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CNN Live Today
Red Cross Volunteers Discuss the Effort to Rescue Victims of the World Trade Center Attack
Aired September 12, 2001 - 15:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Back up the street a bit, about 30 blocks or so, to Jonathan Sheneer (ph) and Joe McKinnan (ph), who are the two Red Cross volunteers who we gave, earlier today, this morning, a small handheld camera that they could take in as they went looking -- helping the firefighters, the police officers, all of the others in and around Ground Zero at the World Trade Center, and they are helping us as we go with what they -- what they saw and what they did and what it was like. Just, orient me again, if you can, either one of you, tell me what we're looking at there? Can you tell?
JONATHAN SHENEER, RED CROSS VOLUNTEER: I believe that's the building that's right above the Burger King. I don't, again, know what it -- which building it is. It's -- if you're looking straight at the World Trade Center, it will be off to the left.
BROWN: OK, and was it -- obviously, there was an enormous amount of smoke pouring out. Was there was fire as well? Were you aware of fire?
SHENEER: The fire was farther back from where we were. There was some small isolated fires inside the buildings we were in, just minor stuff, places the firemen had already at.
BROWN: And guys, did you feel safe?
SHENEER: No.
BROWN: You did not?
SHENEER: Not at all.
BROWN: What did you feel the dangers were there?
SHENEER: Those buildings can collapse at any time.
BROWN: And when you say these buildings, how many buildings were you wearily looking at?
SHENEER: Five or six, I believe.
BROWN: And what made you think they could collapse at any time, just simply the fact that others had? SHENEER: Well, you -- we looked up and there's metal hanging off the roof, pieces falling all around us all day long and all night long that we were working. It's quite scary.
BROWN: And was this - guys, was this the first time this morning that you had been into the area or had you been working in and around the area last night and yesterday afternoon?
SHENEER: Yes, we got here at 2:00 in the morning and we've been working ever since.
BROWN: And where did you come from by the way?
SHENEER: Rhode Island.
BROWN: You came from Rhode Island. And again, Joe and Jonathan are Red Cross volunteers who came in and we gave them a small camera to videotape some of what they saw. Those are the pictures. These are the pictures that you are looking at now.
Was there a sense, from fire officials -- were they directing you to stay away from one area, move to other? What kind of direction were you getting?
SHENEER: There was no real direction. Everything's pretty chaotic down there. There's no one really telling you what to do, at least at the point we were down. We were allowed to go where we wanted. We searched the buildings with no problems. No one told us to leave.
BROWN: I'm going to ask you to do one of the things that I think is awfully hard, give me a sense - just your best guess -- of how many people were in that area where you were? Are we talking hundreds of people? These are rescue workers, firefighters, police officers, and the rest.
SHENEER: Several thousand.
BROWN: Several thousand people?
SHENEER: By the time we left, several thousand people were there helping.
BROWN: And when you got there at 2:00 in the morning -- and I realize the last thing you were doing when you arrived at 2:00 in the morning was counting the number of people around you. But do you have -- were there a lot, a few, hundreds?
SHENEER: There was quite a number.
BROWN: And what was their state at the time? Did they look exhausted?
SHENEER: I really wasn't looking. I got -- I got to New York and I just started helping.
BROWN: Yeah.
SHENEER: Started searching.
BROWN: And either one or both, actually, when you first arrived on the scene at 2:00 this morning, what did you think, what went through your mind?
SHENEER: Any comment, Joe?
BROWN: I'm sorry, say it again for me.
SHENEER: I was amazed at what I saw. It's incredible that people can do this to each other.
BROWN: Gentlemen, thank you both for your efforts on our behalf and on the behalf of all of the people who benefited by your willingness to come down and do the work.
SHENEER: Thank you.
JOE MCKINNAN, RED CROSS VOLUNTEER: Thank you.
BROWN: You were here not here, obviously, to shoot pictures for us, you were there to do obviously serious and important work. And we appreciate your efforts in both regards. Thanks for coming in this afternoon. Get some rest. Thank you.
SHENEER: Thanks.
BROWN: To Atlanta and Bill Hemmer and Joie Chen.
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