Blind Sept. 11 survivor talks of how his guide dog saved him from World Trade Center collapse
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9/11: My brave guide dog led us to safety in tower inferno
A BLIND businessman has told how his guide dog helped to lead him and a group of 30 people to safety during the World Trade Center attacks.
Labrador Roselle led the terrified city workers down nearly 80 floors, through fire and thick smoke and out to the pandemonium-filled streets.
Once there, she helped her master escape as Tower 2 collapsed, scattering rubble, debris and a giant dust cloud in every direction.
Michael Hingson was on the 78th floor of Tower 1, also known as the North Tower, when, at 8.46am on September 11 2001, Al Qaeda terrorist Mohammad Atta and four other hijackers steered American Airlines Flight 11 into the building. The impact was so great that it caused the 110- storey building to lean dramatically.
Michael, a sales manager for Fortune 500 company Quantum, and his colleagues were finalising preparations for seminars that day when the building was rocked by the blast.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Express last night, he recalled the moment. “I heard a tremendous boom, and the building started to shudder violently, before slowly tipping, leaning over 20 feet,” he said.
“Those inside became convinced they were on the verge of death. Tearfully, colleagues said goodbye to each other. I was sure I was going to die.”
Then, as slowly as it tilted, the 1,368 foot tall building righted itself.
The respite was brief however. Unaware of what had happened, colleagues suddenly screamed as debris and millions of bits of burning paper cascaded like a fiery waterfall past their windows.
For Michael, there was still time to evacuate. “I had always paid attention to fire drills and I knew to avoid the elevators, take the stairs and not to panic,” he said.
He also had Roselle to help find the way. “While everything was happening, the explosion, the burning debris, the people in the conference room screaming, Roselle sat next to me as calm as ever,” he said.
“She didn’t sense any danger in the smoke and flames, everything happening around us.
“If she had sensed danger she would have acted differently, but she didn’t. Roselle and I were a team and I trusted her.”
Giving Roselle the customary command “forward” they left the office and headed for Stairway B.
“Roselle stayed calm, even with things falling on top of her, and she guided me through the debris,” said Michael.
As they struggled through thick smoke to walk past the elevators, people were still milling around, unsure of how to proceed. Some voices sounded anxious. The marble trim around the lift doors was buckling, as 3000 degree heat made its way down the shaft, and they quickened their pace.
Unperturbed by the smoke, Roselle guided them to the top of Stairway B. More people began to follow as they began to descend the 1,463 steps. “We started to walk down and I noticed a strong smell, a little like kerosene,” he said. “Suddenly I realised what it was. As a salesman I’d flown all over the world and I’d smelled it on runways. It was the smell of jet fuel. Then I thought– what if a plane had hit the building?”
As they shuffled in silence, Michael began to count the stairs; each floor had nineteen, split into two flights.
He continued to listen carefully to Roselle, and the rhythm of her breathing. Remembering his Boy Scout training, he felt the fire door on every landing, to gauge its heat. Soon, the stench of aviation fuel was so strong that it burnt his eyes. By the time they reached the 70th floor, Michael was having to control his breathing. Temperatures were soaring.
“Suddenly we heard a voice saying ‘burn victim coming through’ and I pressed myself to the side, nudging Roselle close to my legs,” he said.
“I asked my colleague David what he saw, and he told me it was a woman, burned so bad that she didn’t even look human any more. I had to stay calm for Roselle. She would feel my anxiety, and then become more concerned about me than finding the way out.
“People might think that it was easier for me, because I was blind, and I couldn’t see this, but I have a very good imagination.
“Then there was a second wounded person. David said she was worse then the first, She was still in shock and walked like a zombie, her eyes straight ahead. Her clothes were partly burned off, and her skin was blistered and separating. Her blonde hair was covered in grey slime.”
Moments later, a woman near Michael became hysterical. “She stopped moving and said she didn’t think we were going to make it out,” he said. “We gathered around her as a group, and put our arms around her, and said it was okay, that we were going to make it. She stroked Roselle and that seemed to relax her.
“I suddenly thought: what if the lights go out? There was no real panic yet. New Yorkers are tough. But that could change if the stairwell was plunged into darkness.
“The thought hit me that I could be a guide. So I called out to everyone not to worry, that Roselle and I would lead the way. Some people laughed, but the mood was definitely lightened.”
On the 30th floor, fireman began to climb past them, loaded with equipment. Even they were unaware of what lay in store in the blazing inferno above. Many would not return.
On the 20th floor, the floors became slippery with water from sprinklers.
“I was worried in case Roselle slipped, and I needed to be aware of her every move.” It had only taken 20 minutes to reach the 30th floor, but after that, progress slowed.
“By the sixth floor, I needed to get out. My legs were about to give way, and I wanted to call my wife, Karen.”
Finally, they reached the lobby, a war zone with fire fighters and FBI agents helping survivors.
“The descent had taken an hour, almost exactly,” he said. “David looked up and said there was a fire in Tower 2, up high. We were confused, and could only assume that the fire had jumped across. I tried to phone my wife, but still couldn’t get through. I learned later that this was due to all the people still trapped calling loved ones to say goodbye.”
Suddenly, a police officer was screaming to “get away, she’s coming down.”
“I heard the sound of glass breaking, of metal twisting, and terrified screams. I will never forget the sound as long as I live,” he said.
It took just 10 second for the building to fold on to itself.
“The street felt like a trampoline,” he said. “David shouts ‘oh my God’ and starts running. I picked Roselle up, spun 180 degrees, and we started running. No one was helping anyone any more. We were all running for our lives.
“Then we were engulfed by a monstrous cloud of sand and gravel. It filled my throat and lungs and I was drowning, trying to breathe. But we kept running, and Roselle kept guiding me perfectly. She didn’t stop once. Roselle and I are a team, and I was not about to let her go.”
Eventually, they reached the safety of a subway station.
“We had been able to help each other, because we were such a good team,” said Michael.
