The attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001 was a great disaster for the whole American nation. The first plane struck the North Tower at 8:46 am. The information that Flight 11 was hijacked was officially noted at 8:32 am. North American Aerospace Defense Command was notified about this issue; however, there was no information about other planes to be hijacked. Therefore, the government did not predict another attack to be made. At 9:03 the southern tower was struck. This was a huge disaster, but it was not a surprise. Hence, the USA was ready for it. The local police, firefighters and other types of rescue workers in New York and Arlington Country were the first to react. The greatest challenges of the emergency response were as follows: severe hit of the 911 communication system, the presence of the headquarters of city’s Office of Emergency Management in the World Trade Center, and the communication problems resulting from the absence of phone connection and email delivery. Langley Air Force Base was initiated for rescue actions. The hospitals were in a state of disaster preparedness. Airspace was closed by “Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids”. All the planes planned to flight from the USA, Canada, and several other countries were waiting and thousands of passengers remained in the airports. The actions of the police, firefighters, and rescue workers were controlled even though not planned beforehand. People were evacuated from the trade towers. However, the evacuation was very slow because of the inability to use helicopters. After the second attack and already having the information about other hijacked planes, the US government was ready for other attacks and a number of government buildings were evacuated to prevent casualties as by supreme essay service

Emergency Responses to 9/11 Pentagon Attacks

After the World Trade Center was attacked, the US government was ready for the attack on the Pentagon. “Arlington County Fire Department”, “Metropolitan Airport Authority Fire Unit at Ronald Reagan National Airport”, and the “Fort Myer Fire Department” were the first to react to the attack on the Pentagon. The information about two more hijacked planes was already available to the authorities and it was the reason for evacuating people from the Pentagon. This measure allowed saving many lives. People were evacuated under a highway bridge. The problems with phone and radio connection created many hindrances to rescue procedure. At the same time, those who were sent to the place for emergency actions and located inside the building and in the yard were not informed about the initial evacuation due to problems in communication. Overall, the reaction to the Pentagon disaster was faster and more effective since the state expected it. The firefighters, policemen and rescue officers were ready to give assistance to those who were attacked. Even though the evacuation took place, the rescue officers were affected and it added to the number of victims. According to report of the George Washington University Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management.

The crash impact, the collapse, the fire and smoke, compromised support pillars throughout the affected area, a cantilevered area in the front of the structure near the collapse, and tilt of collapse slabs towards the face of the structure where rescue operations were based, created a very challenging and complicated USR operation.

The immediate reaction and readiness of the state for this act made it possible to localize the situation faster and to avoid numerous victims. The attack on the Pentagon had few victims in comparison to the situation with the World Trade Center because the later acts were predicted and devastating outcomes could be avoided.

Comparison and Contrast of the Emergency Responses

It should be stated that even though terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon took place just with the difference of several minutes, the emergency response was different. The World Trade Center was assailed first and the state could not react faster than they did. The police and the firefighters were not ready as the damage was too great and the number of people ready to assist could not meet the demand. Therefore, some time passed till the necessary number of people was gathered from other states. The hospitals were ready to accept the injured people; however, they were ill-prepared for transporting people to the hospitals immediately. In the emergence response to the Pentagon attack, the state was ready for it. State officers were in a state of preparedness. The appropriate number of people was waiting near the possible accident site. Also, the evacuation measures were taken before the strike took place, which allowed preventing many victims. The problems in both acts of terrorism were related to the connection issues and the inability to use airspace. It was closed with the purpose to avoid hijacking of other planes. However, it prevented the hospitals from using helicopters for transportation of the injured people. Also, the firefighters were unable to cope with the fire on the upper floors of the World Trade Center, while it was not a problem to extinguish fire in the Pentagon. The issue with communication caused numerous problems in both cases.

Critical Analysis of the Security Concerns that Responders Confronted and the Importance of the Inner and Outer Perimeters

Having considered the emergency response actions to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it is possible to say that even though the reaction was fast and many actions were done in order to cope with the attack, there were many problems and many actions could be done better and faster. The absence of any alternative means of communication caused numerous issues as the lines were hit and neither radio nor phones were working. The coordination was very bad due to this issue. Another problem consisted in moving patients from the scene of disaster to the hospitals. The airspace was closed and transportation in cars was complicated. Hospitals were ready and immediately entered the emergency status; however, they did not expect such number of patients. The nearest hospitals could not help all the injured in appropriate way. Not all people had undergone training on connected to respond to the cases in suboptimal and dangerous environments. It has already been mentioned that the situation was not unexpected as the US government received several warnings. However, inappropriate reaction to the warnings and the inability to provide the necessary number of highly trained and qualified people who could react to the situation appropriately resulted in heavy casualties. The US reacted to the situation very specifically and changes were made in the legislative sphere within 14 years from the time of the attack. Also, additional trainings and qualifications were given to police and healthcare workers to guarantee that the state is ready to respond to any terrorist acts.