Last Man Down: A New York City Fire Chief And The Collapse Of The World Trade Center

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER New afterword by the author A Firefighter's story of survival and escape from the World Trade Center. A first responder's harrowing account of 9/11—the inspirational true story of an American hero who gave nearly everything for others during one of New York City's darkest hours.On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard “Pitch” Picciotto answered the call heard around the world. In minutes, he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center began to burn—and then to buckle. A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Picciotto was eerily familiar with the inside of the North Tower. And it was there that he concentrated his rescue efforts. It was in its smoky stairwells where he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. He made the call for firemen and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to help evacuate a group of disabled and infirm civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buried—for more than four hours after the building's collapse. Richard Picciotto, the highest-ranking firefighter to survive the collapse of the World Trade Center, provides an account of his activities and those of his fellow firefighters on September 11, 2001, when he and his team put their own lives on the line to help evacuate the North Tower, working until the building collapsed around them An inside look at the events of September 11, 2001, from the perspective of a high-ranking FDNY officer, describes the rescue efforts at Ground Zero and his personal ordeal of being buried for more than four hours in the rubble of the North Tower I remember what we all remember about that morning: clear horizon, high sun, visibility stretching to forever.