Most people’s memories of Ground Zero in New York City are gleaned from the extensive media coverage that dominated the airwaves 24-7 and filled newspapers and magazines for months.
But not Hugh Glime and Randy Schuler.
Their memories come directly from the six weeks they spent working tirelessly to help clear the massive pile of debris created when a group of Al Qaeda-backed hijackers destroyed the World Trade Center (WTC) by purposely crashing two Boeing 767 jets into the 110-story Twin Towers on the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001.
‘It was kind of rough,? said Glime, who lived in Oxford from 1978 to 2007. ‘Not the work part because that’s what we do. Knowing what happened and seeing it with your own eyes was kind of stressful. When I got back, it kind of haunted me for a few months.?
The attack on the World Trade Center killed a total of 2,753 people.
At the time, Glime and Schuler were working for MCM Management, a Detroit-based demolition company. When volunteers were sought to help at Ground Zero, they didn’t hesitate to step forward.
‘Everybody was emotionally-charged up,? said Glime, who’s now semiretired after 30 years in the demolition business and living in Tampa, Florida. ‘There was no way I was going to say ‘no? to going.?
He noted he was ‘too old to join the service,? so this was the next best way for him to contribute in the nation’s time of need.
‘I just wanted to be able to help,? said Schuler, an Oxford resident who recently retired from the community fire department after serving as a paid-on-call member for 28 years.
They were among the 12 operators and 12 pieces of equipment MCM Management sent to this massive crime scene.
Within days of the attack, they were in the heart of New York City. When they arrived, Glime couldn’t get over how tall the debris pile was.
‘It was 100 feet high or more,? he said.
To Glime, the media coverage couldn’t possibly convey just how enormous and extensive the destruction truly was.
‘It wasn’t just the towers that fell,? he said. ‘There were buildings all around it that were damaged. There were big I-beams sticking out of buildings. Everywhere you looked, there was damage. I just couldn’t fathom the immensity of it.?
Schuler noted how every foot of I-beam from the WTC weighed 1,000 pounds, so when all that steel fell, it sliced through everything in its path including surrounding buildings. He agreed the media coverage ‘doesn’t even compare? to witnessing the devastation firsthand.
During the six weeks they were there, Glime and Schuler worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week. They spent all of their time at the site of WTC Building 7, a 47-story building that collapsed after heavy debris from one of the Twin Towers fell on it, causing severe damage and igniting fires that burned out of control.
Because Building 7 contained offices for federal entities such as the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Defense, Schuler and Glime said members of the Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were always on hand in case anything sensitive or valuable was recovered.
‘They didn’t leave that site,? Schuler said. ‘They had people there round the clock watching for stuff as we were digging. They were looking for particular safes, which I think we found one. They worked alongside us the whole time.?
Two things about Ground Zero stick out in Glime’s mind. The first was ‘the stench.?
‘It was like if you went in your garage (after) you hadn’t taken the garbage out for three months,? he said. ‘The air quality was very poor, but we wore respirators.?
‘It was just a weird smell. It’s hard to describe,? Schuler said. ?(The air) was always smoky and very, very dusty.?
Fortunately, neither Glime or Schuler have suffered any adverse health effects from working at Ground Zero.
?(Demolition is) what we do for a living, so we know how to protect ourselves,? Glime said. ‘We knew the hazards.?
The other thing that stood out in Glime’s mind was all the fire and intense heat generated by the smoldering debris. Fires erupted whenever portions of the pile were exposed to a fresh supply of oxygen.
‘It was like working on top of a charcoal barbecue. There were flare-ups all the time,? he explained. ‘We’d clear some debris away, then the flames would shoot up. Every time we had a flare-up, (the fire department) hit it with their water canons.?
‘They had ladder trucks set up there that never left. They just stayed there and worked with us while we were going through the rubble,? Schuler said.
Schuler noted they even had to spray the demolition equipment with water to cool it down because the burning debris made the interiors and exteriors of the machines so hot.
While Glime was working at Ground Zero, he didn’t dwell on what had happened.
‘I just focused on the job,? he said. ‘I went there to save the world, but once you got there and started working, all your training and all your previous experiences just kicked in and you did it automatically.?
One part of this job that was very different than he was used to was the prospect of finding deceased victims while moving debris.
‘Every night, I prayed I wouldn’t run across a body,? Glime said.
Fortunately, neither he nor Schuler did.
‘I wasn’t afraid to go and see death if that’s what had to happen, but it really wasn’t like that,? Schuler said. ‘We thought we’d see more and I think that’s why a lot of the guys at our company said no (to volunteering). They thought they were going to see dead bodies ? that it was going to be blood and guts and gore, (but) it wasn’t like that.?
It should be noted there were no deaths connected with the collapse of WTC Building 7.
For Schuler, the most memorable and heartbreaking part of the whole experience was passing by the areas full of people who were connected to someone that was inside the WTC during the attack.
‘There were hundreds and hundreds of people in these areas, waiting to hear word about their family members,? he said. ‘They were holding up posters with (photographs) of their family members on them. That was probably the hardest thing because I knew, everyday when I left, those people weren’t going to see (them again), but they didn’t know that.
‘They weren’t allowed close enough (to the scene) to see, so they really didn’t (understand) the magnitude. There was no chance of survival in there. There were still people there two weeks into it, still waiting for word (about) their family member. I knew they weren’t even going to find (the body of) that family member because (everything) was burned up and pulverized. Other than the large structural steel, there was nothing left.?
Being a firefighter himself, Schuler was moved and impressed at the dedication of those firefighters who never left the scene.
‘Those guys were working round the clock and they were sleeping in sleeping bags,? he said. ‘They refused to go home. It was amazing to see those guys just go and go and go.?
Both Glime and Schuler were overwhelmed by all the love and support that poured in for them and their fellow Ground Zero workers from every level of society.
‘Grade-school kids would pack peanut butter sandwiches (for us) and draw pictures to say thank you,? Glime said. ‘There was just an abundance of food and drinks there for the workers. Everything was free. They even set up a portable McDonald’s. They just cooked Big Macs and Quarter Pounders. They’d come around with wheelbarrow loads of them, giving them to workers.?
‘Companies (from) all over the world stepped up,? Schuler said. ‘You had Carhartt come there with semi-trucks (full) of bibs and boots for the workers because their turnout clothes were getting destroyed crawling around all that sharp debris.?
‘There were mountains of work clothes and boots,? Glime said. ‘Anyone working there could just take whatever they wanted to use.?
‘Cigarette companies were walking around with wheelbarrows full of cigarettes and giving them to the guys that were digging through the rubble by hand,? Schuler noted. ‘The water companies were bringing pallets and pallets and pallets of water. It was amazing to see how everybody wanted to help and how everybody stepped up. It wasn’t about money. It was about trying to help.?
Schuler noted he encountered celebrities at Ground Zero like actor David Faustino, who played Bud Bundy on the TV series ‘Married with Children,? and pop singer Britney Spears, who was wearing a pink hard hat. They were there to boost workers? morale and hand out food and coffee.
Both Glime and Schuler were very grateful they were generously given the opportunity to rest their weary heads every night in a ‘plush hotel? in Times Square.
Looking back, Glime is glad he did his part to help out in America’s time of need and would do it again ‘in a heartbeat.?
Schuler would be right there with him.
‘I wouldn’t even think twice,? he said. ‘I would volunteer to go.?
Glime said the experience didn’t change him, but it did make him realize just how much the terrorists hate the U.S. and the lengths they’re willing to go to attack this country.
‘It heightened my awareness about how much evil there is in the world,? Glime said. ‘I was glad to go (there) and I was glad to leave.?