Crime & Safety

Sept. 11: Falls Church First Responders Recall 9-11

10-years later, first responders remember the day that changed large-scale emergencies.

James Fortner was at his Washington, D.C. job 10-years ago on Sept. 11 when he received a message on his pager that an airplane struck one of the World Trade Center towers.

Not long after, another page alerted Fortner, a lieutenant with the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department, that another airplane had hit the Pentagon. The later page forced Fortner to leave one job and head into action.

“You didn’t want to believe it,” Fortner said. “What happened in New York and D.C. changed the way we respond to large-scale emergencies.”

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Fortner said several fire departments responded to the Pentagon without being called into action. The FCVFD, which shares Station 6 with the Arlington County Fire Department, moved quickly to gather at the station and begin providing fire and EMT services to the area while the career firefighters rushed to the Pentagon. Fortner made his way to Arlington County Fire Department’s Station 1, a staging area that day, before he was taken to the Pentagon just before midnight Sept. 11.

“The side of the building was charred and blackened,” Fortner said. “There was no sign of a fuselage. I’ve helped on house fires recovering one or two bodies but nothing like that.”

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Fortner and several other volunteer firefighters assisted with rescue and recovery operations by stringing electrical cords and lights into the damaged areas. They also pumped water from the building and refilled air tanks.

“For the individuals that responded, it's hard to say exactly what thoughts and memories stuck with each one,” Fortner said. “For myself, I'll never be able to quit thinking about the employees at work in the Pentagon offices that were struck by the plane or the passengers on the plane itself.  I also find myself thinking about the families and friends of those that perished that day.  It's not hard to find a responder who knew someone directly affected”

With the overwhelming response from several fire departments, Fortner said new communication tactics became important to control the large number of responders. Locally, Fortner said the FCVFD practices coordinating large-scale events by working with the Falls Church City Police and the city government to develop a command post during parades. He said working with other entities during big events keeps the FCVFD ready to react.

“We took lessons learned and apply them on a smaller scale,” Fortner said.

Falls Church City Police Capt. Rick Campbell said 9-11 brought first responders closer together. He said jurisdictions in Northern Virginia have worked together in the past, but 9-11 developed a stronger working relationship. He said it also brought a change in the way police and fire departments communicated.

A new radio system amongst first responders now has more channels allowing more jurisdictions to communicate with each other during large-scale events. Campbell said the new system was needed to reach more people to give marching orders.

“That day, terrorism became something very serious,” Campbell said.

That morning, Campbell and several other police officers from Northern Virginia were at the police academy in Loudon County for a preparatory workshop for handling protests. A sergeant at the time, Campbell said an instructor came into the class and told them their jurisdictions may need them to come back. The class was then told the twin towers were under attack.

Campbell said he jumped into his police cruiser and headed back to the city, lights and sirens blaring all the way. Falls Church sent several police officers to Arlington to assist with traffic control that day, Campbell recalled.

“We’re still concerned with crime, now all of a sudden terrorism is a concern of everybody’s,” Campbell said. “It kind of made the world a scary place.”

 

9-11 Memorial Service at George Mason High

At 2:30 p.m. Friday, the at will host a 9-11 memorial service inside the school’s gymnasium. Local veterans as well as the City of Falls Church Police Department and Volunteer Fire Department are all welcomed to attend the event. You can also follow the Young Patriots on Twitter at @GMYPat.


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