Fire Rescue was Pre-positioned

“On another note, Wallace also pointed out, that “so many people think” Mark and he watched the plane hit the building: “...We did NOT.  We only saw it approach for an instant...” ⁸²

 — Alan Wallace — firefighter at Pentagon heliport

Fire and rescue units were setup for the Pentagon response.

A large number of fire and medical service units were dispatched to a fire in a high-rise building near the Pentagon one minute before the attack.  The fire was already reported out by the time the first responder arrived.  Several units were dispatched by the ECC, to an apartment fire at 1003 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn.  Because it was located in a high-rise building, it was a substantial dispatch involving nine different fire and medical service units.  Engine 103 reached the Rosslyn scene first and radioed that the apartment fire was out.  Thus, by sheer coincidence, there were a significant number of units already on the road near the Pentagon at the time of the attack.  Since the high-rise fire had been reported under control, the ECC redirected further units to the Pentagon, of whom only minutes earlier had been dispatched and in route.[i]

Rudy Eversburg described the coincidence as follows:

Because of a dispatch for an apartment fire in the Rosslyn area minutes before the plane hit the Pentagon, numerous units were on the air or in the vicinity, and those units immediately self-dispatched as they anticipated the ECC’s response need…[ii]

(Map: Expedia.com)

Reagan National Airport fire fighting teams are attending a nearby car accident.

As per the National Fire Protection Association Journal, Nov. 1, 2001:

Shortly before Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, a Reagan National aircraft rescue fire fighting team was already on the road, attending a car accident on the upper level of Airport Terminal B.²³⁰

Aircraft rescue fire fighters don’t usually respond to car accidents, especially with two foam trucks!  In the article there is no mention that the cars involved even were on fire. (Quite similar to the Rosslyn fire above.)  Who was standing watch at the Reagan Airport?  Did the Reagan National fire fighting team crash the party?  It looks like they did.  I don’t think Rumsfeld had them in his party plan…

A team of Arlington firefighters is en route to training close by the Pentagon.

By another strange coincidence, the same firefighting unit that participated in the Pentagon Airliner crash exercise was en route to a training session in Crystal City, traveling north on Interstate 395.  Captain Steve McCoy and the crew of Engine 101 are among the first responders to the Pentagon.⁷⁸

Pentagon staffed with extra emergency communications specialists the day of the attack.

On the morning of September 11, (7) emergency communications specialists were on duty at the ECC, having commenced their shift at 7:00 a.m.  However, on this particular morning, (6) additional staff members happened to be in a nearby conference room attending a training class.⁷⁸

A timeline of emergency personnel arriving at the Pentagon demonstrates some units were literally “just around the corner”.

9:38 a.m. Official time of the crash and fire at the Pentagon.

9:40 a.m. Captain Chuck Gibbs [ACFD’s Training Officer] arrives at the Pentagon.

9:40 a.m. Captain Mark Penn [Deputy Coordinator of Emergency Services] arrives at Arlington County EOC.

9:41 a.m. Battalion Chief Bob Cornwell arrives at the Pentagon and assumes Incident Command.

9:41 a.m. ACFD Truck 105 arrives at the Pentagon.

9:42 a.m. ACFD Captain Edward Blunt arrives at the Pentagon and establishes EMS Control.

9:43 a.m. MWAA [Metropolitan Medical Response System] first responders arrive at the Pentagon. ^{NOTEREF _Ref132959183 \h  \* MERGEFORMAT 78}

Also at, 9:40 a.m., Reagan National firefighters arrived at the Pentagon.

Fire units around the Pentagon were well prepared for the terror attack.

May 2001 – Arlington County Fire Department in Tricare exercise included a crash of a Boeing 757 airliner into the U.S. military’s headquarters — the Pentagon!⁵¹

April 2000 – Fort Belvoir Fire Department participates in a satellite-link exercise — ”Urgent Victory”, a war exercise in Grafenwoehr, Germany.[iii]

Coincidentally, on the morning of 9/11, at least three fire units are in a Pentagon exercise that day.

Fire Truck 101 from the Arlington County Fire Department – The same fire unit was already involved in the May 2001 drill, a sequel of Don Abbott’s November 2000 — Pentagon Plane Crash exercise.⁵¹

Fort Belvoir Fire Department – The same fire unit was also involved “Urgent Victory”, together with the 464th Chemical Brigade, originally stationed in Johnstown, PA (near Shanksville).  They were in a joint exercise with…

Fort Myer fire fighters – They were on assignment at the Pentagon’s Heliport Station.⁸² 

Wallace confirmed, that it was a new fire station, rarely used and they also used a new crash truck “an Emergency One Titan 3000”.

