Yeshiva University Commentator -- Special Edition; September 12th 2001

Hatzolah Assists In Relief Effort
by Shai Barnea

In the minutes following the first World Trade Center assault, a distress signal was dispatched to all emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and trained medical personnel. Several members of the Yeshiva community risked their lives in a frantic rush to Wall Street, hoping to rescue survivors of the blast.

"When I first received the special request from the Hatzolah field director, I thought that we were being sent to search for victims of an airplane accident. Little did I know that our lives were in danger. By the time we finally arrived at the scene, we realized that this was a terrorist attack and we immediately began trying to help," explained Ryan Hyman, Yeshiva College alumnus and current Assistant Director of Admissions.

The volunteers that arrived at the World Trade Center shortly after 9 A.M. received no official direction. "When we first arrived there, it was pandemonium. No one was told where to go," recounted Hatzolah EMT Gary Snitow. "Basically, we helped whoever we saw." Shortly thereafter, the volunteers were forced to treat throngs of victims.

"We were standing less than two blocks away from the Twin Towers and we heard something that sounded like an explosion," said Hyman. "Once I saw the first building fall, I just turned around, ran, and looked for cover. We had to cover our heads, hold our breath and shut our eyes, and the next thing we knew, we were completely covered in ash."

Eric Andron, another Hatzolah EMT, related, "I tried holding my breath, but I couldn't, and when I tried to breathe, all of the soot entered my lungs."

Hyman and Andron found themselves trapped in a growing pile of more than a foot-and-a-half of wreckage. They were forced to climb through an abandoned building to escape the suffocating mounds of debris flooding the area. After a lengthy extrication process, which involved the smashing of and evacuation through ground-floor windows, they emerged into a clearing at the opposite end of the building. "I thought we were going to be trapped in the building," related Hyman.

The damage extended beyond the streets that surrounded the World Trade Center. "We saw a Hatzolah ambulance that was split in half," Yeshiva alum Sruli Tannenbaum exclaimed in disbelief. "Many of the fire trucks that arrived on scene were crushed. When I asked a fire chief about this, he told me in tears 'I don't give a -- about the trucks, my men are trapped under that!' "

Shortly after the collapse of the second tower, officials began to reorganize the search and rescue effort. The Hatzolah members worked harmoniously, and Andron stressed that racial divides did not divide the volunteers. "Everyone was helping each other. No one cared about race or ethnicity."

When questioned as to the severity of the injuries he witnessed, Tannenbaum relayed that the majority of victims treated by the Hatzolah personnel had not incurred serious injuries. "The really bad ones are still under the rubble," he pronounced sadly.

Jesse Miller, a certified EMT described that upon arrival, he was helping people escape from the buildings. But, by the end of the day, "the rescue workers were the victims." Miller spent the majority of his time involved in the gruesome task of collecting and identifying body parts.

Thankfully, all of the Yeshiva emergency volunteers returned home safely; but many of them will once again place their lives in danger as they head back downtown to continue in the relief effort.