be analyzed to understand the responses of the key personnel involved in the rescue work. The aim of the paper is to trace the events that took place, and then critically analyze the role that was played by the personnel who were involved in rescuing people. The paper attempts to understand the rescue strategy adopted by the personnel during such an emergency situation and find out whether the responses and the operational command adopted were effective or not. The paper would describe the nature and extent of the event, analyse the response of the emergency services and other key stakeholders and critically discuss the response of the key command personnel involved. As the terrorist attacks of 9/11 was of huge proportion, it required equal amount of coordination between the personnel of the rescue team. This paper would attempt to understand how the team worked on that faithful day to save several lives and the plan of action to handle such crisis situations. The scope of the case study that is going to be undertaken in this paper cannot be undermined, as it looks into a topic which is of significant importance in the current times (Griffin, David Ray, 2007, pp 167- 190). The case study would provide a thorough understanding on how the rescue personnel reacted and rescued people during such a big crisis situation. This study would help in understanding the course of action that should be undertaken in such a case in the future. This will allow for the development of a better understanding of the role of the personnel than if a simple essay is developed, as it will take into consideration the role that it played by such teams during the time of a crisis, and evaluate the short comings of the system that is in place. The last section of the paper will look into the various changes that can be bought to the system to ensure that a more practical and effective team is put into place to look into and tackle such situations, if and when they occur in the future. The events of 9/11: Even before understanding the role of the personnel involved in the rescue operations, it is important to analyse the events of the day as well. This would help in establishing the magnitude of the event and the effort required from the personnel to control the disaster. This will help in developing a more clear understanding of the entire course of events, and it is only with the given scenario of the chain of events that took place on the day that a more clear understanding of the role that was played by the involved authorities be understood and comprehended in a holistic manner. The following section of the paper traces the chain of events that took place in the region, so that the magnitude of the occurrences of 9/11 can be clearly realised. On the 11th of September in 2001, the world observed the occurrence of one of the worst terrorist attacks that has ever been faced. On the morning of the day 19 Al- Qaeda terrorists hijacked four of the commercial airlines which were en route to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The flights were hijacked from Boston, Newark and from the Washington Dulles International Airport. Two of the flights that were hijacked were crashed into the World Trade Centre, while one was crashed into the pentagon. In the last plane that was hijacked, there was experienced resistance from the passengers, and it crashed in a field which was located near Shanks Ville in Stony Creek Township. An interview that was given out by Khali sheikh Mohammad, who had masterminded the entire attack, revealed that the fourth plane had been heading for United States Capitol. At the time of 8: 46 am American Airline Flight 11 the first hijacked plane was crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, which was soon followed by the United Airlines Flight 175 which hit the second building of the World Trade Centre, which is the South Tower at 9: 03 am. A second group of hijackers attacked the Pentagon at 9: 37 am when they crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the west wing of the Pentagon. The attacks that took place on the 11th were well planned out events which were executed with precision even though there were a number of security measures that were installed in place at the airport. The reports of the attack show that during the hijack, the hijackers used knives to subdue the passengers, and kill the pilots and the co pilots (Williams, Eric D, 2006, pp 67- 90). In fact many of the phone calls from the planes that had been hijacked at the time reported that the hijackers used weapons to stab and kill the personnel on the flights including the flight attendants as well as the pilots who were flying the plane. The phone calls have indicated that knives were used by the hijackers on the flights to kill the attendants as well as at least one passenger on board. The passengers from the hijacked planes were able to make phone calls through the cabin phones as well as through their cell phones, and the details they provide included the fact that the hijackers used a number of weapons including, tear gas or pepper spray, and that a number of passengers were attacked. In fact the commission that was set up to look into the event that is the 9/11 commission later determined the fact that two of the identified hijackers had purchased multifunctional hand tools days before the attack. The failure of security and checking at the time of boarding cannot be denied and this provides for one of the most important problems in any situation (Douglas Hubbard, 2009, p 46). Following the crashing of the planes, the buildings burnt and then collapsed. On the day of the attack, three of the buildings of the World Trade Centre collapsed due to the fact that the crashes caused fire which led to structural failure. The first building to collapse was the South Tower, which collapsed at approximately 9: 59 am after burning for almost 56 minutes. The fire that was caused in the building was a result of the impact of the crash of the United Airlines Flight 175 into the building. The North Tower was the next building that collapsed, after it had burnt for almost 102 minutes at approximately 10: 28 am. The collapse of the debris of the North Tower set of