Orio Palmer | |
---|---|
Born | The Bronx, New York City, U.S. | March 2, 1956
Died | September 11, 2001 45) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Collapse of the South Tower as part of the 9/11 attacks |
Resting place | Cemetery of the Holy Rood (Westbury, New York) |
Education | Associate degree (Electrical Technology) |
Alma mater | Cardinal Spellman High School; Westchester Community College |
Television | 9/11 (CBS); In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11/01 (HBO) |
Spouse | Debbie Palmer [1] |
Children | 3 [1] |
Awards | Numerous Medals of Valor, Unit Citations |
Known for | Evacuation efforts during the September 11 attacks |
Notable work | Numerous papers and articles regarding Firefighting and Firefighter Safety; article(s) regarding Radio communications in High-rise building fires and use of repeaters to ensure communication while fighting High-rise building fires. |
Firefighter career | |
Department | New York City Fire Department (1981–2001) Battalion 7 |
Orio Joseph Palmer (March 2, 1956 – September 11, 2001) was a Battalion Chief of the New York City Fire Department who died while rescuing civilians trapped inside the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. [2] [3] [1] Palmer led the team of firefighters that reached the 78th floor of the South Tower, the floor where the plane had struck the building. [2] [3] As of 2024, his remains have never been identified.
According to The 9/11 Commission Report , audio and video recordings prominently featuring Orio Palmer have played an important role in the ongoing analysis of problems with radio communications during the September 11 attacks. [4]
Orio Palmer was born in the Bronx, New York City, on March 2, 1956. [5] Palmer graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, in 1974. [6] He held an associate degree in electrical technology. [7]
He married Debbie Palmer, [1] and they had three children, [1] [6] Dana, Keith, and Alyssa. [6] [8]
According to John Norman, author of Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics, Palmer was very fit and ran marathon races. [9] Historian Peter Charles Hoffer wrote that Palmer was "in superb condition". [10]
In 1989, Palmer ran the New York City Marathon for the first time, dedicating his participation in that event to his daughter Dana in honor of her first birthday. He later completed a number of other races and fitness challenges, [11] including a few triathlons. [5]
Palmer joined the New York City Fire Department, where he eventually became Battalion Chief [5] [12] of FDNY's Battalion 7. [5]
Reporter Michael Daly wrote, "The 45-year-old Palmer was one of the department's rising stars, renowned for his smarts and nerve and decency, as well as his physical fitness." [3]
Palmer was the first FDNY member to be awarded the department's physical fitness award five times. [13]
He was said to be one of the "most knowledgeable people in the department" about radio communication in high-rise fires, [6] [7] and authored a training article for the department on how to use repeaters to boost radio reception during such emergencies. [7]
Footage of Palmer was used in the CBS film 9/11 , and later in the HBO film In Memoriam: New York City, 9/11/01. [14] The video footage was shot by French documentary filmmaker Jules Naudet at the North Tower. It shows Palmer conferring with Deputy Chief Peter Hayden and Assistant Chief Donald Burns at the North Tower. The South Tower had just been hit. The men discuss how to respond to the two towers, and the communications problems they faced. The sound of a falling person hitting pavement outside reverberates. According to Michael Daly, "Palmer stood steady and calm, an air pack on his back, a red flashlight bound with black elastic to his white helmet, a radio in his left hand. His face showed only a readiness to do whatever was needed." The men decided that Burns and Palmer would proceed to the South Tower. [3]
After American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 am, Palmer helped organize operations there. Soon after United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 am, Palmer moved into that building with Chief Burns. Although most elevators had been rendered non-operational, [15] Palmer, who was well versed in elevators, managed to get a freight elevator to bring him and several members of Ladder 15 partway up the building [12] to the 41st floor, halfway to the impact zone, which spanned the 77th to the 85th floors. [15] About 14 or 15 minutes before the South Tower collapsed, a group of people who had survived the plane's impact began their descent from the 78th floor. As they departed, Palmer sent word to Chief Edward Geraghty that a group of 10 people, some of whom exhibited injuries, were heading to an elevator on the 41st floor, the only one left working by the plane's impact. However, on its last trip down, the car became stuck in the shaft. Inside the elevator was a Ladder 15 firefighter who reported that he was trying to break open the walls. It is unclear whether the group of 10 had reached that elevator before it left the 41st floor, but those who listened to the tape said it was most unlikely that they had enough time to escape, by the elevator or by stairs. [16]
When an audiotape of communication with the firefighters was released, it revealed that firefighters did not anticipate the building's collapse. Palmer, issuing an order to one of his subordinates, was recorded seconds before the building collapsed. Peter Charles Hoffer described Palmer's professionalism during the final moments of his life: "Listening to Palmer and his comrades on the recovered tape, one can hear the urgency of men working at high efficiency, but there was never a hint that the clock was running out on them." [10]
