Besides
the music. My passion is helping people. This is what I was doing 10
yrs ago on 9/11 and the 6 days to follow. I lost a good friend/family,
not to mention the hundreds of my fellow first responders that paid the
ultimate sacrifice that was supposed to be all in a days work. Never
take life for granted. RIP to all that lost their lives on this tragic
day. We will never forget!
I am Carlos Negron, a life long Jersey City resident and retired EMT
that served on the Plainfield Rescue Squad and Tour Chief for West New
York EMS at the time. On September 11, 2001 I was on duty as an EMT
working in Plainfield, NJ at the Plainfield Rescue Squad when the
attacks took place. When the first plane struck we had just walked in
the emergency room of Muhlenberg Hospistal in the city. At that point no
one knew what was going on except that a plane hit one of the towers.
We went on another call and when arrived back at the E.R. we encountered
news footage of the second plane barreling into the second tower. After
the second plane hit we were immediately activated by CENCOM to respond
to the Staten Island side of the Ferry terminal to aid in the rescue
efforts. As we overstocked our ambulances we heard news that first tower
had collapsed, we left immediately after that. En route we heard that
the second tower had collapsed also. As we race down Interstate 278
towards the Narrows Bridge we encountered heavy traffic up to a certain
point, then the police bottle-necked the road into one exit and we had a
clear run from then on. After that we only encountered a few dozen
deserted cars. It felt like an apocalypse was happening. Our 3 ambulance
convoy kept in touch via short wave radio, we were all hoping what we
heard on the radio wasn't true. I was the first in the convoy to get on
the Narrows Bridge along with my Captain Tyshaun Hawkins, as we looked
to our North our worst fears were confirmed. It was surreal, all we saw
was a cloud of smoke. The towers we gone. We arrived at the terminal at
around 11am and my team was there for the arrival of the last ferry from
Manhattan that had mostly walking wounded. My team only treated and
released one person. When we were released from the terminal around 3pm
our convoy was asked to report to Liberty State Park back here in Jersey
City. From there we would head over to Exchange Place to wait for more
wounded, only one arrived by boat and we rushed him on to the waiting
stretcher of the next in-line ambulance. Later on that night we went
over on a tug boat to deliver supplies and assist. That was the start of
a grueling 6 day search and rescue on my part. The worst news came on
the morning of September 12 when the news was broken to me that a
lifelong family friend and Jersey City Fire dispatcher Joseph Lovero was
killed from a massive heart-attacked after being struck with a piece of
the first falling tower. It's still hard to imagine. Their is so much I
remember and would like to forget about those 6 days I was there and
everything that took place. All I could say is rest in peace Joe! We
will never forget all our fallen brothers and sisters lost on September
11, 2001.
NJ Emergency Medical Technicians Carlos Negron aka Dj Tecnine and Edward Sikaffy
