7th Anniversary of September 11, Remembering Lars, Harry, Sal, and so many others

Today is September 11, 2008. It’s been seven years since that fateful day.

On September 11, 2001 I lost many good friends and colleagues. We all lost many fine citizens who just went to work that day. We also lost many of New York’s Bravest (FDNY), New York’s Finest (NYPD and PAPD), soldiers in the Pentagon, and those on the doomed aircraft. It’s a day none of us will ever forget.

On September 10, 2001 I was in Midtown Manhattan speaking at a seminar on emergency response and business continuity. The seminar was to be held in the World Trade Center on September 11, but it had to be moved to the Harvard Club and rescheduled because of the number of people who registered. Thank you to all who registered.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was speaking on the same subject, but this time it was in Boston’s Back Bay—at the Bull & Finch Pub of Cheers fame. Around 8:46 AM, I was asking the audience to picture themselves on the upper floor of a high rise building when the fire alarm sounds and they see smoke in the corridor. That was the situation faced by one of my clients when a multiple alarm fire in the Prudential Center ignited below them. That was back in January 1986. My client and everyone else in the Prudential Center evacuated safely—due to the heroic efforts of the Boston Fire Department—there were no automatic fire sprinklers at that time [there are now.]

On September 11, 2001 my friends, colleagues, and many fine Americans were not able evacuate safely. Their evacuation paths were cutoff…

I still see their faces when I pass people on the street. I can picture their faces in my mind and hear their voices in my head. I miss you guys—Lars, Harry, Sal, and too many others.

In the aftermath of 9/11, I had the opportunity to meet with staff of the 9/11 Commission—on the eve of the second anniversary of the attacks. I got to look at Ground Zero and remember everyone who was lost. In our discussion with the 9/11 Commission staff, we talked about preparedness. Emily Walker, the lead staffer from the Commission, relayed her painful discussions with family members of those who were lost that fateful day. She knew something more needed to be done. To condense months into a sentence, the 9/11 Commission embraced a recommendation for enhancing private sector preparedness. That recommendation has been echoed in multiple Federal laws and most recently in Title IX of Public Law 110-53. Let’s be better prepared. We owe it to Lars, Harry, Sal, and so many others.