Transcripts of Palmer's last broadcast were published in 2002. The actual recordings were made public in 2005, as the result of a lawsuit filed by The New York Times and families of some of the firefighters killed on September 11. Monica Gabrielle of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign commented on the release of the tapes: "Today we are one step closer to learning what happened on 9/11 in NYC — where we excelled, where we failed." [17]
According to The Times of London, "Chief Palmer made it to the impact zone on the 78th floor of the south tower before the building collapsed. Once there the battalion chief reported 'Numerous 10–45s, Code Ones' — fire department code for dead people." [16]
When new tapes were made public in 2006, Palmer's brother-in-law, FDNY Lt. Jim McCaffrey, stated, "It was emotional sitting with my wife and sister-in-law, listening to the tapes. You're hearing him right at that point prior to the collapse, about the things he saw on the 78th floor. Before that, we didn't even know he got higher than the 40th floor." [18]
In 2004, The 9/11 Commission Report relied on analysis of the North Tower lobby conversations between Palmer, Peter Hayden and Donald Burns in the film shot by Jules and Gédéon Naudet to better understand what was and was not working on the fire department's communications in those critical minutes. The report stated that, "Of particular concern to the chiefs—in light of FDNY difficulties in responding to the 1993 bombing—was communications capability. One of the chiefs recommended testing the repeater channel to see if it would work." Peter Hayden, who survived, later testified, "People watching on TV certainly had more knowledge of what was happening a hundred floors above us than we did in the lobby.... [W]ithout critical information coming in... it's very difficult to make informed, critical decisions". [4]
The 9/11 Commission carefully analyzed the FDNY radio communications that day, and reported that the battalion chief (Palmer) was able to maintain radio communication that "worked well" with the senior chief in the lobby of the South Tower during the first fifteen minutes of his ascent. A message from a World Trade Center security official (Rick Rescorla) that the impact was on the 78th floor was relayed to Palmer, and he decided to try to take his team to that level. Beginning at 9:21 am, Palmer was no longer able to reach the lobby command post, but his transmissions were recorded and analyzed later. He reached the 78th floor sky lobby, and his team not far behind him were able to free a group of civilians trapped in an elevator at 9:58 am. Palmer radioed that the area was open to the 79th floor, "well into the impact zone", and reported "numerous civilian fatalities in the area". One minute later, at 9:59 am, the South Tower collapsed, killing everyone still inside, including Palmer and FDNY Marshal Ronald Bucca. [4]
Michael Daly concluded that Palmer, "an uncommonly brave fire chief who was one of the department's most knowledgeable minds in communications perished never knowing of warnings [of collapsing floors] telephoned by at least two callers less than 30 stories above him." [3]
Although they lost their lives themselves, Palmer and his crew had played an "indispensable role in ensuring calm in the stairwells, assisting the injured and guiding the evacuees on the lower floors." [19]
In 2002, a portion of East 234th Street between Vireo and Webster Avenues in the Bronx was renamed "Deputy Chief Orio J. Palmer Way." [20] [21]
The New York City Fire Department honored Palmer by renaming its physical fitness award [11] the Deputy Chief Orio Palmer Fitness Award, [22] [23] also known as the Orio Palmer Memorial Fitness Award. [24]
At the National 9/11 Memorial, Palmer is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-17. [25]
In an early-morning ceremony on May 10, 2014, the long-unidentified remains of 1,115 victims were transferred from the city medical examiner's to Ground Zero, where they would be placed in a space in the bedrock 70 feet below ground, as part of the 9/11 Museum. Reaction to the move was split among the families of the 9/11 victims, with some hailing the decision, and others protesting the location as inappropriate. Among the latter was Orio Palmer's brother-in-law, FDNY Lt. James McCaffrey, who demanded a ground-level tomb as a more dignified location. McCaffrey said, "The decision to put the human remains of the 9/11 dead in this basement is inherently disrespectful and totally offensive." McCaffrey stated that the remains deserve a place of prominence equal to that of the Memorial's trees and pools, and opined that the ceremony was held early in the morning due to opposition to the decision. [26]
The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited a large response of local emergency and rescue personnel to assist in the evacuation of the two towers, resulting in a large loss of the same personnel when the towers collapsed. After the attacks, the media termed the World Trade Center site "Ground Zero", while rescue personnel referred to it as "the Pile".
Communication problems and successes played an important role during the September 11 attacks in 2001 and their aftermath. Systems were variously destroyed or overwhelmed by loads greater than they were designed to carry, or failed to operate as intended or desired.
The September 11 attacks of 2001, in addition to being a unique act of terrorism, constituted a media event on a scale not seen since the advent of civilian global satellite links. Instant worldwide reaction and debate were made possible by round-the-clock television news organizations and by the internet. As a result, most of the events listed below were known by a large portion of the world's population as they occurred.
