Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to real estate and more. Special Edition 911 37 year veteran battalion chief Joe Novelli. Thinking back from a personal standpoint, what were your first thoughts that went through your mind when you first heard the news that these massive towers had been hit and people needed help?
[00:00:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I think like so many of us that was around for that, you're not going to forget that momentous. For me, I got a phone call from a firefighter that says you need to turn on the tv, and so turn on tv and saw the footage of the towers that have been struck.
The emotion that came to me then, like so many of the coworkers that I've worked with, was disbelief, powerless. You know, I come from a career where we're called in and we will make a difference. Right. We're usually called into something and we'll make it better. It might take a village, it might take two people, but we usually can troubleshoot something and make it better. And the overarching emotion I had where there's nothing I can do, I could just. Yeah, so we, at the time, I was on this, this urban search and rescue task force, it's a federal team at the time, there was 25 teams in the United States. They actually initiated that team to go out there. And those folks were designed to, you know, assist in any way they can going through searching with small little cameras. They had, you know, the ability to cut other concrete and remove it and do anything they could to search for survivors initially. And then, of course, it turned into body recovery. But, yeah, I did not go, but I had more than a few friends that went. And you can imagine their emotion while they were there, and they're still dealing with that now. I spoke with one of them prior to coming on to do this with you, and, you know, got his impression of the impact all these years later. And it's still a significant thing for him. You know, he's had to dig really deep to take the positive feelings from that. And he has, you know, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. He's, you know, it's changed his life. And I think so many of us as well, whether we were there or supported those who came back.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: So it's interesting, at the time when the firefighters went out to New York City, what protections did they use? The respirators, the same ones that they would normally use.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: They weren't able to use those because those have a separate bottle and they have a time frame, usually 30 minutes. And it's really, when you're working, you get about 15 minutes from it. This particular friend of mine that went out actually had a relationship with a company in Europe, and they actually started putting on these. They're called APR, so they're, they're canistered individual units that they put on. Like, you see people spraying cars and things like that in a spray booth. So they were wearing those when nobody was. And in fact, this individual, I won't use his name, he called Europe and asked them to ship as many as they could to provide this respiratory protection for the rescuers that were there, which, of course, you know, I have statistics, and I don't know when you want me to get into that, but how many people, you know, there was over 400,000 people that were involved after those buildings went down, whether it was rescuers, volunteers, you know, everybody that was involved in a lot of those rescuers, over 4300 of those first responders and parcel survivors died within the first few years since that world attack. And a lot of it was respiratory, leukemia, prostate cancer, all those things that were significant, and they're still showing effects all these years later.
And I don't know, Mike, if you want me to get into this victim compensation fund. So it's called a VCF.
It was originally found in 2001, and that was for folks that were there providing the rescue. And then what they realized quickly thereafter is it was taking years for all these different types of leukemia and prostate and thyroid cancers to kind of present itself. Not to mention the respiratory effects from all the particulates, the asbestos, the glass being pulverized, all those products when those buildings came down. And recently in, let's see, 2019, they authorized the extension of that fund, which is significant because they've continued to put monies in that fund that helps pay for ongoing support and medical conditions. They extended out to 2092. So basically anybody that was there, they're trying to make those funds available to potentially the end of their life because these things are still presenting, you know, all these years later. So that's a great thing.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Not even the preparations for the tanks that would filter out a lot of the harmful materials were available because this is so rare. I mean, how do you protect for something like this?
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And those aprs, those individuals, that made a huge difference, but there wasn't enough. And if you looked at the footage, whether it's through documentaries or film from real time, you saw people with masks, just those paper masks that we would get at our hardware store, which did not help. And unfortunately, we're seeing those statistics and numbers of people that are suffering since then.
[00:05:34] Speaker A: Notice that after a few days that everyone tended to mobilize into the form of, hey, this is America, you know, let's get together. Let's do what we can. Let's create these funds, let's take care of these people, and let's just see what we can do. You see american flags where you'd never seen them before, and now you see them on houses, you see them on cars. It rallied together in a sense of community that I don't think I've seen.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Since Joe well, that's what I was going to say. At 56 years old, that's the closest I've ever seen our country come together, people waving you in when you're changing lanes. And, you know, it's sad, but it's well documented. When you go through crises like this as a country, it brings you together. And it certainly did, I think, in this timeframe. It was, yeah, it was a horrific, horrific time.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: What kind of coordination was put into effect to mount the recovery of so many lost souls?
