Bonnie Jean Giebfried oral history interview conducted by Melodie Guerrera, August 23, 2010, September 20, 2010

About

Bonnie was an EMT for Flushing Hospital Medical Center. On 9/11 she arrived at work where she and her partner prepared an ambulance for the day. Over the radio, they heard there was an MCI (mass casualty incident) at the WTC and drove toward Ground Zero. As they were coming out of the tunnel, they saw the second plane hit. They arrived in the surrounding area of Ground Zero and were told by a captain to go into the South Tower. Bonnie entered the South Tower and began to try to help others evacuate. It never occurred to her that the buildings would fall until she heard, "It's gonna blow," and started to run. A huge fireball came out of the South Tower and entombed Bonnie in Financial 1 from her ankles to her hips. She was sealed in the rubble with 30 other people in the pitch black. The air became thinner and thinner, and they all thought they would die. A policeman who was trapped with them shot through a window three times, creating an escape. All 30 people went out through the hole in the window into the dark. She and her partner then walked north to a deli and began triaging people but were forced to leave, afraid the deli would collapse. She heard another explosion when the second tower fell and ran to a parking garage. She managed to dig out of the parking garage and get to the water where she could see the light of day. She helped load people on boats until she felt sick and suffered an asthma attack. She was given oxygen while on a boat, headed to New Jersey. Bonnie…

Archive

Library of Congress, in Library of Congress

Licence or status

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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