Two weeks after the airplanes struck the World Towers we received a call from the local Salvation Army asking if we could send four therapists from The Life Way Counseling Centers to New York. Martin Re, President of Life Way, replied that we could probably recruit four Counselors to go if we had some time. They said, "You don't have much time. We want you there tomorrow."
It was not possible to make flight arrangements and switch Counseling appointments for all our clients but four of us volunteered. We were led by Dr. Jerome Kelly, M.D., our Medical Director. He Steve Griebling, Carla Faison and I hopped on a free Delta airplane and flew to Newark, New jersey. From there we drove to a Salvation Army camp a few miles from New York City and went through a rather rigorous FBI background check. We all passed and they gave us official FBI photo badges so we could get into the Ground Zero area.
Getting back and forth to the Ground Zero area was like entering and leaving North Korea or East Germany during the Cold War. Despite the fact that "The horse was out of the barn, police, National Guard and soldiers stopped us every few blocks to check our car and our official FBI badges. Dr. Kelly and Steve were on one team from i:00 PM until 1:00 AM when Carla and I relieved them for the next 12 hours, 1:00 AM unit 1:00 PM.
These photos show the tents which we called home at Ground Zero. The Salvation Army had set up three tents from which we dispensed food, drinks, warm clothing, and medical supplies. We were actively interacting all night long with police, fire fighters, military, FBI agents, workers, rescue personnel, journalists, etc. When we arrived, the fire below ground was so intense that smoke was a constant problem with its toxic waste, terrible smells and heat. Several times each shift the fire fighters would put a probe down in the hole and test the temp. I remember one night the Chief said it was 1800 degrees.
More later.
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