Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11

When American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, local firefighters were the first responders to the inferno. A huge hole marked the point of impact of the jetliner, the building was doused in jet fuel , flames roaring out the hole with the people inside in various stages of awareness of what had just occurred. Within moments ordinary men and women stepped into the breech and began to do whatever needed to be done to try and rescue the building's occupants and to give aid to the injured. People from all walks of life join to do whatever need to be done at the scene. Fire crews from all over converged on the iconic building and began the work of trying to bring the fire under control. Military personal struggled to aid and rescue their comrades and to recover sensitive military files. Others commandeered materials and staff and set up triage and treatment for the wounded. Despite the possible loss of friends, coworkers and loved ones in the building or in the other terrorist attacks, these people kept working until they could no longer move. As the firefighters tackled the building, they also set in place a very unusual role reversal...the local firefighters were in command and the military took direction from them. Working together, the firefighters aided the military staff in recovery of sensitive files, discs and safes despite the sagging building. Pulled out by rumors of other jets attacks and pushed back by fire, the fire crews continued to battle, despite toxic fumes, falling buildings, personal loss and uncertainty , these crews return and continue the work. It would be easy to focus on the inevitable rivalry between military and civilian crews, between agencies on the scene. While the natural rivalries are mentioned, Patrick Creed and Rick Newman focus instead on the heroic contributions of the men and women on the scene. Step-by-step, minute-by-minute, day-by-day the fight to extinguish the fire and to rescue and recover are detailed in the days following the attack. Following several of the participants, an unforgettable portrait of courage and compassion emerges. I couldn't put this book down. When I finished I was overwhelmed with memories of that terrible day and the following weeks. I felt as if I had a small understanding of what a firefighter does (my son is a firefighter) and the willingness both firefighters and members of the military have to do whatever is necessary to preserve and protect. This is one of the five best books I have read in the last year. Firefight is an honest and compassionate portrait of ordinary people rising to the horrific challenge of 9/11.

Creed and Newman have done an excellent job of researching and writing about the fight to save the Pentagon. The depth of research via fact finding and interviews make this a great read. If you want the truth of the emergency response to the Pentagon on 9/11, FIREFIGHT is the book for you. It provides an inside-the-fence view of the enormous effort and heroic actions of the first responders. It describes in great accuracy the struggle of military personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers to save lives and protect our military's most important facility. I spent 11 days/nights at the Pentagon as an emergency responder. I walked the lawn near the Pentagon helipad tower, stepping on air plane parts with every movement. It was impossible not to. The ground was covered with them. I witnessed the raging fire and structural collapse of the building, as well as the evolution of Camp Unity, and the transition of command from Arlington County Fire Department to the FBI. I had a front row seat to many of the events described in this book. My friends, professional acquaintances, and those I met are in this book. Some are mentioned by name but many more are identified by the hard fought successes of those days. They are the heroes. FIREFIGHT takes you into the hearts and minds of those in the battle. The authors introduce you to average people who did extraordinary things. Creed and Newman don't glamorize or exaggerate the facts. They simply share them with you from the perspective of those who were there. When a Boeing 757 plowed into the Pentagon, men and woman raced into the fire to rescue the perishing. FIREFIGHT takes you into the blazing inferno immediately following the impact. It leads you into the scorched bowels of the Pentagon in the search for survivors and evidence. It walks you through the gruesome task of body recovery and respect for the lives lost. You will get a glimpse what it was like to be there. The sights and smells, fear and courage, victories and losses are all described in FIREFIGHT. You will not find conspiracy theories or in-depth information on the other incidents that occurred on 9/11. This is a focused look into the selfless acts of bravery that saved lives and avoided national security compromise when the Pentagon was attacked. In case you were wondering, yea, it was a plane. After stepping on/over and picking up so many parts, I can offer expert testimony. As much as some desire to believe otherwise, it was an American Airlines jet.

When you think of the horrendous events of September 11 2001, you can't help thinking of the towers of the World Trade Center, burning and then collapsing and killing thousands. The visual record of the events is enormous. The same goons that brought down the towers, though, were also responsible for the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. That act of terrorism is understandably overshadowed by what happened in New York, and more attention seems to have been paid also to United Airlines Flight 93 which was brought down in Pennsylvania, kept from hitting its target by brave and resistant passengers. Still, the Pentagon crash killed 59 passengers and crew and 125 people in the building. Evacuating the survivors and fighting the fire were huge tasks that were carried out with remarkable success. Over a hundred victims were transferred to hospitals, for instance, and only one of them died. Many of the rescuers were in serious danger, but none of them died. The success story is told in full in _Firefight: Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11_ (Ballantine Books) by Patrick Creed, a firefighter, and Rick Newman, a journalist. This account is big, but through the almost 500 pages, there is enough heroism, conflict, skill, and necessarily grim humor to make it a fascinating look at rescuers at a "career fire", the greatest challenge of their professional lives. The account starts with three firefighters on station, those who had the dull assignment of being at the Pentagon's helipad where nothing ever happened, and suddenly, "The plane was flying straight at them from the west, rapidly filling the sky like some kind of surreal 3-D video game." The plane, almost 100 tons including 11,000 gallons of jet fuel, slammed into the side of the Pentagon at 530 miles per hour and expended all its kinetic energy within eight tenths of a second. The fire at the Pentagon was more complicated than a comparable fire at, say, a warehouse or apartment building would have been. It was a work location, with thousands of employees within, and there was no way just to shut down the work for the day and evacuate. Another problem peculiar to the Pentagon was that there were so many secret documents and gadgets within. Some papers were just floating away in the winds. Others remained in safes that had melted closed so documents could not be retrieved, or they were sealed in safes that require two people to open, when one of the two might be dead or missing. A particularly difficult problem was that fire got under the thick slab of concrete covering the roof, with these flames proving the most intractable because they were inaccessible. It took three days to make sure all these were out, by the exhausting cutting of trenches in the roof as fire breaks. The roof housed the satellite linkages for everything the Pentagon does. If that electronic equipment had been touched by the fire, the Pentagon would have been cut off completely.