the fire in the third building which was the 7 World Trade building, and the damage to the building was caused mainly due to the fact that the collapsing parts of the North Tower fell on the building setting it on fire and damaging its structure completely. The third fire lasted for a long time, and was during this the main reason for the collapse of 7 World Trade Centre which collapsed at around 5: 21 pm in the evening, after the crumbling of the East Penthouse. The loss of property was no comparison to the loss of human lives that was experienced during the occurrence of these events. The final reports on 9/11 reveal that the total number of deaths that was recorded was over 6, 000 (CBC News, 2004). On the day of the attack the number of deaths that were recorded was around 2, 996 where 19 of the number were the hijackers while the other 2, 977 of the deaths were the victims of the attacks that took place. Of the total death toll, 246 were the passengers on the flight, 5 were the personnel that were killed in pentagon, while the rest were the victims of the collapse of the World Trade Centre, and be it in the building or on the ground. A number of personnel who were involved in the rescue mission also lost their lives during the collapse, where the records reflect that 411 of the emergency workers died while trying to rescue the people from the collapsing buildings, where the largest group was from New York City Fire Department who lost 341 firefighters while trying to evacuate the buildings, and rescuing people from the debris. Other than that the personnel from the police departments of the region also lost men. Personnel Involved: The attacks of the 9/11 were on huge scale, and there were a number of departments that were involved in the rescue mission. The main departments that responded to the occurrence of the crashes and the collapse of the buildings were the fire department, which looked into controlling the damage of the building and ensuring that the evacuation took place at the speediest, the police department which also looked at ensuring that the people in the area were evacuated and that the streets were cleared so that the least amount of damage could be done (Burnett, J.J, 2006, pp 475- 488), and the paramedics who provided the medical aid that was required by those who escaped and had gotten hurt. There were a number of other departments that are also linked with the events of the 11th of September 2001, such as the intelligentsia of the country, the security personnel at the airports from where the planes took off, which are Boston, Washington and Newark. The role of these departments will be discussed in the later half of the paper, as these departments look into the security and its maintenance, which they clearly failed to perform on the day of the attacks. In this section of the paper the role of the personnel who respond to the emergency will be discussed, and the significance of these services will be established. The personnel who are in the field of risk management are given training in dealing with cases of emergency or how one should react in a crisis situation. Risk assessment is an important part of the job profile, and based on these they plan out the procedure that is to be followed in case of emergencies. Risk assessment is the process of determining the magnitude of risk or threat involved in a particular situation. It deals with the analysis of the situation that can develop and the problems that may be caused and then deduces methodologies to prevent these situations or development of ways to deal with such problems as and when they may arise (Alexander, Carol and Sheedy, Elizabeth 2005). Once the crashing of the planes into the South and the North tower took place, the fire department, the police force in the area and the medics were all dispatched to the site immediately. The role of the police and the fire department in the evacuation process was empirical. In fact the evacuation process was started and directed by the fire department personnel in the South Towers, where they placed themselves in strategic areas so that they could direct the crowd of the people in the buildings towards the exits and ensure that the people kept moving and did not hold up the people behind them. They also provided assistance to those who were injured (Borodzicz, Edward, 2005, Online). The departments of the police in the region were quick to respond to the emergency when it occurred, and there was immediate assistance that was sent to the site to ensure that the evacuation of the site took place. During the occurrence of any event the police authority of the region has to be quick to respond, as they are the local authority figures who have to come to the aid of the people at the time of any crisis or emergency. There were mainly two departments that was functional during the crisis, the NYPD that is the New York Police Department and the PAPD, which is the Port Authority Police Department. The police immediately looked at ensuring that the surrounding streets were evacuated, and the people who were leaving the twin towers were moved from the immediate surroundings, as it was the area that was marked as the risk zone. The reports reflect that the evacuation was not all that fast as the police did not enough vehicles to move the people out, and most of the people who had to evacuate had to do it on foot. The role of the police personnel was highly significant as they closed the street to the public, and ensured that the people who were on the road were evacuated from the area. The police personnel also helped in the clearance of the twin towers during the fires so that the maximum number of people could be rescued (Morgan, Rowland; Ian Henshall, 2001, pp 3). The role of the police cannot be undermined and there has to be realized that a number of police men lost their lives during the evacuation process when the buildings collapsed, where the NYPD lost 23 officers and the Port Authority Police Department lost 37 of its officers. There has to be realized that after the attacks took place, the airports of the country were closed for the next three days, and all international flights were cancelled. The airports personnel had to