John "Jack" Delaney oral history interview conducted by Dr. Benjamin Luft, June 25, 2010

About

Jack was the director of EMS for New York Presbyterian Hospital. On 9/11, he arrived early at work, as was part of his routine, convened a staff huddle, and returned to his office to check emails. He was soon notified by the dispatcher at the communication center about the first plane crashing into the WTC. He responded immediately, trying to gather information. The hospital began preparing for mass casualties and Jack began prepping his units for a disaster response. However, things quickly changed when Jack's unit was told to respond down at the site. Having arrived just after the second plane hit, Jack led his team to an area where he thought they could safely set up. But the building was about to collapse: "Run for your life!" Large pieces of steel came down as they ran. A woman running beside him was decapitated. He was able to dive under the stairs of an overpass, and he lay there with some of his staff while the debris showered down. For a moment, he believed he was dying; his pulse was in the low 40s, and he was not able to breathe. He just felt numb. After lifting his head above the concrete dust, he was able to get a breath. Jack crawled into an open area and found one of his men. By the time the second tower collapsed, they had found shelter in a nearby bank building. He felt compelled to go back for his staff, who had been scattered, but he wanted to account for each one. He located his 23 staff members, 13 of whom, including himself, were taken by skiff to…

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

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Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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