By Reverend John S. Picarello

I would like to bring you back to Tuesday September 11th, 2001 and share with you how God had guided my steps through all I had experienced on that day. I had gone to work which for me was a morning just like any other. I had arrived early to get in ahead of the morning rush hour to my firehouse which is located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn in which I am assigned to the 40 Battalion.

At approximately 8:45am those of you who had been watching the news or listening to the radio, learned that a plane had just slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Instantly there was a second alarm transmitted and then a third alarm shortly there after. At 8:54am we were assigned to respond to a staging area on the Brooklyn side of the Battery Tunnel.

As we headed down 4th Avenue for the Battery Tunnel we could see the upper floors of the North Tower engulfed in flames and huge billows of smoke rising high into the sky. At first we thought a plane had accidentally hit the tower as once hit the Empire State Building many years ago, and thought nothing more of it until a few minutes later.

It was now approximately 9:06am as we approached the Tunnel when the second plane struck the South Tower. It was at this time that the Chief and I looked at each other and said "Terrorists!" Immediately all units were ordered to continue responding into the scene. It was a bit difficult getting through the tunnel, as it was jammed with people who were fleeing the city and getting out of harms way. Eventually an open lane was established for emergency vehicles coming into the city.

Once arriving on the scene, I was in awe at the magnitude of the damage caused by the airliners. Both towers had gaping holes of possibly 10 to 15 stories each and fully engulfed in flames. The streets were littered with debris from the buildings that was falling continually. I was sick to my stomach as I watched in horror the people leaping from those upper floors. I remember trying to come to grips with the reality of what I was seeing, realizing that this was no movie but what was actually happening. I have no words to describe the scene I was witnessing. My eyes began to fill up as I was praying for those people as they fell, and it seemed to take forever. Some were holding hands, two, and three across coming down. I could only imagine those last moments on those upper floors and the conditions they faced before being compelled to make such a decision. I prayed for their families understanding that I was seeing the final moments of their lives.

Battalion Chief Edward Henry and I then entered the lobby of the Marriott Hotel which is situated at the foot of both towers. This became a staging area where we were assigned to go to the 75th floor of the North Tower. There were many firefighters, police and other emergency workers present in the lobby at this time.

A group of us began to make our way through the lobby toward the tower. We had only walked a few feet when we heard something like a rumbling sound coming from outside in the distance and coming closer. In a few seconds the floor began to vibrate as the entire lobby began shaking. The rumbling which was like a huge freight train as it got closer sounded as if it was all around us. We all headed for shelter. Some of us dove to the floor toward an interior wall and covered up as best as we could. I had only run a few steps when everything came violently crashing down around us. The sound was deafening and in a few seconds it was over. Everything was completely quiet.

I remember landing on top of another Battalion Chief who was in front of me. I had my hands up on his back when everything just came crashing down. The ceilings had collapsed on both sides of us. We didn't know it at the time but the South Tower had just collapsed. I was lying on the floor and remembered praying the whole time. I remember calling on the name of Jesus a second before everything went black.

It seemed like an eternity when in fact it was just a few seconds. When I looked up everything was pitch black and I realized I was alive and was not pinned under any debris. To my left there was nothing but twisted steel and rubble from one end of the room to the other. To my right there was one firefighter who was trapped from his waist down in what appeared to be a wall. We had dug him out in a short time. We were cut off from the rest of the lobby by a wall of debris. A large area had collapsed just a few feet behind me. We were cut off from the exits in front of us and behind us so we were now trapped.

Chief Henry began to call outside on the radio but there was no response. It didn't dawn on me until later the significance of no one responding to our radio transmissions. At this time there were only nine maybe ten of us and some hotel personnel together. I still do not know what happened to the others as I remember there was close to a hundred emergency workers in the lobby area, many of whom were friends.

We began to look for a way out. Although it was pitch black, I could see some fires burning through openings in the debris not far from us. We were able to make our way down to a narrow hallway where we found three doors. Some of the hotel employees who were with us were pretty seriously injured; we helped them along as we made our way out. We found a doorway that opened out into another corridor which led to an opening looking out onto West Street. This opening had a wall about four feet high.

