First responders and oral histories
We are mindful that the 9-11 story was one that largely affected ordinary people who were going about their workdays. When the planes hit, thousands of first responders jumped into action and their courage and quick actions helped to save untold thousands. Among the many remembrances and stories in the10-year commemorative events, we found the 60 Minutes story on the experiences of first responders to be particularly powerful. It focused on 911 Responders Remember, an oral history project initiated by Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the Long Island World Trade Center Program (the SUNY-Stony Brook arm of the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program consortium). This Center of Excellence provides service and monitoring to approximately 5,000 WTC responders across Long Island. These men and women are law enforcement officers, construction workers, electricians, emergency medical personnel, firefighters, iron workers, plumbers, dog handlers, doctors, and many others.
In addition to cancer, respiratory and pulmonary disorders and other physical problems, many workers still suffer from varying levels of emotional or psychological distress, including PTSD. This project is a national historical record, a public health document, and for many participants, a therapeutic exercise which allows them to open up to tell about events or things that they witnessed that they may not previously been able to talked about.
See more testimonies.
Related: A decade later, the list of Sept. 11 victims continues to grow
Related: Fight Over Compensation for 9/11 Responders Shifts to Cancer Victims.
Hitting close to home
September 11 took an extremely heavy toll on the insurance industry. The terrible events claimed the lives of 295 employees of Marsh & McLennan and 176 employees at Aon Corporation. Dave Lenckus of Business Insurance offers recollections from insurance executives who were connected with or escaped from the WTC in his article Terror of September 11 lives in memory. Also see the company tribute pages: Remember: September 11, 2001 – a site to remember and celebrate the lives of those Aon employees lost on September 11, 2001, and Marsh & McLennan 9/11 Memorial – both a website and a physical memorial.
Tribute song & Firefighter Foundation
After 9/11, our own Tom Lynch recorded a 9/11 Tribute Song with Peter Clemente at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. Actor and comedian Denis Leary used the song to raise money for the New York fallen firefighters. Leary is very devoted to firefighters and runs the Leary Firefighters Foundation. The Foundation was established in 2000 in response to a tragic fire in Worcester, Massachusetts that claimed the lives of Leary’s cousin, a childhood friend, and four other firefighters. The Leary Firefighters Foundation’s mission is to provide funding and resources for Fire Departments to obtain the best available equipment, technology and training. Inadequate equipment – particularly faulty tracking and radio equipment – contributed to deaths in both events.
Insurance media coverage
PropertyCasualty360: 9/11: 10 Years Later, Execs & Risk Managers Weigh In on How Industry Has Changed
Insurance Journal: 9/11 and Terrorism Risk 10 Years Later and Why 9-11 Changed Everything
Risk & Insurance: Selling Carriers on Rebuilding Ground Zero
Risk Management Monitor: Ten Years After
Occupational Health & Safety: NFPA Cites Safety Improvements Rising from 9/11
CNNTech: How 9/11 inspired a new era of robotics
workerscompensation.com: 9/11 Tribute
Other resources
Understanding 9-11: A Television News Archive – a library of news coverage of the events of 9/11/2001 and their aftermath as presented by U.S. and international broadcasters. A resource for scholars, journalists, and the public, it presents one week of news broadcasts for study, research and analysis.
The Encyclopedia of 9/11 – from New York Magazine
The September 11 Digital Archive
Tags: 9-11, first responders, ptsd, WTC
