A first responderâs harrowing account of 9/11âthe inspirational true story of an American hero who gave nearly everything for others during one of New York Cityâs darkest hours.
On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard âPitchâ Picciotto answered the call heard around the world. In minutes, he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center began to burnâand then to buckle.
A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Picciotto was eerily familiar with the inside of the North Tower. And it was there that he concentrated his rescue efforts. It was in its smoky stairwells where he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. He made the call for firemen and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to help evacuate a group of disabled and infirm civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buriedâfor more than four hours after the buildingâs collapse.