BLOUNTVILLE – Sept. 11, 2001, was a day of loss for the whole nation.
For some it was life changing, but for those who helped with the search and rescue afterward, it was more like a war.
Chief James Gargan, a Philadelphia native and lifelong firefighter, was called after the attacks and asked to come to New York City because he is an expert in building collapse.
“I can’t explain the scene. It was total devastation and incineration,” said Gargan, who spoke at a 9/11 memorial at Tri-Cities Airport on Thursday.
Gargan arrived at Ground Zero three days after 9/11 expecting to be involved in rescue efforts, but he soon found out differently. “We dug and dug under rubble, and all we found from hours of digging were an intestine and a hand,” he said.
The two things that Gargan said he saw the most of were papers that had been blown out of the World Trade Center towers and the dust. Dust was about all that remained after the internal heat at Ground Zero reached 1,200 degrees.
That kind of heat, Gargan said, incinerates almost everything near to it. The point was illustrated when he and some others were moving a car in the wreckage.
“There was a car that was only a quarter of an inch thick due to the heat, and when the crane picked it up to move it, it rang like wind chimes,” said Gargan.
The damage was contained to Lower Manhattan, said Gargan. He said Sept. 11 could have been a lot worse if the towers would have just fallen over. The World Trade Center, with seven buildings in all, covered 16 acres in Lower Manhattan.
Vicks VapoRub is usually applied under the noses of those going into situations where corpses are involved, but at Ground Zero, most did not even use it, Gargan said.
“We just got used to the stench of dead bodies. One time, the wind changed direction and the smell was terrible. I pointed [out] to someone in charge that in what was left of the North Tower, there were dead bodies in the staircase,” said Gargan.
The memories are etched indelibly in Gargan’s mind. He said that every day he thinks of those who died, especially when he looks at the piece of a plane used in the attacks that he was allowed to keep.
“When I look into the two windows of that 4-foot piece of plane, I see two ladies staring out at me,” said Gargan of the only intact plane fragment found.
Now, more than two years after the attacks, Gargan believes that people are forgetting what happened on Sept. 11.
He said that people should pay tribute and remember the acts of terrorism.
Gargan speaks humbly when he talks about his fallen comrades. The chief knew most of the firefighters killed, because he trained most of them.
“The guys weren’t heroes. They were just doing their jobs. This was the big one, and they were not going to miss it,” he said.
Brotherhood is the key in being a firefighter, Gargan said when talking about how many he lost that day. He said he misses all of them greatly.
When asked to return to Ground Zero for a tribute, he refused, like so many who were there during 9/11 and its aftermath.
“I have not been back to the site and I don’t want to . There are too many bad memories,” said Gargan.

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