Fireman Recalls 'a Nightmare' in WTC

Sept. 10, 2002 -- My name is Billy Green and this is what happened to me on Sept. 11, 2001.

I am a fireman at Engine 6 of the New York City Fire Department, which is located just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center. I was working a 24-hour shift Sept. 10, to go off duty at 0900 hours on Sept. 11, 2001. It was a good tour. I was working with a great bunch of guys. We had a covering lieutenant supervising the company, Lt. Thomas O'Hagan [covering means substituting in another firehouse]. He seemed to fit right in with our company.

Paul Beyer had made a delicious chicken dinner. Tom Holohan and I were studying for the upcoming promotional exam. We were tossing questions back and forth. Paul was getting most of the questions right. Lt. O'Hagan was giving us pointers on how to study.

It was a pretty quiet night tour. Not too many runs. I had the late watch. I made some fresh coffee about 0715 hours.

At Approximately 0815 hours Engine 6 received an EMS run for a medical emergency at the Governor Smith housing project. Engine 6 responded with the men working this 6 x 9 tour [6 p.m. to 9 a.m.]: Paul Beyer, Tom Holohan, Jack Butler, Lt. O'Hagan and myself. We made contact with an unconscious Chinese woman in her 90s. We administered first aid and prepared her for transport. An ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and we assisted the EMTs to bring her down to the ambulance.

‘Looked As If a Bomb Had Exploded’

We were returning from this call, waiting at a stop sign at the corner of Avenue of the Finest and Rose Streets, which is right by 1 Police Plaza, when we heard a very loud explosion. I saw a police officer pointing towards the World Trade Center. We looked up and saw a large hole in the north tower of the WTC. It looked as if a bomb had exploded in the north wall. The hole looked to be on about the 80th floor. It was a big jagged hole maybe involving three stories. Many papers came flying out, and smoke started to pour out

Lt. O'Hagan reached for the department radio and transmitted a second alarm and a 10-60 signal for the World Trade Center. A 10-60 signal is a code for a disaster. We headed towards the scene. First, down Gold Street. A right on Beekman Street.

The firehouse is located on 49 Beekman St. Two firefighters had run out to the street with their bunker gear. It was Bill Johnston and Bob Emans. They were both scheduled to work the following 9 x 6 tour [9 a.m. to 6 p.m.]. They had heard the explosion too, and knew there was a job. They jumped on the apparatus.