I read through the 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT, FINAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES here and it was indeed a sobering read.
My sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones iin that incident and it only goes to show that we must all be prepared in the event of emergencies.
Being interested in flashlights, i read through the report with particular attention to the necessity of flashlights (note "necessity" rather than "utility") and it was mentioned in a few parts of the report:-
"Still others remained alive in the impact zone above the 78th floor. Damage was extensive, and conditions were highly precarious. The only survivor known to have escaped from the heart of the impact zone described the 81st floor—where the wing of the plane had sliced through his office—as a "demolition" site in which everything was "broken up" and the smell of jet fuel was so strong that it was almost impossible to breathe. This person escaped by means of an unlikely rescue, aided by a civilian fire warden descending from a higher floor, who, critically, had been provided with a flashlight" (at marker 294 in the report);
The sacrifice of those involved in rescue attempts are something that i could not read without feeling a heart wrenching pain at the nobility of those people who put their lives on the line for others:
"The ESU team on the 11th floor began descending stairwell C after receiving the evacuation order. Once near the mezzanine level—where stairwell C ended—this team spread out in chain formation, stretching from several floors down to the mezzanine itself. They used their flashlights to provide a path of beacons through the darkness and debris for civilians climbing down the stairs. Eventually, when no one else appeared to be descending, the ESU team exited the North Tower and ran one at a time to 6 WTC, dodging those who still were jumping from the upper floors of the North Tower by acting as spotters for each other. They remained in the area, conducting additional searches for civilians; all but two of them died." (at marker 310)
Finally, the report goes on to tell us how we, as individuals should take it upon ourselves to be prepared for emergencies in all forms:-
"Preparedness of Individual Civilians. One clear lesson of September 11 is that individual civilians need to take responsibility for maximizing the probability that they will survive, should disaster strike. Clearly, many building occupants in the World Trade Center did not take preparedness seriously. Individuals should know the exact location of every stairwell in their workplace. In addition, they should have access at all times to flashlights, which were deemed invaluable by some civilians who managed to evacuate the WTC on September 11."
It was a sobering read but reinforces the idea that we must be prepared, i have spoken to the head of security for my company to request that (1) flashlights be issued to fire wardens on each floor; and (2) that fire drills and evacuation drills should be conducted with the lights off to simulate real life situations, after all, i don't think the lights might be working in a situation like that and a lot of smoke free emergency stairwells do not have windows.
Anyway, just wanted to share this with all of you and let's all be prepared people.
My sympathies to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones iin that incident and it only goes to show that we must all be prepared in the event of emergencies.
Being interested in flashlights, i read through the report with particular attention to the necessity of flashlights (note "necessity" rather than "utility") and it was mentioned in a few parts of the report:-
"Still others remained alive in the impact zone above the 78th floor. Damage was extensive, and conditions were highly precarious. The only survivor known to have escaped from the heart of the impact zone described the 81st floor—where the wing of the plane had sliced through his office—as a "demolition" site in which everything was "broken up" and the smell of jet fuel was so strong that it was almost impossible to breathe. This person escaped by means of an unlikely rescue, aided by a civilian fire warden descending from a higher floor, who, critically, had been provided with a flashlight" (at marker 294 in the report);
The sacrifice of those involved in rescue attempts are something that i could not read without feeling a heart wrenching pain at the nobility of those people who put their lives on the line for others:
"The ESU team on the 11th floor began descending stairwell C after receiving the evacuation order. Once near the mezzanine level—where stairwell C ended—this team spread out in chain formation, stretching from several floors down to the mezzanine itself. They used their flashlights to provide a path of beacons through the darkness and debris for civilians climbing down the stairs. Eventually, when no one else appeared to be descending, the ESU team exited the North Tower and ran one at a time to 6 WTC, dodging those who still were jumping from the upper floors of the North Tower by acting as spotters for each other. They remained in the area, conducting additional searches for civilians; all but two of them died." (at marker 310)
Finally, the report goes on to tell us how we, as individuals should take it upon ourselves to be prepared for emergencies in all forms:-
"Preparedness of Individual Civilians. One clear lesson of September 11 is that individual civilians need to take responsibility for maximizing the probability that they will survive, should disaster strike. Clearly, many building occupants in the World Trade Center did not take preparedness seriously. Individuals should know the exact location of every stairwell in their workplace. In addition, they should have access at all times to flashlights, which were deemed invaluable by some civilians who managed to evacuate the WTC on September 11."
It was a sobering read but reinforces the idea that we must be prepared, i have spoken to the head of security for my company to request that (1) flashlights be issued to fire wardens on each floor; and (2) that fire drills and evacuation drills should be conducted with the lights off to simulate real life situations, after all, i don't think the lights might be working in a situation like that and a lot of smoke free emergency stairwells do not have windows.
Anyway, just wanted to share this with all of you and let's all be prepared people.
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