Fox4KC.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Each of the firefighters at the Third Annual Kansas City 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb remember where they were when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the World Trade Center North Tower at 8:46 a.m., September 11, 2001.
But former New York City firefighter Tony Emanuele lived it. His now 12-year-old son was only six months old that day. Tony was 50 yards from the north tower when it started to collapse. This is the first time he has spoken publicly about the tragedy. “Personally I lost 22 of my very close friends and co-workers and numerous others that I just knew,” Emanuele said. In the nine seconds it took for the tower to collapse, Tony dove into a subway entrance.
“Our total command structure was wiped out. And to see the other firemen doing what they knew had to be done and overcoming the obstacles we had that nobody could have imagined happening. It was total mayhem,” Emanuele said.
Full story: Former NYFD firefighter moved by Kansas City 9/11 stair climb