The following excerpt comes from “Rising from Ground Zero: 9/11 and the FDNY’s Path through Crisis to Transformation,” which centers on nearly 90 hours of interviews of 40 people, most FDNY responders on 9/11, who also played key roles in the decades that followed. The chapter “The FDNY and the ‘Tree People’ after 9/11: A Study in Effective and Enduring Helping” examines how FDNY leaders confronting an unprecedented long-term operation came to recognize the value of outside support, in particular, the Southwest Incident Management Team — “the tree people.”
By Gregory P. Shea, Ph.D., FDNY Captain (ret.) Paul Brown and Andre Kotze
The FDNY relieved Frank Cruthers and Pete Hayden of their regular daily duties and assigned full responsibility for the site. They were charged with managing all FDNY resources while simultaneously filtering an overwhelming influx of volunteers and external assistance. The volume of help itself became a problem. As Chief Cruthers recalled: “It was a matter of I didn’t need the same kind of help that I already had.” He continued: “Over the course of the next few days, the plan would change many, many times as to how we were going to go about this, how we were going to use our manpower – how many people we would have there. We had no experience in operating a scene for weeks and months. We were used to operating at scenes for up to a day or two.”
What transpired next would forever change the FDNY. Chief Cruthers had a conversation with Denis Oneial from FEMA who was recommending Incident Management Teams. He had to confess complete ignorance regarding their function, but he was willing to listen.
A group from the Southwest Incident Management Team had been observing FDNY operations on the pile. With Deputy Commissioner Tom Fitzpatrick’s cooperation the SW-IMT moved into a small room on the third floor of the Duane Street firehouse. They would spend the next few days quietly observing FDNY command inside the Task Force Headquarters.
Oneial then facilitated a meeting between the FDNY and the SW-IMT. But agreeing to that meeting carried risk. Had Cruthers exposed the FDNY’s vulnerability? Would “The Feds” take command of the site? Chief Hayden understood the concern – but also the necessity. “I knew down deep I needed the help,” he acknowledged. They agreed to meet. Hayden remembered the first exchange: “He’s [Oltrogge] basically, like, ‘Can I speak to you? I may be of some help to you.’” Oltrogge explained the capabilities of Incident Management teams. The parties then agreed to meet later. When they sat in the office, Hayden listened, and it became clear that the IMT was there to help, not take over.
In fact, SW-IMT members had already been quietly observing FDNY operations for several days. They learned from their earlier attempts to connect with the FDNY. They studied not only the physical operations, but also took notice of behind-the-scenes issues. Dan Oltrogge, from the SW IMT, observed: “We were impressed with how the FDNY planted their flag and kept it there ‘cause we knew there had to be a lot of pressure coming from elsewhere to take that flag.” Paul Summerfelt added, “We recognized immediately we were not taking command of this situation. There was way too much ownership, rightly so.”
What the Southwest Incident Management Team offered was not control, but capacity. They introduced the New York City Fire Department to the discipline of modern incident management – systems designed to sustain large workforces over extended periods, support leaders under prolonged stress, and bring structure to incidents that no longer fit traditional response models.
Lessons for Leaders
- Recognize when your world changes. The FDNY first needed to understand that the scope and nature of the challenge before it made this time different. Significantly different.
- Embrace the fact of your ignorance. That’s cognitive and it’s emotional. It’s external reality based and it’s a felt need born of humility. Embracing ignorance about something of importance leads to openness to assistance and to learning…and to the change that they might precipitate.
- Stay proactive. Use what you know while you figure “it” out. Carry on doing what you know how to do until further notice… and learn from using what you know. Use the known approaches to inform your search for what else you need, to demonstrate what you need.
- Remember the importance of relationships in making anything complicated work…today and especially tomorrow. Notice damage to relational networks that accompanies the loss of people. Reach anew into established relationships, relationships perhaps used differently in the past, including with federal agencies.
- Experiment. “Try stuff,” including watching for possibilities to help and to be helped. Recognize a possibility when it occurs.
- Offer and look for competent helping. Rushing in and declaring “I’m from…and I’m here to help” creates an added “to do.” Calling “help!” provides insufficient guidance. If you want to help, then study – Who are you looking to help? What, concretely, can you provide that would help? Help the recipient understand what you offer that they would most likely find of value.
Authors’ note: The incident management orientation and skills comprised a large part of the transformation of the FDNY from a fire department to an all-hazards emergency response department. That change has converted the FDNY into a national resource as their members served across the United States. The FDNY collaborates worldwide in sharing and advancing that orientation and those skills.
De Gruyter Brill
© 2026
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