KIM CURTIS
Associated Press Writer
SAUSALITO, Calif. (AP) -- Like many on the West Coast, amateur radio operator
Robert Sanford was roused from bed around 6 a.m. on Sept. 11.
``My friend, Mike, called me. He said, `You gotta get up. The World Trade
Center's been hit by a plane,''' recalled Sanford, a New York City native.
The 44-year-old radio enthusiast immediately went to his den, or ``command
center'' as he calls it, and turned on his computer and television. Another
East Coast friend used the Internet to feed Sanford radio transmissions
between police and fire officials and dispatchers.
Sanford started listening _ and then he started recording, capturing more
than two hours of wrenching exchanges.
Just after the first tower collapsed, a fire dispatcher responded to a voice
calling for help.
``I'm beneath the north pedestrian bridge,'' the voice said. ``I don't have
much air. There was a building collapse. I was on the street. I don't have
much air. Please send somebody.''
``Listen to me,'' the dispatcher responded. ``You need to calm down and
relax. We do have somebody on the way over to you. Get off the air. Remain
calm.''
In those first hours after the towers collapsed, the dispatcher called for a
unit and often got only silence in return.
After the second tower collapsed, a police dispatcher tracked perhaps a
dozen reports of officers trapped. In an emotional exchange, he tried to
pinpoint the location of a seriously injured officer who could barely speak.
``Try to talk into your radio,'' the dispatcher said. ``What was your last
location? What was your last location? Talk to us.''
``Help me,'' was all the trapped officer could utter.
Sanford was stunned by what he heard.
``These guys are the best of the best. They can handle anything that's
thrown at them, but this was too much even for them,'' Sanford said. ``The
bedlam on the radio -- everyone was kind of losing it.''
Related:
