The Miracle In Stairwell B

By Kenny Thurmond

Edited by Grace Pilkay

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Twenty years ago Lt. Matt Komorowski and the other members of Ladder Company 6 went to the North Tower of the World Trade Center to look for survivors. After climbing almost 90 flights of stairs with debris flying all around them, the South Tower collapsed and Ladder Company 6 was ordered to evacuate, and that’s when they encountered Josephine Harris, a bookkeeper for the Port Authority who was trying to get down the stairwell. They took her with them and continued their descent from the North Tower.

When they reached the 8th floor, the building (the North Tower) came down. Screaming at the men in front of him to move, Komorowski prepared for the worst. But, once everything had settled, they looked around and to their surprise the part of stairwell B they were in had stayed up. Everything around them was gone, but their stairwell had stayed up. There was now a bigger problem on their hands. There was dust everywhere making it hard to see, and the way they came up the stairs was now covered in debris making it impossible to get out. To make matters worse, their radio calls were not making it through to their fellow firefighters. The odds were stacked against them. After what seemed to be hours of waiting, multiple firefighters injured, and Harris being too tired to walk, a voice came through their radio saying, ¨Hey brother. We’re coming to get you”.

A rescue team from Ladder 43 had heard their calls for help and were on their way. However, the fastest way they could come was blocked by fire. The only way they could get to Harris, Komorowski, and their team was to go through an obstacle course of debris and rubble. Slowly and patiently, they made it through and got to Ladder Company 6 and Ms. Harris. Remarkably, neither Harris nor any of Ladder Company 6 had suffered any serious injuries.

In 2011, ten years after 9/11, Josephine Harris died in her apartment of a heart attack. The firefighters of Ladder Company 6 were pallbearers at her funeral, carrying her for the last time.