ensure that all the flights were directed towards Canada or Mexico. The personnel in these countries also had to ensure that the security during this time period was maintained. Another area that is always required during the occurrence of any emergency is that of the medical assistance. There has been observed that at the time of emergency the role of the medics is required, and this holds true for the occurrences that took place on the 11th of September also. The medics at the time were required to provide assistance to those who were escaping the burning buildings, and had breathed in a lot of smoke or injured themselves while trying to escape the building. There were a number of medics who were involved in the rescue mission after the crashes took place, and the records reflect that 8 EMTs and EMS died during the rescue mission. The role of the medical emergency teams at such times cannot be negated, as they help provide important services to those who may be injured or who may require assistance. During the collapse of the World Trade Centre and even after during the rescue mission the role of the medic was of extreme importance as they helped move those who had survived the collapse to the hospitals and ensure that they were provided proper aid and medical attention. These are some of the most important personnel that were involved in the rescue mission that took place in New York during and after the collapse of the twin towers. The role of the personnel was important not only during the time of the collapse of the buildings but even after the buildings had collapsed, where there was observed that the site of the collapse was seen as the danger zone. The fire department was still putting out fires, while the rescue mission continued for weeks for those individuals who had survived the collapse of the buildings but were buried under the debris of the buildings and were unable to move (Barkun, Michael, 2003). The personnel from these departments provided their assistance to ensure that the people were rescued, and later to ensure that the bodies of those who had died in the collapse were recovered. Right after the attack on the North Tower, the New York City Fire Department reacted immediately and the firefighters from the department reached the spot within minutes. The post of incident command was established at the North Tower lobby at around 8:50 am. The chief of the department in fact handled the entire incident command at around 9:00 am, before the South Tower was hit. As the debris was constantly falling from the Tower, the chief decided to change the incident command location to the West Street. However, many of the firefighters remained at the lobby in order to operate the elevators, alarm systems, communication systems etc. The fire chief initially focused on evacuating the people from the building and sent firefighters to help out people from trapped floors and elevators (Fritsch 2001). Various staging areas were erected near the site so that the firefighters were given instructions about the rescue operation. However, due to the chaos many firefighters went into the building without halting in the staging areas, which resulted in miscommunication between the units. Further, there were issues with the radio communication which resulted in loosing contact with the firefighters. Also, the repeater system inside the Towers was not functioning properly because of the plane crash. This also resulted in miscommunication between the commanders and the firefighters. Also, the firefighters were not able to hear the command about evacuation orders. Many firefighters even came to site to help without their radios. The fire department also did not coordinate properly with the NYPD who had helicopter services and even with EMS dispatchers. Many firefighters were not aware of the situation as they did not have access to full information about the situation. At the time of the collapse of the South Tower, the North Tower firefighters had no idea about the situation and even when the evacuation orders were given over the radio, many did not hear about it due to faulty radios. This resulted in the loss of several lives. With the South Tower collapsing, the command post was also impacted as the entire situation turned into chaos. After the collapse of both the towers, the command post was shifted to the firehouse at Greenwich Village (Cohen et al 2002). For the entire rescue operation, the fire department had deployed around 200 units, with 121 fire engines, 62 ladders and other such units. Not only the New York city fire department but the units from Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester County etc also assisted in the rescue operation. Besides the firefighters, EMTs, doctors and other medical staff were also in full force to help in the rescue operations. The EMT arrived at the site at 8:53 am and established its staging area near the North Tower but moved to the West Streets later. The EMS chiefs stated that they were not able to properly communicate with the team due to problems with radios. Although, by around 9:45 another dispatch channel was given for the medical chiefs, many were not aware of it, which also resulted in lack of communication. The EMS personnel were in a chaotic position after the collapse of the towers and later regrouped and formed two groups to treat the casual injuries and serious injuries separately. The medical supplies were bought from the neighboring hospitals. However, not many patients arrived to be treated and later the EMS personnel realized that there were very less survivors and therefore, the staging area was closed (Cohen et al 2002). The police also responded very quickly and established its incident command center near the Vesey Street and Church Street. The New York City Policy Department (NYPD) also used its helicopters to find out about the burning of the building. The police also helped in evacuating the people from the Lower Manhattan area. The entire police team worked in shifts after days of the incident to help in the rescue operations (Rashbaum 2001). Following the attack, the captains of the local boats also helped in the rescue operation by assisting in the evacuation and providing