Response to the 9/11 Attacks

Response To The Attacks Of 9/11

Jose Cruz Lerma

Kaplan University

CJ-355

Mr. Kozyra

February 12, 2013

In this paper, you will find that the research made to find the communication challenges law enforcement agencies may have faced, whether they were internal, external, or in relation to other agencies, when responding to a particular disaster, either natural or man-made. You will also find that I have listed some details of facts of the incident and the specific communication problems encountered their consequences of those problems in terms of lives lost and steps taken by the relevant agencies to address those problems.

I will begin by siting the place. New York City, the first terrorist attack or the first attempt was made on February 26, 1993 (Hamilton, 2004). As the Commission Report explains this was the first incident that exposed all vulnerabilities. From the buildings’ to the agencies involved, which are the Fire Department of New York, New York Police Department and Port Authority Police Department anything and everything went wrong for everyone that fatal day. There was no central command posted and every agency was on their own. The first responders which were a combination of both the Fire Department and the Police Department were not expecting to witness a carnage that they found. Although not compared to the second attack yet and still they had never experienced anything of that sort. The attack consisted of a rental vehicle, a van, loaded with over 1500 pounds of explosives. This killed six people and injured thousands.

The attack also maimed communications and due to this the generators that would otherwise kick in to provide emergency power were shut down to avoid fires or electrocutions due to Firefighters attempting to put fires out. The chaotic aftermath seemed like a 1950’s movie with buildings not having the latest emergency technological advances and all the smoke running through the stairwells ceasing all rescue advances or...