It's hard to describe what West Street looked like, everything was now totally destroyed. When I looked out onto West Street I did not see the pavement. The rubble was so high I had to look up at it. The Chief of the Department, Chief Peter Ganci, was outside and he was looking up as the debris was still falling. He had come from the Command Post and there was nothing but rubble all around him, he was waving to the group of us by that opening to make our way out of the building. One firefighter at a time would go over the wall and head outside. The Chief would wave them on and they would run past him and go across the street. A couple of firefighters headed out before me; there were still a couple of them that were injured and some of the hotel employees as well who couldn't get over that wall.

The Battalion Chief that I was with, Chief Henry went to my right as he was looking for another way out. At that point the Chief of the Department motioned to me to come out, so I went over the wall and was going to head in the same direction as the other firefighters but he kept motioning to me to come over to him so I did. He ordered me to go to the Command Post which was being repositioned toward Vesey Street. He was requesting four more ladder companies, a squad and a rescue company if one was available. They were to report to him as soon as possible. That was the last time I would see him alive.

I remember passing the North Tower walking under that big walkway which is known as the North Bridge. I stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath and would have sat down a few minutes had it not been for the Chief's order. I did not get very far when once again I began to hear a rumbling sound. I didn't know what to think at the time. The rumbling was getting louder when the ground started to shake. At this point I looked up over my shoulder and to my shock and at the same time to my horror, the North Tower was beginning to come down.
As it started to collapse I could see that huge antenna atop the building moving one way and then the next as the tower began collapsing. It began to pancake making very loud crumbling sounds "bap, bap, bap, bap!" ...as each floor would collapse upon the other. I looked up at huge amounts of fire and debris being forced away from the building as it began to come down. It appeared to be coming right for me.

I remember standing there when the thoughts crossed my mind "this is not a dream you'll wake up from, this is real you've got to run!" I turned to run and my legs felt like jelly. I had extreme fear for about 2 seconds like I have never experienced in my life. It just went to an extreme point and in an instant I was numb. I started to run still in my full bunker gear and my air pack on my back. I was already exhausted from the first collapse and I wasn't sure how far I had gotten, but I do remember feeling the pressure on my back.

From the corner of my eye I could see everything beginning to go gray and get darker. I dove behind a truck and everything blew past me like a hurricane of debris and thick black smoke. It was like a roar of a tornado as things were falling all over the place, the truck was rocking from the wind and debris hitting it. I just covered my head and prayed. I remember telling God "You promised that we could walked through the valley of shadow of death...Oh Lord You promised "It seemed like a long time but again it was probably just a few moments and then everything went black again and there was such an eerie silence; quiet. I heard nothing. Dead silence.

I opened my eyes and to my shock it was like still having my eyes closed; pitch black. I remember looking up and couldn't see the sun, couldn't see the sky, couldn't see anything.

As the smoke began to clear I managed to stumble to my feet. I remember walking a few steps; every 2 or 3 steps I would just fall down again. I remember vomiting but rocks and dirt just kept coming up as I was trying to clean out my eyes. The only radio transmission I heard at this time was from the Battalion Chief that I'm assigned to who said he was OK and had gotten out. I was to find out later that only a few of us out of the ten or more trapped together in the lobby had survived.

As the smoke began to clear I stood in awe of the magnitude of the destruction. As I stood at the corner of West Street and Vesey I could see fires everywhere. Debris more than four stories high stretched for blocks. The North Bridge was crushed to the ground. It was too much for my mind to process at one time.

I thought of how God had spared me in the midst of all this destruction and there was not a scratch on me not a scratch. I had asked my wife how she managed dealing with the events of that day, knowing I was there and not hearing from me until late in the afternoon. She said that as she prayed,    the Lord reminded her of a prophetic word that we had both received at a Pastor's meeting 2 or 3 years earlier. The man giving the word to us turned to her and said I see a truck I don't know what that means but "Elena this is for you, the Lord does not want you to be afraid. The devil has tried to take your husband's life before, but your husband will not be snatched away from you". God will protect him, and He wants you to know that.

My wife said to me, "Imagine how much God cares about how I feel that He would give me that word knowing I would need it to hold onto in the future!" I am grateful and comforted that even in the midst of chaos God is in control. This experience has given me new appreciation for Psalm 37:23 - The steps of the righteous are ordered by God. How thankful I am to God for His unseen hand that guides our way!

343 firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11th 2001

On September 11th 2001 Police, Fire, EMS, Port Authority and a host of others formed the largest combined rescue effort in American history up to that time.

Please remember to pray for the rescue workers who serve in your community