9/11 is a 2002 documentary film about the September 11 attacks in New York City, in which two planes were flown into the buildings of the World Trade Center, resulting in their destruction and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. The film is from the point of view of the New York City Fire Department. The film was directed by brothers Jules and Gédéon Naudet and FDNY firefighter James Hanlon and produced by Susan Zirinsky of CBS News.
The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, Specialized Hazardous Materials Response Services, Emergency Medical Response Services and Specialized Technical Rescue Services in the entire city.
Ronald Paul Bucca was a New York City Fire Department Marshal killed during the September 11 attacks during the collapse of the World Trade Center. He was the only fire marshal in the history of the New York City Fire Department to be killed in the line of duty.
Jules Clément Naudet and brother Thomas Gédéon Naudet are French-American filmmakers. The brothers, residents of the United States since 1989 and citizens since 1999, were in New York City at the time of the September 11 attacks to film a documentary on members of the Engine 7, Ladder 1 firehouse in Lower Manhattan.
Peter James Ganci Jr. was a career firefighter in the New York City Fire Department killed in the September 11 attacks. At the time of the attacks, he held the rank of Chief of Department, the highest ranking uniformed fire officer in the department.
Thomas Von Essen was appointed the 30th FDNY Commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on April 15, 1996, and served in that position until the end of the Giuliani Administration on December 31, 2001, nearly four months after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
William Michael Feehan was a member of the Fire Department of New York who died during the collapse of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. He was the second-highest official in the department.
"The Real Rudy" is a series of four viral videos by documentary film director and activist Robert Greenwald.
Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend is a video produced by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). On July 11, 2007, the IAFF released the 13-minute video in DVD format to fire departments across the U.S. The DVD outlines its complaints against Rudy Giuliani. It is critical of the 2008 Republican Party presidential candidate and former New York City mayor. As the video has been issued on a website, and not just DVD, it is classifiable as a viral video.
The 23rd Street Fire was an incident that took place in the Flatiron District neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on October 17, 1966. A group of firefighters from the New York City Fire Department responding to a fire at 7 East 22nd Street entered a building at 6 East 23rd Street as part of an effort to fight the fire. Twelve firefighters were killed after the floor collapsed, the largest loss of life in the department's history until the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks of 2001.
Welles Remy Crowther was an American equities trader and volunteer firefighter known for saving as many as 18 lives during the September 11 attacks in New York City, during which he lost his own life.
The September 11 attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in human history, causing the deaths of 2,996 people, including 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers who committed murder–suicide. Thousands more were injured, and long-term health effects have arisen as a consequence of the attacks. New York City took the brunt of the death toll when the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan were attacked, with an estimated 1,600 victims from the North Tower and around a thousand from the South Tower. Two hundred miles southwest in Arlington County, Virginia, another 125 were killed in the Pentagon. The remaining 265 fatalities included the ninety-two passengers and crew of American Airlines Flight 11, the sixty-five aboard United Airlines Flight 175, the sixty-four on American Airlines Flight 77 and the forty-four who boarded United Airlines Flight 93. The attack on the World Trade Center's North Tower alone made the September 11 attacks the deadliest act of terrorism in human history.
Vincent Joseph Dunn is a retired firefighter who served the New York Fire Department for 42 years, rising in rank to Commander of Division 3. A longtime contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine, he is the author of nine books on firefighting and one memoir. He published two of his books before his 1999 retirement from New York City Fire Department: "Collapse of Burning Buildings: A Guide to Fireground Safety," 1988; and "Safety and Survival on the Fireground," 1992. His later books are "Command and Control of Fires and Emergencies," 2000; "Strategy of Firefighting," 2007; "Building Construction the Firefighters Battlespace," 2018; "Fire the Battlespace Enemy," 2020; Battlespace Combat," 2020; "Skyscraper Battlespace High-Rise Firefighting," published 2022, and “Battlespace Life-or-Death Decisions,” published 2023. All of Chief Dunn's books are available at vincentdunn.com.
New York City Fire Department Ladder Company 3, also known as Ladder 3, is a fire company and one of two ladder companies in the New York City Fire Department's (FDNY) 6th Battalion, 1st Division. It is housed at 108 E. 13th St., along with Battalion Chief 6, and has firefighting stewardship over a several square block area of Manhattan’s East Village. The company was created on September 11, 1865, and is one of New York’s oldest ladder companies.
Melissa Cándida Doi was an American senior manager at IQ Financial Systems, who died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The 1989 New York City Marathon was the 20th running of the annual marathon race in New York City, United States, which took place on Sunday, November 5. The men's elite race was won by Tanzania's Juma Ikangaa in a time of 2:08:01 hours while the women's race was won by Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen in 2:25:30.
Joseph W. Pfeifer is a retired American firefighter who served with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Pfeifer served as First Deputy Commissioner of the FDNY from February 2023 until September 2024, and as Acting Fire Commissioner of the FDNY in August 2024. Prior to his civilian work in the FDNY, Pfeifer was an Assistant Chief. He retired in 2018.
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