Major 9/11 Breakthrough

[Peter Lemkin]

The company did a challenging project: http://911research.wtc7.net/cache/wtc/ar...vation.pdf

ACE Elevator was a participant or observer in the following events:

8:47 a.m.-10:28 a.m. September 11, 2001: Hundreds Die in WTC Elevators, as Elevator Mechanics Flee
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During the 9/11 catastrophe, around 200 people die in the WTC's elevators without getting help from elevator mechanics, according to an in-depth study later performed by USA Today. Some of the victims are burned by the initial explosion, some die as the elevator cars plummet when their cables are severed, and some are stuck and perish in the collapse. USA Today will say it "could not locate any professional rescues of people stuck in elevators. The Fire Department of New York and the Port Authority also could not cite successful rescues." After the North Tower is hit, most of the WTC's 83 elevator mechanics gather in the lobby of the South Tower, but when the second plane hits, they evacuate. In contrast, a passing elevator mechanic from another company runs into the WTC and dies trying to free trapped passengers. USA Today will comment: "When the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993, Otis Elevator's mechanics led the rescue of 500 people trapped in elevators. Some mechanics were dropped onto the roofs of the Twin Towers by helicopter. Others, carrying 50-pound oxygen tanks on their backs, climbed through smoke to machine rooms high in the towers. On Sept. 11, the elevator mechanicsmany of the same men involved in the rescues in 1993left the buildings after the second jet struck, nearly an hour before the first building collapsed." Although ACE Elevator, the local company which won the WTC contract from Otis in 1994, will say it was acting in accordance with procedure, USA Today will note: "The departure of elevator mechanics from a disaster site is unusual. The industry takes pride in rescues. In the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, elevator mechanics worked closely with the firefighters making rescues." Robert Caporale, editor of Elevator World will say, "Nobody knows the insides of a high-rise like an elevator mechanic. They act as guides for firefighters, in addition to working on elevators." The Port Authority will also say that their departure was in conflict with the emergency plan. "There was no situation in which the mechanics were advised or instructed to leave on their own." [USA Today, 12/19/2001; USA Today, 9/4/2002]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, ACE Elevator, New York Port Authority, Robert Caporale
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, [URL="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=911timeline"]9/11 Timeline
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Phil, maybe they were just feeling guilty about their recent refurbishment.....and didn't want to face the comments or interviews about it.....or have anyone see their faces!!!!!!! - perhaps even take a photo of them during of a rescue!

They got the hell out of Dodge - fast! Try to get a list of names...one can't.

While they mostly [like all elevator companies in large buildings] worked nights; there were many reports of elevators out of service and general power outages for large groups of floors in the weeks and days just before 911.