"Shoes. Bits of clothing. Wallet-size photographs. A suitcase. They were routine objects, unremarkable in ordinary life, yet it was hard to look at them. He felt a confusing mixture of sadness and anger that had been simmering inside, rapidly coming to a boil. As he sat on the bucket, engrossed by the sight of the everyday belongings on the ground in front of him, Titus realized that his feet were still dry. He was grateful for the small comfort." Patrick Creed and Rick Newman describe a FEMA worker's observations of the FBI evidence recovery operations on September 12, 2001. Patrick Creed's firefighting background and Rick Newman's writing talent combine to provide an incredibly detailed look at the efforts of the men and women who fought to save the Pentagon after Flight 77 crashed into the building. The story begins from the perspective of the Arlington County Fire Department, the "first responders" for the Pentagon. Fire Chief Ed Plaugher, the initial incident commander, quickly finds himself coordinating efforts in four different sections of the Pentagon, the largest low-rise office building in the world. To add to the confusion, the FBI arrived to investigate the crime scene; FEMA arrives to aid in the recovery efforts; and the incredible outpouring of individuals and organizations who simply want to help. By 6 pm on September 11, almost nine hours after the attack, the command structure is announced and the first signs of synergy among the various agencies finally emerge. The tales contained in this book range from the heart-wrenching to the downright humorous. Even with such a tragic event unfolding, it's hard not to laugh when you read of Nero the rescue dog who almost snaps at a wasp flying around Vice President Cheney's hand. The book's 463 pages go very quickly, as the book is very well written, although readers with a weak stomach should be prepared for some gruesome descriptions in the book. This book is an outstanding tribute to the men and women in blue who led the rescue and recovery efforts for the Pentagon.

"THE NOSE OF THE PLANE HIT THE FACADE JUST BELOW THE TOP OF THE FIRST STORY, ABOUT 14 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND, GOING 530 MILES PER HOUR. A DEAFENING BOOM SHOOK THE MORNING AS A VIOLENT CONCUSSION TORE THROUGH THE AIR, JARRING BYSTANDERS. THE COLLISION PRODUCED A FORCE ON THE PASSENGERS FAR GREATER THAN THAT FROM ANY HIGH-SPEED CAR CRASH. PEOPLE BECAME PROJECTILES. BONE SEPARATED FROM FLESH. BODY PARTS FLEW AS IF FIRED FROM A CANNON." ---------------------------------------------------------- September 11, 2001 the day America was violently and savagely attacked by terrorists on its own soil in the Continental United States. A preponderance of all the publicity that has followed the multiple attacks has been directed toward the World Trade Centers. After all, that was the first attack and had many more casualties, and the Pentagon which manages our worldwide military forces, has uncounted security issues, which by all common sense should not have as free access by the outside world. And that's what makes this book by author's Patrick Creed and Rick Newman even more remarkable in its detail and scope. When the Pentagon's design was unveiled in 1941, "its size and secrecy had made it one of the most intriguing buildings in the world. The structure was notoriously huge - its SIX MILLION SQUARE FEET of office space was three times larger than the Empire State Building." After the crash of Flight 77, fire crews were alerted from all over the Washington area, and as they all headed to the Pentagon, many of the men and women involved weren't even aware of what had transpired at the World Trade Centers. From this point out is where this story will add another dimension to every American's memory of this historical day of terrorist evil. When you are done reading this testimony to the way America's citizens, including but not limited to Firemen, Military, FBI, FEMA, construction workers, crane operators, policemen, and everyday American citizens, responded to our countries darkest hour, you will forever be able to see a `GIANT-SILVER-SIDE" to this dark cloud of cowardice against our citizens. I purposely said "SILVER-SIDE" instead of "lining", because the way our beloved American's performed was too bright to be nothing but a lining. As the Firemen arrived at the scene there were people running in and out of buildings, fire and smoke billowing to the sky, portions of the Pentagon were destroyed, multiple floors had pancaked down upon each other, and some floors were hanging by unknown forces. There were critically injured and burned people in need of immediate medical attention. Captain Jennifer Glidewell, an Army nurse along with an assistant tried to give medical care right in the main court yard. As things slowed down for a moment, a scene played out that made me proud to be an American, and I believe set an example for the type of spirit and teamwork that America needed to recover and fight back as a country. A man approached Captain Glidewell in a