Speaker to recount Sept. 11 experiences
CONNELLSVILLE – With today marking the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many stories are being told and written about the New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., victims and survivors. One of those stories will be told in Connellsville when Capt. Terry Revella, who worked with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police when the terroist attacks occurred. He now is a liaison between the New York office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the New York City Office of Emergency Management, visits the city on Oct. 20.
Revella, who has been assigned to the Homeland Security office since October 2003, said he saw “the worst of mankind and the best of humanity all in two hours” on Sept. 11, 2001. He also said that the images of people jumping from the World Trade Center buildings would remain with him for the rest of his life.
“The images I remember the most clearly are people falling or jumping, hand-in-hand, from the South Tower of the World Trade Center,” Revella said. “In a split second, I saw people on fire jumping to escape the flames.”
Revella said he also never would forget being trapped in debris from the North Tower for 25 to 30 minutes before being rescued by a Brooklyn Ladder Company. Revella became trapped when the North Tower collapsed.
“I went there to see how many of my people were injured or lost and I was only there a minute or two when I saw that the building was collapsing and firefighters running out from the parking garage of the North Tower,” he said. “In an instant, one of the firefighters tackled me and we went over a Jersey barrier from the force of the crumbling building.”
Revella said he and the firefighter were thrown about 70 feet and landed in between a Jersey barrier and fire trucks that imploded from falling debris that fell when the building collapsed.
“I had some injuries when I met up with the special operations division chief of the New York Police Department,” said Revella. “He asked if I was OK because he could see the blood on my face and arms, and when I answered ‘I’m OK.’ He said ‘Good. Now lets get to work.'”
Revella said he was part of the team that immediately started the rescue and recovery plan at the site.
Revella said he authorized the opening of the Fresh Kills Landfill and helped solve the serious dust suppression issues at the former World Trade Center site following the disaster.
He said he also was instrumental in developing the Pier 25 system that allowed debris to be removed from the site and sent on barges to the landfill.
“One of the main problems we had at first was that the debris was so hot that it actually caught fire on the trucks in the battery tunnel,” said Revella. “We knew that we had to come up with another idea and that’s why we decided to put the debris on barges, water them down and then take them to the landfill.”
Revella said emergency workers had to deal with air and water sampling, 170,000 pounds of Freon, 200,000 pounds of fuel oil from different areas and asbestos from the buildings that was grandfathered in.
“We had to deal with serious problems at one time,” said Revella. “The first problem was that there still might be people alive, buried under the rubble. The second problem was with the material.’
Revella said two port authority policemen were pulled from the rubble the night of 9/11. He also said that the first couple of weeks following the disaster were pretty hectic.
Revella said there were no egos involved during the rescue, recovery and cleanup.
“Nobody said no to anything,” said Revella. “Whatever was decided, we all agreed to and did what we had to do to make it work. I don’t think that any of us could believe that our country had been attacked.”
Revella said the hardest point was when he was trapped. He said he really didn’t believe that he would get out alive.
“When you realize that this may be the end, you realize how big the universe is and what a small part you play in it,” he said. “I guess in the scheme of things, we are really non-existent. I thought that I would probably never get home, and I could actually feel the energy leaving my body.”
Revella said he was overjoyed when he was rescued and he vowed to hug his wife and kids a little bit tighter.
For his efforts, former Mayor Rudolph E. Giuliani sent a letter to New York Gov. George E. Pataki recommending that Revella be given a letter of accommodation by the state.
In his letter to Pataki, Giuliani wrote: “On Sept. 11, Capt. Revella was trapped in Seven World Trade Center. After being rescued by the FDNY, Capt. Revella remained at the site to help others, and he continued to assist in the days that followed.”
Giuliani also said that Revella served with distinction at the City’s Emergency Command Center and displayed courage, perseverance, ingenuity and a “can-do” attitude.
Revella will speak on his experiences at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Connellsville BPO Elks, located at 140 E. Crawford Ave. The event is co-sponsored by the Elks and Nancy’s Fancy Tea Room.
For more information, call 724-628-0173 and ask for Nancy or 724-628-3560 and ask for Jeff. Reservations are required because the Elks has limited seating capacity. A $10 donation will be collected at the door and the money will be donated to the families of deceased members of the New York police and fire departments. Refreshments will be served at the Elks at 6 p.m.