Alan Wallace remembered being assigned to the Pentagon on 10^th and 11^th of September 2001, “as part of the exercise”.  Strangely enough, they were assigned a “new crash truck”.  On the morning of September 11^th, he was supported by Mark Skipper and Dennis Young, they arrived “at about 0730”.⁸²

Wallace said, as part of the exercise, at about 08:30 a.m., he “decided to pull the crash truck outside of the fire station and place it in a position more accessible to the heliport landing site.”  It wasn’t explained, what later happened.  As it turns out, their truck had been strangely disabled and became useless.  Its back end was on fire, having been parked against the building with the front end facing the heliport.⁸²

Could they have been given a new crash truck containing an explosive device in the rear?  Was it intended to blow the heliport up?  If the whole back of the crash truck was blown off, how is it that an even closer (to the crash site) small branched tree defied the blast?

The rear of the new crash truck exploded (Photo: Brian Frantz).

Wallace also pointed out, that “so many people think,” Mark and he watched the plane hit the building, “...We did NOT.  We only saw it approach for an instant...”  Alan Wallace who is probably the closest eyewitness to the crash, stated that he didn’t see the airliner strike the Pentagon, but only “saw it approach for an instant”.  Contrast that to most of the “talking-points” witnesses.

Command presence was established in less than four minutes. 

Battalion Chief Robert Cornwell, arrived at the site within 4 minutes and assumed initial incident command responsibilities.  Shortly thereafter, Cornwell transferred command to Assistant Fire Chief of Operations James Schwartz,

Schwartz assigned Cornwell to lead interior suppression efforts …Chief Ed Plaugher arrived and chose not to assume command from Chief Schwartz.  Instead, he functioned as a buffer between the command structure and the tremendous outside influences and distractions, such as the media frenzy that invariably results after a high profile, catastrophic event.  This proved to be a wise decision.  The benefits of establishing and maintaining a single unified incident command presence were immediately evident.⁷⁸

Amazingly, it is the Arlington Fire Dept., those that participated in the “Pentagon airliner crash” exercises, which arrive and setup “Incident Command responsibilities.”  Was that planned?  Chief Ed Plaugher claimed,  “[he] functioned as a buffer between the command structure and the tremendous outside influences and distractions, such as the media.  Is that a job for the top firefighting chief?  Wouldn’t a fire chief concentrate on putting out the fire?  Was PR a job for a fire chief?  Or was he another “cover-up” man?

Incident Command System (ICS) was recently structured to keep the fire response at the Pentagon under direct control of Department of Defense.

In March 2001, the Washington area COG adopted the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) ICS model.  This agreement among the regional fire departments and disaster response agencies provided a common understanding of a basic working relationship among local jurisdictions within the context of a significant event.⁷⁸

Whenever there is a response to an event that involves multiple jurisdictions, the host agency assumes command and implements the ICS.  The local jurisdictions of the metropolitan Washington region interact as part of the National Interagency Incident Management System (NIIMS) ICS. … It [Pentagon] is situated in Arlington County, Virginia, but it falls under the direct control of the Department of Defense (DoD).  Its own law enforcement organization, Defense Protective Service (DPS), controls access.  The federal fire department, located at Fort Myer, maintains a crash unit at the Pentagon heliport that is staffed by three firefighters during normal business hours.  It is left on-site and can be staffed and used the remainder of the time…⁷⁸

The ICS model wasn’t haphazardly arrived at.  Rather, it came about 6 months prior to 9/11, in the specific context of the Pentagon during a significant event.

FBI had pre positioned a team over to Reagan National Airport, near the Pentagon after Flight 77 was reported hijacked out of Dulles.

From the www.hrsa.gov website:

...At the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO), Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC) Arthur Eberhart was putting in motion the steps necessary to support New York City.  At about 9:20 a.m., the WFO Command Center was notified that American Airlines Flight #77 had been hijacked shortly after takeoff from Washington Dulles International Airport. [FAA was the first warned of a lost Flight 77 at 9:26 a.m.!!!]  SAC Eberhart dispatched a team of 50 agents to investigate the Dulles hijacking and provide additional security to prevent another.  He sent a second team to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as a precautionary step.⁷⁸

            But, according to Dale Watson, the FBI spokesperson on the videoconference with Richard Clarke in the Situation Room, reported at about 10:00 a.m., “We have a report of a large jet crashed in Kentucky, near the Ohio line.” ⁶⁰ If what Dale Watson said is true, the FBI in the Washington Field Office had gotten a pretty early heads up.  Who gave them this warning?  Or, were they part of another plan… to secure the Pentagon area quickly and discreetly from the Reagan National Airport? 

