BY KERRY J. KELLY, M.D.; DAVID PREZANT, M.D.; and MALACHY CORRIGAN, R.N., M.S.
The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) response to the World Trade Center placed our members at the epicenter within moments after the first plane hit the North Tower. The total departmentwide recall placed every member at the site. The heroic efforts to suppress fire, rescue civilians and firefighters, and recover bodies continued seven days a week, 24 hours a day since that first alarm. A total of 343 firefighters lost their lives that day in a matter of moments. More than 200 members were treated in emergency rooms for physical trauma. Many members required hospitalization and surgical intervention for significant orthopedic injuries. The physical and mental health of members was an immediate concern after this event because of the magnitude of this exposure.
The FDNY Bureau of Health Services (BHS) physicians responded immediately to the event. After the North Tower collapsed, we set up a triage center nearby on Broadway and Vesey streets with our BHS physicians and other physicians who responded to the scene. There were about 40 physicians and nurses staffing the triage center. The catastrophic reality of the losses became apparent when so few injured reported to the triage center, which closed by 9 p.m. that night.
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