How 9/11 Changed Me and First Responder Communications

Responders' inability to communicate across departments inspired Dereck Orr to get involved

View as a Web Page Taking Measure Blog How 9/11 Changed Me and First Responder Communications By Dereck Orr, Chief, NIST Public Safety Communications Research Division If you remember Sept. 11, 2001, that day is most likely imprinted on your mind like no other day. You remember what you were doing and who you were with. You may remember feeling confused and a sense of utter disbelief as you watched the results of the first plane's impact on 1 World Trade Center. You may have even thought — if only for a moment — "wow, what a tragic accident." But then, you recall how that disbelief turned into horror and anger when the second plane seemed to deliberately crash into 2 World Trade Center. In an instant, it was obvious that this wasn't an accident — but an attack on the United States. In the days that followed, Congress and the White House attempted to understand what happened — including issues that may have hampered emergency response to the crash sites. One issue that was immediately apparent was the failure of first responder communications systems during the response. Specifically, the inability of responders from different departments and jurisdictions to communicate over their various radio systems during the event, which was determined to have been a factor in the inability to evacuate 343 firefighters from the World Trade Center Buildings, who all perished as a result. Read More IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 20 Years Later: NIST's World Trade Center Investigation and Its Legacy August 18, 2021 I was shocked to learn of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, along with the rest of the nation, while attending a conference in Krakow, Poland. My immediate thoughts that Tuesday turned to the safety of my family back home. Once I talked to them and knew they were safe, I decided to fly to Berlin since that would give me more options to get home quickly once flights resumed over U.S. airspace. Over breakfast at the Berlin hotel that Friday, I began sketching out initial ideas for our response that would involve a reconnaissance and assessment phase followed by a more detailed investigation. Read More

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