# Kim Ambrose oral history interview conducted by Julie Broihier, July 15, 2014

On 9/11, Kim, who is an EMT, was involved in the volunteer first aid response in New York and New Jersey. Wanting to attend to the injured, she and her squad were deployed on the day of the attack to the Highlands Docks in New Jersey. The people getting on the boat were totally gray, with tear-streaked faces and terrified eyes. The next day, she arrived at the site itself. Since she was not professionally trained in medicine beyond first aid, and since first aid injuries were relatively uncommon, Kim spent most of her time working on the bucket brigade. She also performed "morgue runs," transferring human remains for identification. Certain items found at the site, including shoes, stuffed animals, and a pristine business card affected her psyche. Upon finding the WTC nursery in the rubble, they were pulling beanie babies out of the ash and debris. That day she broke down and cried for hours at the thought that so many children might have lost their lives. She did not return to the site after 9/14, due to being emotionally and physically overwhelmed that day by the smell of decomposing human remains. Later, she also volunteered in the recovery and relief of Hurricane Katrina.

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 2014
- Runtime: 1 h 11 min
- By: Broihier, Julie
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2015048_234/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/afc2015048_234?play=1)