File No. 9110491
WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW
FRANK NOLAN
Interview Date: January 23, 2002
Transcribed by Maureen McCormick
BATTALION CHIEF CONGIUSTA: Today is January 23, 2002. The time is 1100 hours, and this is Battalion Chief Frank Congiusta of the Safety Battalion of the Fire Department of the City of New York. I'm conducting an interview with the following individual. Please state your name.
LIEUTENANT NOLAN: Frank Nolan, lieutenant, Ladder 102.
BATTALION CHIEF CONGIUSTA: Of the Fire Department of the City of New York.
The location of this interview is at the
quarters of Ladder 102. This interview is regarding the events of September 11, 2001.
Q. Frank, would you please give in your own words what happened that day.
A. Well, Ladder 102 responded to the staging area at Hamilton Avenue on the Brooklyn side of the Battery Tunnel.
After the first tower came down, 102 was ordered by B.C. Coyne of the 42 battalion to evacuate the north tube of the tunnel. While doing so, 102
walked the entire length of the tunnel, split up into two teams, one led by myself, Lieutenant Nolan, and one led by Lieutenant Ciaravino, who was getting off the night tour. We just split into two teams.
I reported to Battalion Chief O'Connor of the 57, who told us to stay together and just search as many voids and we could, and Lieutenant Ciaravino led his own team. He was radio equipped, and I'm not really sure where he went.
We both split up into two teams and began searching voids. The first place we went to was -- I met up with a lieutenant from 10 truck, who took us to where the north tower lobby was, and we began searching
voids and trying to follow the sounds of pass alarms, to no avail. And that's about it. We worked for the next 20 hours or so until about four in the morning just removing bodies.
Q. You found bodies?
A. We found two civilian bodies, and we just helped remove them. Actually, I remember the guy's name, too, one of the guys' names, and that was it.
Q. When you went through the tunnel, you just walked through the tunnel, and when there was nobody in
there, you continued on to the site?
A. Right. We walked through the tunnel. We were told that there was infirmed and elderly who were struggling to get out, but as we walked, the people were just passing us, and we found nobody in need of our assistance. They just continued to exit to the Brooklyn side, and we continued on to the Manhattan side.
Q. Anything else you want to say?
A. That's it. That's all I can remember that day.
Also, yes, I was -- after leaving Chief O'Connor and searching various voids, I would every now and then go back to the command post with D. C. Hayden, who was in command, and he would send us to various assignments, and that was it.
BATTALION CHIEF CONGIUSTA: Thank you for you are cooperation. This concludes this interview. The time is 1110 hours. Thank you very much.
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