KAMEDO report no. 84: terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center, 11 September 2001

On 11 September 2001, two hijacked airplanes collided with the World Trade Center in New York. Both towers collapsed, spreading smoke and debris for miles. Rescue personnel arrived rapidly, but the collapse of the towers made the scene too dangerous for these teams to rescue all those trapped inside. Although this collapse was impossible to predict, fires occurring in skyscrapers can cause the structures to collapse. When a fire erupts in the upper levels of the building, it is even more difficult for those trapped inside to escape. Communications systems were shut down. In future incidents with large numbers of injured victims, the injured should be transported to hospitals by non-traditional medical transport vehicles (taxis, cars, etc.). If future disasters occur in the vicinity of a hospital, the most severely injured victims should go to the hospital instead of congregating at assembly points. These victims often are already at hospitals before substantial aid arrives at the assembly points. On-scene care must be documented, and easy-to-read triage tags should be used. Reserve power supplies in major cities should be maintained in preparation for emergencies. Both victims and rescue personnel are susceptible to post-traumatic, psychosocial reactions.