 A recent directive directed the responsibility of the scene to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):

…In addition, the Pentagon was deemed a crime scene and, by virtue of Presidential Decision Directive (PDD)-39, fell under the direct responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)… FBI Special Agent (SA) Chris Combs of the National Capital Response Squad (NCRS), the FBI representative, reported to the command post several minutes later…⁷⁸

Therefore, the “command and control” apparatus was recently well defined for just such an event.  Thereby ensuring tight control of the crime scene by FBI and Pentagon officials.  The investigation, as well as, handling of all evidence (which included autopsies), was only to be done by Federal-level officials.  In fact, one of the first things Rumsfeld did when he went outside was to check on his command arrangement.

Recent Pentagon mass casualty plan (MASCAL) training manuals prepare for a 757 crash into the Pentagon!

Matt Rosenberg, a medic at the health clinic in the military headquarters, remembered, “[he was] grateful for an uninterrupted hour in which he could study a new medical emergency disaster plan based on the unlikely scenario of an airplane crashing into the place.”[iv]  The MASCAL equipment was “out and ready to go” prior to the attack.  A Pentagon medical worker remarked:

We actually had our MASCAL [mass casualty plan] equipment out of the storage areas because we were doing an inventory.  So there were many pieces that just fell into place and worked so well on that day.  It was just fortuitous.  It was just amazing that way that things kind of happened the way they did.  But like I said our planning truly made such a huge difference on that day.¹²

It almost seems like a giant movie production set with everyone given a scripted part, some unwittingly, with only those who were killed — having no idea what would happen to them.

The entire area secured by Secret Service and FBI, even before the attack!

Secret Service personnel were concentrated around the heliport, a short distance from where Flight 77 had hit.  President Bush was scheduled to fly from Florida, and his helicopter, Marine One, would carry him to the Pentagon just after noon.  Alan Wallace, a firefighter remarked about the numerous amount of personnel that were at the Pentagon that morning: 

…We were expecting President Bush about Noon, which would be a Code One Stand-By.  In such situations, one of the problems I see at the heliport is that there are too many people there.  Plus, there are many vehicles, including Secret Service, Pentagon SWAT, U.S. Park Police, D.C. Cops on motorcycles, and the two Presidential Limousines.  And, some of these vehicles even park in front of the fire station apparatus door, blocking the fire truck from exiting the building![v]

Why were so many agents waiting at the heliport almost 3 hours before Bush was scheduled to arrive?  Scripps Howard News Service reported, “that meant Secret Service everywhere and their cars blocking the driveway.”[vi]  And the Nation reported that:

Before the plane hit, the scene at the Pentagon was already chaotic.  Sheriff’s deputies were screaming at people to move along quickly.  “There’s a hijacked plane two minutes away.  We don’t know where it’s going to hit.  Keep moving,” they shouted.[vii]

If people were told to leave the area minutes before the attack had happened — doesn’t that indicate there was prior knowledge?  Why didn’t they evacuate the Pentagon?  Was the act of herding people away from the area, an attempt to remove eyewitnesses? 

FBI handcuffed reporters who got to close.

The FBI was edgy about anyone getting close enough to the fire to have a good look at it; so edgy that they handcuffed and dragged away reporters who got too close.  A reporter remarked to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Victoria Clarke, “I would appreciate it if you could intercede on behalf of the FBI to make sure reporters are allowed into a certain area … and not being threatened or, in fact, handcuffed and dragged away…”  And the reporter later remark, “The only reason I say that is the FBI was just–– granted they have a job to do, but they were a bit overzealous yesterday”

Was the FBI afraid that the reporters would find out their dirty little secret?  …that there was no aircraft debris, or at least not until they got it planted.

This is as close as you could get without a clearance

(Photo: defenselink.com).

A reporter, [sarcastically] remarked, “fortuitously, the Defense Department had allowed the media to begin their stakeout at a Naval Base Exchange CITGO gas station at the outer perimeter of the crash site.”[viii]