Capital Region residents recall 9/11
AMSTERDAM/WNYNANTSKILL, NY (NEWS10) — Though New York City is hundreds of miles away from the Capital Region, many local lives have been touched by the tragedy of September 11th, 2001.
Mary Jo Wells now runs a senior center in Amsterdam. 23 years ago – she was a manager at the New York Court of Claims on the 84th floor in one of the World Trade Towers. By chance, she was moved out of her office two weeks before the planes hit on September 11th.
“---The hedge fund wanted our space at 84 World Trade. And it was a beautiful space and so they renegotiated our lease and they gave us 5 World Trade”
The morning of the attacks, Wells was at home in Albany when a construction worker inside Five World Trade called her.
“A lot of people weren't in there. We had about five employees in there,” said Wells.
For former Troy Fire Assistant Fire Chief James Hughs – he’ll never forget his unit racing down to ground zero that day. A memorial featuring steel from the towers sits outside their training center.
“So it wasn't just going to the job and trying to rescue somebody. It was going to the job and rescue people that you knew so it made it more personal” said Hughs.
Hughs and his unit alternated shifts in the rubble for 18 days. He documented this on his disposable camera.
"We worked for about 36 hours straight and then we started to break into two 12-hour shifts," said Hughs. “—We went into holes and repelled in to look for people...We didn't actually rescue anybody alive" Hughs added.
All those days, inhaling all those chemicals.
“We are ticking time bombs of who knows. I believe the last number out of our team alone of probably 125 people 12" said Hughs.
For both Wells and Hughs, One who escaped tragedy and one who was touched by it, it's a healing process day by day.