Local Ohio Ground Zero Helpers Reflect Sept. 11 Taught Them Valuable Lessons

Sept. 11, 2002
CINCINNATI -- Some area rescue workers who went to ground zero just after the terrorist attacks looked back on their heroic deed Tuesday. WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Terry Daniels spoke to three men from Bethel-Tate Ambulance, and all of them seemed to think that going to New York City last year was their collective duty.

CINCINNATI -- Some area rescue workers who went to ground zero just after the terrorist attacks looked back on their heroic deed Tuesday.

WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Terry Daniels spoke to three men from Bethel-Tate Ambulance, and all of them seemed to think that going to New York City last year was their collective duty.

"I come in every day to do my job," Lt. Shane Elliot (pictured, below) told Daniels. "I'm here to help out people. In no way am I a hero."

Chief Melvin Dean, one of the 10 from Bethel Tate's ambulance district who made the trip, recalled what he saw when he first approached the World Trade Center area in Manhattan.

"Words can't describe what we looked at," Dean said. "We saw firetrucks, ambulances and police cars just crushed. I'll never forget that."

Rick Lee, another local rescue worker who went to ground zero, said he learned that terrorism has no boundaries.

"No matter where you're at, anything can happen," Lee said. "Nobody expected that, but it showed that anything can happen in a moment."

Elliot said he learned another lesson; the need to update disaster plans, training and preparation is a serious one.

"Just the magnitude of the situation makes it hard to prepare for that large-scale thing," he said. "But we've gotten better preparation since, and we can better deal with situations that arise now."

Copyright 2002 by Channel Cincinnati. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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