[00:06:37] Speaker B: A shining example of, I try to get, I try to explain this to loved ones and neighbors, and this is a shining example of how do you, how do you share the commitment that at least in my industry, these firefighters have to be able and be willing to take an order as they walked into that lobby. And there's some footage out there, and you see the engine captains and the lieutenants and the crews walking in there, and you see the officers that are dressed in white, those are battalion chiefs or division chiefs with FDNY telling them assignment. And you see them put their head down and they walk up while these buildings are on fire and most certainly realizing that this could be the end for them, and yet they're still committed to the oath that they took to protect and try to save lives.
An example that I wanted to share with you and the listeners was I had a dear friend of mine still do that, was an Oakland firefighter. And at the time that these planes struck, he was in Las Vegas on his bachelor party with a significant group of men from the Oakland fire department. They heard the news.
They said, we got to do something about this. They rented three vans, drove back from Las Vegas.
They said they went to the airport, picked up their cars. Were there? No. And you would know that there was no cars at the airport, went back to the firehouse and started to support each other any way they can, because as I mentioned in the onset, when we get a call and as many calls as I've responded to in five little zip codes in this significant world of ours, we typically make an impact. We're going to figure it out. If I can't figure it out, I'm going to seek others. And if others can't figure it out, I'm going to key this, this most powerful piece of equipment called a radio, and I key that mic and I'm going to call in other people that are going to help me solve this issue.
This was different. We had no control. And that's very unusual for the fire service to be a world away. It seemed like being on the West coast and realize we, we can't do anything about that at this point in time. And that was difficult. Even though they went back to the stations, they supported each other, they cared about each other, they supported each other's families. And then later, you know, if we get into it, lots of West coast firefighters, as many as firefighters around the country, literally drove and flew in New York just to sit in churches with all those in service. Online death funerals for fDNY appreciation.
[00:09:12] Speaker A: Isn't that amazing? It's amazing sense of community. That's it. Yeah, I just think about that and I think who really supports communities the way that the dedicated people of the fire and rescue do? They're not too many, you know, police officers, firefighters, people, you know, such as you. And I got to say, you know, I hand it to you, but it was just a daunting thing. And the loss of control, it's like, okay, it's a loss of control. And that's something that nobody likes to have.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Joe, the aftermath, you know, it certainly, it created a lot of questions on what we can do better and what they, what was, what was created was additional funding. Additional funding for, for hospitals, for police, for fire, for better communications, for, for us to be able to cross reference and talk to each other in a more appropriate fashion, not have police on one channel and us on another. So a lot of that funding took place and found its way through to Homeland Security when they actually formulated that to airports, things that make an impact in our lives on a daily basis. And so I think that was something that came out of that when they funded that.
Yeah. So I think that was the big thing.
[00:10:36] Speaker A: I want to thank you so much, Chief Novelli, for, you know, setting time to do this, and hopefully this will do some good once it airs on September 9.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you, Michael. Thank you for letting me share some of this with your audience.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Appreciate that. Thank you, sir.
I'd like to introduce Doctor Roger Martin. I've known him for many years. He's always been a very kind and generous person and someone that you would like as your best friend. He's been in the ministry for 47 years. His viewpoints are very valuable in my mind. And first of all, one of the things that I'd like to have him talk about is all the church does to support the community. Before we get into the 911 event. Doctor Martin, welcome.
[00:11:32] Speaker C: Thank you, captain. It's great to be with you. And the church is a vital part of the community, and there's so many aspects of the church that can be helpful. And there's so many aspects of the church, captain, that are important to the community. And there's a counseling aspect where so many people go through difficulties of life. And so the church offers so many different services like marriage counseling and grief counseling and, you know, addiction counseling and things like that, as well as educational services for preschool and daycares and sometimes day schools. And so the church is a vital part of the community. And over the years, I found that people come looking for help. They come with different needs, and the church is there to help. That's the bottom line.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Absolutely. Now, launching into the 911 event, do you actually recall the exact moment you heard the twin towers had been attacked and were gone? Many of us were heavy hearted and very dumbstruck.
