Pablo Ortiz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 25, 1952
New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 49) |
| Cause of death | Collapse of 1 World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) |
Navy Seal Construction superintendent |
| Known for | Acts of heroism, evacuation efforts, and heroically rescued occupants of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks. |
Pablo Ortiz (January 25, 1952 – September 11, 2001) was an American construction superintendent, and former Navy SEAL. [1] He worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the organization that managed the World Trade Center, and is credited with playing a central role in rescuing at least 77 people who were trapped in the building's elevators during the September 11 attacks. [1] [2] [3] Survivors describe last seeing him ascending a stairwell to go open more elevators with his friend and colleague Francis "Frank" De Martini. [4]
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On September 11, 2001, Ortiz and De Martini were working on the 88th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, [5] situated a mere five floors below the impact zone of American Airlines Flight 11, which struck between the 93rd and 99th floors.
They were having breakfast with co-workers and De Martini's wife, Nicole, when Flight 11 crashed above them. The impact injured some occupants on their floor, including Elaine Duch. Doors were jammed shut when the door frames were twisted. Ortiz, De Martini and their colleagues, Pete Negron, Carlos da Costa, and Mak Hanna determined that only one stairwell could be made accessible, after clearing some debris. After sending the occupants of their floor down that stairwell to safety. They saved 25 - 40 employees, [6] which included Nicole De Martini, Elaine Duch, Joanne Ciccolello, Dorene Smith, Moe Lipson, Anita Serpe, Lila Speciner, Jeffrey Gertler, Abdul Elgendy, Patricia Cullen, Gerry Gaeta, Jim Connors, Frank Varriano, and Judith Reese.
They set about rescuing their fellow occupants on the next floor up. [1] [4] There were two different groups saved by the five men. The first group, consisting of Rick Bryan, Dianne DeFontes, Carmella Fischelli, Akane Ito, Raffaele Cava, Nathan Goldwasser, Trisa Moya, Ronald Scott, Robert Sibarium, Harold Martin, Walter Pilipiak, Kelly Baldillo, and Yoshi Movi, were near the stairwell. Mak Hanna was ordered to carry an elderly man down the stairs, which he did. The remaining four men freed the second group, which had Sabrina Tirao, Frances Ledesma, Thomas Haddad, Lynn Simpson, and Evan Frosch.
The four men then went up to the 90th floor, and freed more workers, which included Richard Eichen, Christopher Egan, and Lucy Gonzalez. They then went to floor 91, and freed 18 people, which included Anthony Vangeli and Michael McQuade [7]
Realizing that they couldn't ascend any further, they went down, freeing a further six people from the 86th floor, including Louis Lesce. They then made it to the skylobby, where they freed Anthony Savas, who was stuck in an elevator.
Ortiz, De Martini, da Costa and Negron all died, still trying to save fellow occupants, when the building collapsed at 10:28 A.M. [1] [4] [8] Also among the dead were Judith Reese and Anthony Savas.
In August 2003 authorities released many transcripts from 911 telephone calls, and from the radios of first responders. [5] Jim Dwyer's summary of those transcripts described, in detail, the heroic acts of Ortiz, De Martini and their colleagues. Dwyer eventually wrote a book about the collapse, 102 Minutes, where he wrote they "pushed back the boundary line between life and death in favor of the living". [1] [9]
References
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"Remembering Pablo Ortiz: A Hero of the 88th Floor".
911 museum. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Altogether, Ortiz, De Martini, Pete Negron, and Carlos da Costa helped at least 50 trapped people by acting as citizen first-responders, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn estimated in their 2011 book 102 Minutes.
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Jim Dwyer (2011-09-08).
"In Love With Death".
The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
That morning, Raffaele Cava, age 80, was working on the 90th floor of the north tower. After the plane hit, no one could open the exits, so he went to another office and sat with Dianne DeFontes and Tirsa Moya. The hall floors were melting. Suddenly, two men in the stairwell pried open the door, walked in and ordered everyone to go. They were Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz, Port Authority employees who worked one flight down, and who took it on themselves to climb up and down 14 floors, getting scores of people out. They never left.
- ^ Bryan Fitzgerald (2011-05-03). "Sense of relief, but little joy: Local mothers of 9/11 victims say they take little pleasure in the killing of Osama bin Laden". Times Union. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
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Nick Westoll (2016-09-11).
"9//11 survivor recalls carrying elderly man down 89 floors before losing 2 best friends".
Global News. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
As they were getting ready to leave, Hanna said De Martini insisted Hanna and Ortiz go to the 89th floor after he heard someone banging on the door. Despite the smoke from the upper floors, they managed to open the door, allowing those trapped to escape—including the 89-year-old man. The men made their way down to the 78th floor. De Martini and Ortiz stayed behind while Hanna made the 46-minute journey to the ground floor with Mo
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Jim Dwyer (2003-08-29).
"The Port Authority tapes: Overview; Fresh Glimpse in 9/11 Files Of the Struggles for Survival".
The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
As for Mr. De Martini and Mr. Ortiz, the transmissions disclose only fragments of their efforts, but taken with the accounts of the people they saved, add to a powerful narrative of heroism and loss.
- ^ "Transcripts offer fresh glimpses into 9/11".
- ^ "9 11 Heroes of the 88th Floor 1080p HDTV". YouTube.
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Jim Higgins (2011-09-02).
"'102 Minutes' captures tragedy, humanity of Sept. 11".
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Sometimes the rescuers were fellow civilians. Port Authority employees Frank De Martini, Pete Negron and Pablo Ortiz roamed through the north tower helping to free trapped people. They did not make it out alive.
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Jena McGregor (2013-09-11).
"Remembering some of 9/11's great leaders".
Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz: The "Heroes of the 88th Floor," as they've been memorialized, these employees of the Port Authority, an architect and a construction inspector, respectively, "pushed back the boundary line between life and death in favor of the living," wrote Jim Dwyer in the New York Times, helping to rescue at least 50 people.