# The vehicles of 9/11..... where'd they go?



## paramedichopeful (Nov 27, 2009)

Alright, this is going to be strange but here goes....

"What happened to the vehicles that responded on 9/11?"

Tonight in class we covered situations and scenarios. One of them was:
   "You are in a large Med.Duty ambulance going code 3 down a country road. You are in the back sitting by the pt. unrestrained and moving around. You have stood up several times to get something out of a cabinet or the jump bag. You stand up again to get something, but as you stand the driver loses control and the rig overturns into the ditch. You are now underneath of the pt. The cot has broken free from its lock and is laying sideways on top of you. What should your courses of action be?"

Needless to say my instructor is very......creative and sometimes imaginative. I have never even heard of something like this happening, so I don' know where he pulled that one out of the air from. My response: try to get out from under the stretcher and use the panic button (we have these on our rigs-instant access out of the rig in case of an emergency) to go through the back doors. Call for help/use distress key on radio, and then check on your partner and driver. After that, try to get the pt. out of the rig and onto the roadway (KED board, collar and be really careful getting them off of the floor). Turn vehicle's lights on (if able to do so) so that the responders can see you. Get away from the vehicle (risk of fire, explosion, leaking fluids/ruptured o2 lines). Wait. Keep pt. stable. Pray. 

In a case like that that's really all you could do. I did okay on my response to that scenario. But of course the others from the rest of the class were: a) stay in the unit until help arrives; b) leave the pt. and go for help; c) try to safe the rig (disconnect battery, etc.). The options posed were endless, and frankly, quite senseless. Dear Lord, please do not have these people come to my aid in an accident. I am curious as to how someone who says to roll over an ambulance right side up passed even the Basic class. Smart bunch, I tell you.

But now to my question. When I was going home I kept thinking what it was like for the Medics in the rigs at the WTC on 9/11. I would love to talk to them and see how they handled the situation when their rig was suddenly smashed, spontaneously combusted. But my curios side asks what happened to the vehicles used at 9/11. I have looked online but haven't found anything. I have always been into cars, trucks, equipment... anything with a motor and wheels. My uncle ran a towing and recovery service for years, so part of me wonders what they did with the units that responded on that day. Any ideas? Places to look? Again, I know this is strange, but I would appreciate any information. Thanks, guys!!!


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## firecoins (Nov 27, 2009)

paramedichopeful said:


> But now to my question. When I was going home I kept thinking what it was like for the Medics in the rigs at the WTC on 9/11. I would love to talk to them and see how they handled the situation when their rig was suddenly smashed, spontaneously combusted. But my curios side asks what happened to the vehicles used at 9/11. I have looked online but haven't found anything. I have always been into cars, trucks, equipment... anything with a motor and wheels. My uncle ran a towing and recovery service for years, so part of me wonders what they did with the units that responded on that day. Any ideas? Places to look? Again, I know this is strange, but I would appreciate any information. Thanks, guys!!!



They ended up in a dump on Staten Island with all the other debris. Some of it ended up in various memorials and mueseums.


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## Mountain Res-Q (Nov 27, 2009)

firecoins said:


> They ended up in a dump on Staten Island with all the other debris. Some of it ended up in various memorials and mueseums.



Fresh Kills Landfill is where all debris was sent initially.  It was here that Investigators and other Workewrs analyized the debris and sifted for personal property and any minute remains.  Actually, in addition to the K9s working Ground Zero and the Pentagon, a large number of Cadaver Dogs were used at Fresh Kills.  Here is a piece of an Ambulance that was sent to Fresh Kills adn then latter put on display:




As far as that scenerio goes... accidents involving Emergency Vehicles are not uncommon, and the scenerio presented is not that strange...


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## mikeN (Nov 28, 2009)

I was told a few of the FDNY trucks were at Fort Totten to show new employees how some people were saved by hiding in them.


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