The events of September 11, 2001 forced security, engineering and emergency services experts to look at the world differently. Retaking New York
looks at the new training measures undertaken by the anti-terrorism
unit of the NYPD, high-tech evacuation procedures and the new
technologies that are making glass and concrete safer and more
bomb-resistant.
The NYPD is playing its part in the war on terror, with 39,000 officers
patrolling the city's land, sea, sky and underground subway system.
Operation Atlas was created post 9/11. Since then, the time devoted to
counter-terrorism has multiplied twenty-fold. Most visible is the
Hercules Unit of Operation Atlas. It is a heavily armed S.W.A.T. team
that makes routine, unannounced visits to potential high-risk targets
within Manhattan. The theory is that police officers should not be seen
as first responders - a highly trained clean-up crew - but as first
preventers, trained and equipped to help look for and stop terrorism
before it happens.
Amidst the devastating loss of life on September 11, thousands of
people did survive the attacks of the World Trade Centre. Most
succeeded because they knew what to do - follow a well-practiced fire
drill procedure. Survivors and experts talk about the science,
psychology and reality of evacuating a building while under extreme
duress. In addition to beefing up primary evacuation options, experts
showcase some dramatic evacuation alternatives. Some of the more
extreme proposals include exterior gondolas, controlled descent slides,
parachutes and flying aerial rescue platforms. Experience has
demonstrated that helicopters can effectively rescue people trapped in
burning high-rises - but it is risky and dangerous. The city of Los
Angeles Fire Department trains officers in this dramatic technique, and
Retaking New York takes a first-hand look.
