A Day That Changed America

In the lobby of the tower, Hansson learned that the elevators weren’t working. To reach the blaze, firefighters would have to take the stairs. And they each would be loaded with 75 to 100 pounds of gear. 

As firefighters climbed the stairs, they passed workers from the building who were fleeing to safety. After about an hour, Hansson reached the 35th floor. 

“It’s exhausting to carry all that weight,” Hansson says. “We were drenched in sweat.”

After only a few minutes of rest, he heard a radio call: “Mayday, get out of the building!” Within seconds, the tower began to shake violently. The other tower had been struck by another plane about an hour earlier. And it had just crumbled to the ground. 

Hansson started down the stairs as quickly as he could. On the third floor, he was stopped by a firefighter who needed help with a man who wasn’t able to walk. Hansson and other firefighters worked with police officers to drag the man down the stairs.

Within seconds of making it safely outside, Hansson heard a deafening roar, and everything went pitch-black. The tower he had just exited was now collapsing too. A huge gust of air swept over Hansson, who was pelted by debris. 

After about 10 seconds, all was calm. Hansson couldn’t believe he was still alive. But toxic dust and thick black smoke were filling his lungs.

“It felt as if someone had stuck a sock in my throat,” Hansson says. 

In the distance, he saw a flashlight. Two police officers had stayed behind near a staircase. Hansson crawled on his stomach toward the light and reached safety. 

Later that night, Hansson found out that all the firefighters from Engine 24 had survived. Many other people weren’t as lucky. Two other passenger jets had been hijacked that morning. One flew into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. military, in Arlington, Virginia. Another crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

In total, nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks that day, now known as 9/11. That included more than 400 firefighters, police officers, and paramedics who responded to the attacks on the Twin Towers.

Twenty years later, Hansson is still a firefighter at Engine 24. He also volunteers for the 9/11 Tribute Museum, where he tells visitors about the bravery and sacrifices made by others on that day. But he doesn’t feel comfortable being called a hero himself. 

“My job is to save people, so it’s not heroic to me to save people,” Hansson explains. “It’s what I signed up to do.” 

1. Why did Gregg Hansson run into the tower when other people were running out?

2. What specific details about Hansson’s experience on 9/11 does the article include?

3. What can you learn from the map on page 5?