water and other supplies. Problems that were faced: During the process of evacuation after the crashes had taken place, a number of problems were faced. One of the most important problems that were faced was the lack of communication and coordination among the various departments on the site who were working towards the evacuation of the personnel from the area. The role of the NYPD, the Port Authority Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the Emergency Services Unit cannot be denied (Taibbi, Matt, 2008, pp 288). Although all departments were quick to dispatch personnel to the site, the instructions were not very clear. The FDNY had faulty radio communicators and were unable to coordinate or communicate properly, which is why they were unable to evacuate the buildings at the time of collapse as they had no warning. In fact after the collapse of the South tower the FDNY commanders did issue commands of evacuation but due to the experiencing of technical problems with the radio systems of the personnel, the command could not be communicated in time, which led to the loss of a large number of personnel when the building collapsed (Alexander, Carol and Sheedy, Elizabeth, 2005, Online). Another area of trouble that was faced during the collapse was that those who were stuck above the area of impact on the building did not have a way to escape. Although some of the people did climb the stairs towards the roof where the helipads were for evacuation, the doors on the top were locked, and the civilians in the buildings could not evacuate. There has to be ensured that the emergency exists of the buildings are all always open so that the people can escape in cases of emergency. These were some of the main areas where problems were faced during the September 11 attacks. The lack of communication and assistance during the emergency on 9/11 has been a cause of debate among the scholars since the year of 2001. In the wake of the tragedy there have been many journals which have looked at the security measures that are in place in the country, and tried to evolve better systems of maintenance of safety in the country. One such report was developed in the International Public Management Journal, where the editor Steve Kelman states that- “This symposium brings together some of the world’s most distinguished organization scholars to discuss the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks from the perspective of organizational management. The U.S. government had organizations in place before September 11 whose mission was preventing such attacks. A massive terrorist attack nonetheless occurred. It is fair to ask whether these organizations might reasonably have been expected to stop the attack, and how they might do a better job in the future.” Conclusion: In conclusion it can be said that the case study reflects that the role of the personnel and the agencies who are involved in the rescue mission cannot be undermined or denied, but there has to be ensured that the various forces that are working in the field are coordinated and can function as one large unit. The lack of communication is still one of the biggest problem and challenge that is facing the civilian society today, and this has to be resolved in order to ensure that the over all effectiveness of such missions is maintained in the long run. The role of the personnel who aid the civilians at the times of such crisis has to be understood, and there has to be greater emphasis laid on the fact that the training of these personnel is carried out. One of the most important problems that was faced during the commencement of the rescue mission was that there was a lack of channels between the various agencies who were involved in the rescue mission and there has to be ensured that in the future this short coming can be overcome. There has to be greater coordination between the various departments who are involved in the rescue mission so that the entire process is carried out in a more efficient and effective manner with the least amount of losses of resources or personnel. Reference: Alexander, Carol and Sheedy, Elizabeth (2005). The Professional Risk Managers' Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Current Theory and Best Practices. PRMIA Publications, accessed at ISBN 0-9766097-0-3 on September 2, 2010. Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. University of California Press  Borodzicz, Edward (2005). Risk, Crisis and Security Management. New York: Wiley, accessed at ISBN 0-470-86704-3 on September 2, 2010.   Burnett, J.J (2006). Strategic Approach to Managing Crises, Public Relations Review, 24(4): p. 475-488. CBC News (2004). Bin Laden claims responsibility for 9/11, October 29, 2004. Douglas Hubbard (2009). The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It? pg. 46, John Wiley & Sons, pub 2009.   Cohen, Steven, William Eimicke and Jessica Horan (September 2002). "Catastrophe and the Public Service: A Case Study of the Government Response to the Destruction of the World Trade Center". Public Administration Review 62: 24. Fritsch, Jane (September 12, 2001). "A Day of Terror - The Response: Rescue Workers Rush In, and Many Do Not Return". New York Times. Griffin, David Ray (2007). Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory.. Olive Branch Press, pp 167-190. Kelman S (2005). Who failed on 9/11?, International Journal of Public Management, Vol 8, no 3, pp 3-9. Marrs, Jim (2006). The Terror Conspiracy: Deception, 9/11 and the Loss of Liberty. Disinformation Company, pp 98-130 Morgan, Rowland; Ian Henshall (2001). 9/11 Revealed: The Unanswered Questions, The New York Time October 26 2001, pp 3. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (2004), accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Commission_Report on September. Rashbaum, William K. (September 17, 2001). "Police Officers Swiftly Show Inventiveness During Crisis". The New York Times. Taibbi, Matt (2008). 'The Great Derangement' A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire. Spiegel & Grau. p. 288. Williams, Eric D. (2006). 9/11 101: 101 Key Points that Everyone Should Know and Consider that Prove 9/11 Was an Inside Job. Booksurge Publishing, pp 67- 90. Read More