This report was produce by compiling historical events and vignettes of the investigation process following several prolific tragedies. They are compared, and conclusions are drawn about similar aspects that muddle investigation following one of these tragedies.
Emergency responders and doctors are portrayed in the film with the upmost dedication, skill, and care for life. They were portrayed as the heroes of this disaster.
They could have discussed logistics on transport and mass treatments more, but overall they did a good job.
-The “disaster investigation,” far from proving itself the dispassionate, scientific verdict on causality and blame, actually emerges as a hard-fought contest to define the moment in politics and society, in technology and culture.
-Investigators had no power to protest the decision. In fact, their initial request to inspect the steel had been lost in the confusion by city officials still pressed with the responsibility of looking for bodies.
-Clashes over authority among powerful institutions both public and private, competition among rival experts for influence, inquiry into a disaster elevated to the status of a memorial for the dead: these are the base elements of the World Trade Center investigation. And yet, give a brief historical review shows us these elements are not unique.
As discussed before, the first respodners and doctors had to deal with hundreds of life or death decisions, and the emotional trauma that is involved, through treating the victims of the disaster. Afterward many of these people not only had to see patients pass, but also had friends or family that perished in the disaster.
They did not include the viewpoint of fire fighters in this film, who were also important in the response to this disaster.
- The article describes Dr. Astaneh-Asl, a Berkeley Professor sent by the ASCE to investigate and determine the structural causes of the collapse of the World Trade Center, and his search for answers. When he arrived in NYC, he finds his evidence he was hoping to investigate, the 310,000 tons of debris, had been sent by the city to be scrapped and recycled.
- The article goes on to explain the challenges faced by the three organizations presiding over the investigation, FEMA, ASCE and NIST, not being permitted access to documentation, records, or witness testimonies. From these problems arose inter-agency conflict and dischord, as the three failed to work together cohesively with clear goals and purpose. There was a clear lack of leadership, made apparent when Rep. Anthony Weiner asked “Whoever is in charge of this investigation, please raise your hand,” which was met with three people claiming leadership.
- Knowles goes on to state that these problems and conflicts in the wake of the attack were not unique to the World Trade Center attack. He goes through a number of national tragedies, comparing and contrasting the investigation process of each, explaining the hurdles faced by investigators. This drives home how, over centuries, this is a reoccurring issue.
The narrative is maintained through both very real, detailed descriptions of actions taken for both specific cases and the handling of large groups of patients. It also goes into some lesser known events of 9/11, such as the triage camps being destroyed by the collaspe of the towers and how the situation evolved throughout the two crashes and collaspes that day. It appeals to the emotion of the viewer in many ways. It discusses the incrediable physical and psychological damage that the victims sustained during the disaster. It then handled the emotional trauma and determination that the first responders and doctors had to deal with when they saw their gore and chaos of their city all around them while needing to maintain their professionality and ability to care for their pateints. It also later in the film talked about the first responders who lost their lives in their dedication to save others, with direct emotional appeal through the portayal of one first responder who lost a long time friend becoming choked up remembering his fallen friend once again.
I think it can both bring the public to better understand first response and disaster response better as well as serve as a great film for other first responders to better understand what happened and how that day was handled.
Investigation after large-scale national tragedy is often contaminated with the many factors that surround that event. Since the attack on the World Trade Center was so deeply rooted in politics, culture, international relations and emotional connections, the investigation following the attacks failed to result in a dispassionate, scientific verdict. Instead, it became muddled in the many conflicting and intertwining interests that came with the attack.