dazed looking firefighters walking through jagged dusty wreckage of a collapsed building

Firefighters walk near the remains of the Twin Towers after the 9/11 attacks. 

Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images

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A Day That Changed America

Twenty years later, a firefighter recalls one of the nation’s darkest days.

September 6, 2021
By Brian Fitzgerald

Courtesy of Gregg Hansson

Gregg Hansson

September 11, 2001, was a sunny and clear day in New York City. Firefighter Gregg Hansson was just starting his shift at Engine 24 when a call came in shortly after 8:46 a.m. A plane had struck one of the Twin Towers. The 110-floor skyscrapers were part of a huge office complex called the World Trade Center. 

Hansson and five other firefighters hopped in their engine. They arrived on the scene within minutes. Thick black smoke was pouring from a huge hole high up in the building. 

At the time, many people thought a small plane had hit the tower by accident. In fact, terrorists had hijacked, or taken over, a jet filled with passengers and flown it into the tower on purpose. 

Panicked people were running from the building. But Hansson and hundreds of other first responders would do the opposite.

Into the Tower

In the lobby of the tower, Hansson learned that the elevators weren’t working. To reach the blaze, firefighters would have to take the stairs. And they each would be loaded with 75 to 100 pounds of gear. 

As firefighters climbed the stairs, they passed workers from the building who were fleeing to safety. After about an hour, Hansson reached the 35th floor. 

“It’s exhausting to carry all that weight,” Hansson says. “We were drenched in sweat.”

After only a few minutes of rest, he heard a radio call: “Mayday, get out of the building!” Within seconds, the tower began to shake violently. The other tower had been struck by another plane about an hour earlier. And it had just crumbled to the ground. 

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

A Race Against Time

Hansson started down the stairs as quickly as he could. On the third floor, he was stopped by a firefighter who needed help with a man who wasn’t able to walk. Hansson and other firefighters worked with police officers to drag the man down the stairs.

Within seconds of making it safely outside, Hansson heard a deafening roar, and everything went pitch-black. The tower he had just exited was now collapsing too. A huge gust of air swept over Hansson, who was pelted by debris. 

After about 10 seconds, all was calm. Hansson couldn’t believe he was still alive. But toxic dust and thick black smoke were filling his lungs.

“It felt as if someone had stuck a sock in my throat,” Hansson says. 

In the distance, he saw a flashlight. Two police officers had stayed behind near a staircase. Hansson crawled on his stomach toward the light and reached safety. 

A Tragic Day

Later that night, Hansson found out that all the firefighters from Engine 24 had survived. Many other people weren’t as lucky. Two other passenger jets had been hijacked that morning. One flew into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. military, in Arlington, Virginia. Another crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 

In total, nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks that day, now known as 9/11. That included more than 400 firefighters, police officers, and paramedics who responded to the attacks on the Twin Towers.

Twenty years later, Hansson is still a firefighter at Engine 24. He also volunteers for the 9/11 Tribute Museum, where he tells visitors about the bravery and sacrifices made by others on that day. But he doesn’t feel comfortable being called a hero himself. 

“My job is to save people, so it’s not heroic to me to save people,” Hansson explains. “It’s what I signed up to do.” 

What You Need to Know About the U.S. After 9/11

  • The 9/11 hijackers were part of a terrorist group called Al Qaeda (ahl KAY-dah). In October 2001, U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan, a country in Asia where Al Qaeda was based. It was the start of the longest war in U.S. history.
  • Over the years, many members of Al Qaeda were captured or killed. In May 2011, after years of looking for him, U.S. troops killed the group’s leader, Osama bin Laden. He had been hiding in the neighboring country of Pakistan. The U.S. plans to withdraw its remaining troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
  • The U.S. government took many steps to try to make the country safer after 9/11. They included tightening security at airports and in public buildings.


Pictured below: The Twin Towers in flames on 9/11

Robert Giroux/Getty Images

1. Why did Gregg Hansson run into the tower when other people were running out?

2. What specific details about Hansson’s experience on 9/11 does the article include?

3. What can you learn from the map on page 5?

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