NY B30 PA Police Reports 2 of 2 Fdr- Shuhala- Det Michael S 310

8/14/2019 NY B30 PA Police Reports 2 of 2 Fdr- Shuhala- Det Michael S 310

1/4

1HE PORT AUTHORITY [F R[R7 O & D M E M O R A N D U MO F F I CE O F I NS PE C TO R G E N E R A L

TO: Chief Inspector Thomas FarrellF R O M : M ichae l S. ShuhalaDATE: December 12, 2001SUBJECT: September 11 , 2001

On September 11, 2001, at about 8:48 A.M., I had just signed on to my computerat the Office of the Inspector, suite 7 7 67 at One World Trade Center. At the mom ent thatth e plane crashed into th e Bu ilding One, there were tw o rapid explosions, most likely th eplane slamming into th e bui ld and the subsequent fuel explosion. The concussive shockknocked me from my seat onto the floor. W hen I rose to my feet, the bu ildin g wasrocking like a boat at sea. W hen the bu ilding stopped rocking, I went to the secretary'swork area in the Inspector General's office when the other Inspector General officepersonnel ha d gathered.One of the other investigators, James O'Sullivan, ra n into th e office yell ing that itmust have been a bomb and that the hall way w as destroyed. I ran into the hall to inspectth e damage. T he ceilings were destroyed and the sheet rock w as blown from th e walls,which covered the elevator shafts and mechanical rooms and they were aflame. Ipromptly found a fire extingu isher and attempted to douse the flames.The hallway of the 7 7 th floor started to fill with panic stricken people. They ha dexited from stairwell "C". They were screaming that the door at the 7 6 th floor was lockedan d there was no way to escape. Some were clamoring for a key to unlock th e door.Knowing that there was no key, I went down to 7 6 th door to investigate. The handle w as

cool and was free but the door would only open about one half of an inch. I tried kickingth e door and was joined by two laborers. One of the men stated that they had come fromthe 91st floor when th e incident occurred. They stated that they were knocked down andtheir work positions on the floor filled up with smoke. They p rom ptly evacuated thearea. One of the men picked up a fire extinguisher and attempted to bash th e sheet rocknext to the doorjamb. The sheet rock dimpled and cracked bu t w o u l d not break through.At this point the contractor's helper started to panic and cry that he was trapped andwould die on the floor. Th e crowd became v ery agitated beh ind us. I calm ed his fearsand instructed everyone to follow me back to the Inspector General's office.

After I led the group back th e Inspector General's office, I returned to the hal l w ayto beat back the flames once more. I joined Inspector General Investigator Edward Chooin this battle. After my fire extinguisher w as expended and the water pressure fell, th eflames were abated but not completely extinguished. W e went back th e office and I


2/4

Chief Inspector Thomas FarrellDetective Michael S. ShuhalaPage TwoDecember 12,2001

called the Police Officer Meggitt at the World Trade Center Police Desk to report the firean d damage. I then grabbed a flashlight and departed down the "A" stairwell at about9:10A.M.

Conditions were slow going on the stairwell due to the volu m e of people. Youwou ld m ove two or three steps at a time and stop. Every second or third floor would befilled with smo ke th at lasted one or two floors then the stairwell wo uld become clear. Itwas most surprising that the fire alarms an d strobe lights were no activated.

A t about or between the 48 th an d 45 th floor, I met Superintendent FerdinandMarrone and Police Inspector An thony Infante. Michael Nestor, the D eputy InspectorGeneral, stopped M r. Marrone an d asked where he was going. M r. Marrone was veryfatigued and sweating profusely. He had to lean on the banister to reply to Mr. Nestor.He stated that he and Infante were going to access the damage on the roof.I began to see New York City Fire Fighters trudging up the stairs with all theirequipment. The going was laboriously slow for the firefighters. They had to squeeze

past the descending people with all their gear. They wo uld stop on every fifth floor torest from the oppressive heat.O n or abou t the 35th floor, I met with Chief Inspector Rom ito. Chief Ro mitoinformed m e that this was a terrorist attack because the Pentagon had been attacked. He

also told me not to tell the people in the stairway to prevent a panic situation. A t thatpoint, Captain Kathy Mazza interrupted our conversation stating that the Fire Departmentneeded his assistance on that floor.

I con tinu ed down the stairs and switched staircases to the "B" stairs w ithInspector General personnel. I started down the stairs and began to assist an elderlywoman. The woman was compla in ingof a fainting from heat exhaustion. A PortAuthori ty emplo yee, A nthony Gross, had given me a towel an d bott le of water. Iwrapped the wet towel around her neck an d kept it wet to prevent her from fainting.

When we reached the 15 th floor, the bu ildin g started to vibrate an d shake. I heardloud explosions and ru m blings in the background. The stairwell shifted and gave out aloud me tal on m etal groan. The stairwell then twisted back into place with another loud


3/4

Chief Inspector Thomas FarrellDetective M ichael S. Shuh alaPage ThreeDecember 12 ,2001

groan. The lights went out. At that point th e stairwe ll became filled with smoke an ddust . The patrons froze and started to panic once more. The panic stopped w hen I passedmy flashlight forward and the group became confident to start m ovin g again. I was ableto contin ue the descent w ith my elderly charge.The firemen started to leave the building at that point with none of theirequipment.

Upon arriving at the fifth floor, wa ter was cascading down th e staircase like a fastmoving river. This made th e descent very perilous at this poin t. It was difficult to walkthought water, as it tended to push you down th e stairs. It became difficult to aid theelderly woman and to navigate th e area. Much to my relief, I finally reached th e lobby.M y relief was short lived. I entered th e lobby by the m iddle bank of elevators.Luckily, I recognized where I was located bu t much to my dismay, th e lobby of Build ingOne was debris strewn and in shambles. I had to lead an d help the elderly woman overvarious debris piles as we tried to exit through the turnstile s and out the W est Streetdoors. W hen we arrived at the West Street doors, the elde rly lady froze, screaming, "Helpthem. I can't leave w itho ut helping them. I looked down and saw that the drive way was

littered with bodies. I told the wom an tha t there was n othing that we could do at thatpoint and to keep moving. She was frozen solid in place. An other unkno wn young manwho had accompanied us down the stairs was pull ing her arms forward while I waspushing her forward. She wo uld not budge. Fina lly she moved. W e made our way northtoward a fire truck that was parked at the edge of the VIP Drive an d West Street. We hadto mo ve carefully through th e debris an d over the fire hoses that had been laid in the area.There w as a fireman yelling to get away from the build ing. When w e reached the firetruck, the fireman grabbed the wo man and took her to the right of the fire truck. I we ntaround to my left an d passed th e truck.When I was clear of the canopy, the scene was surreal. It looked as if there was

blizzard of ash and papers floating through the air. I looked up and saw flames an ddebris shooting out of the uppe r floors of Tower One.I reached the corner of Vesey and W est Streets and saw the Port A utho rity PoliceCommand Vehicle. The first person I met was De tective Sergeant Z ika w as just about toalight the vehicle. I requested a drink of wa ter because I was exhausted from the smokeinhalation and torrid tem peratures of the stairwells. Someone said, "Duck!" Captain


4/4

Chief Inspector Thomas FarrellDetective Michael S. Sh u h a l aPage FourDecember 12,2001Anthony W hitaker grabbed me and threw me behind the truck. W e huddled behind thetruck as the bu ildin g came down. The sound w as d e a fe n in g .The street w as bounc ing likea trampoline. After a few moments, someone screamed, "Run north as fast as you can!"

I ran north and got as far as Chambers and West when the debris cloud envelopedme. I dove between two New York City police vans. The cloud was a like hot wind. A sI was lying in the street, I felt l ittle balls breaking over my body. It felt l ike someone waspelting m e with spitbal ls . I opened m y eyes and could not see a thing. I blindly felt m yway around the around the police van to find shelter from the maelstrom. I found th ehandle and the door opened. I crawled inside. The v an was filled wi th firemen. Isqueezed into the van between th e rear space and the last seat. The cloud seemed to lastan eternity. Once th e cloud lifted and it became light out, I left th e van.

Detective Ronald Mendenhal l intercepted me. He offered me an old used towelto rinse off the ash, soot and debris un der a fire hyd rant. I then we nt off to the stagingarea at the Manhat tan Com mu nity Col lege gymnas ium.

I left the gym at about 6:00 P.M. after th e form er Inspector Joseph M orris excusedth e troops. I sought a medica l examina t ion wi th m y personal physician.~ .- " " ~ f\r\

I returned to duty ,Septem ber 17, 2001 after being cleared by the Office of Medical services.

Respectful ly^ubmit ted,

Michael S/ShuhalaDetective #50Office of Inspector General

Documents

NY B30 PA Police Reports 2 of 2 Fdr- Shuhala- Det Michael S 310