[00:12:39] Speaker C: Well, absolutely. You know, the events of that day took place here on the west coast early in the morning. So we got a phone call early in the morning telling us to turn on the tv, and we sat there for hours in shock watching these events unfold. And I remember asking the question later that day to myself as I went to the church. How do you encourage people in a time like this, and how do we give hope in a time of national tragedy? And those were some thoughts that were on my mind. But, you know, with all Americans, we sat there just really in shock and in stunned silence as we watched that morning unfold before our very eyes.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: Yeah. And did you reach out to other ministers in the area to try to put together more of a community to help all of the citizens? I know communications were kind of tough at the time.
[00:13:33] Speaker C: Yes, you're right. We absolutely did. In those days in the San Ramon Valley, we had a pastor's fellowship that would meet a couple times a month for encouragement and prayer together. And in talking with our pastors, we put together the following Sunday night, a time for all churches to come together and just be together, encourage one another, and pray together. And what a comfort that was for everybody. And it was a wonderful, I just call it a coming together in the community through, through the aspects of our church community.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: And for the longest time, I've heard that the doors to the church were just left open for people to come in to pray, to do what they do, to try to get a handle on what has happened.
[00:14:19] Speaker C: Absolutely. We open the doors of the church for people just to stop spontaneously by and be together, to pray. And times like that, there's a great need for people to just come together and comfort one another and to, but to process, you know, what we've all been through. That was an important time.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: Instead of just sitting and listening to the media for 24 hours a day, that would perpetuate that down mood that everyone was in. Anyway, if you sat there and just watched that media, boy, I tell you, it would take you down. I actually turned it off in my case. I would watch it for a couple minutes and just to see if there was anything new, then I would turn it off and then try to get back on the positive side of things. You know, one of the good things about the church, and there's many, whether or not it's, it's this church, that church, or whatever, when you believe in something greater than humanity, when you have that belief, it's an extremely helpful something to have in your emotional bag of tricks. And I know the church did a wonderful job with youth. What were the youth? How did you handle that with the school that you had with our younger youth? At the time?
[00:15:34] Speaker C: Yes. You know, we had a daycare, preschool. Part of our process was to protect the children in a time like that from emotional distress. And so we just tried to be there for them and encourage them. But in the later years, during the youth, it was a great time to help them process and mature and grow in their own personal faith in times like that, you know, everybody is asking questions, and especially youth as well, that these kind of events certainly cause all of us to ask the hard questions of life. And it's. It's just great to be there for people in times like that.
[00:16:12] Speaker A: Well, I know you certainly were. You know, I think about that, and I think about with children and how it's. You do want to protect them because they can't quite grasp as much as an adult can, and they see mom and dad and somber in mood and attitude. It's. It's much better to be able to somehow mitigate that. And the church definitely has done that. And I really feel grateful looking back over that period of time with our kids. And do you believe as a nation that we've learned anything from this heinous event that occurred so many years ago, like what, 22 years ago? Have we learned anything both, either as a nation or as people?
[00:16:59] Speaker C: Well, I would certainly hope so, captain. You know, 22 years later, we sit here as a nation, and we're so divided in so many different aspects. But as we look back on this event, it was just the opposite. It was an event that brought us together. It was an event that hearts were, in one accord, stressed out over what had taken place. We had so many questions and so many emotions that were going through our lives. And these are, these are tough events, but they are times when we can learn about where we're at in life. We can learn about the reality of evil that exists in our world, and it certainly does. And it affects our lives in so many ways. We can learn that we need each other. Even in our times of disagreements, there's a need that we come together and we overlook those disagreements and just accept one another for who we are.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: On September 10, 2001, my co pilot and I at Brandex Airlines began our normal scheduled airline trip. I was to learn later that morning that Andrew had his own set of personal problems. His wife's pregnant. He received a deployment notice for the guard to fly f 16s in Afghanistan. And he got a layoff notice from Brandex Airlines about three weeks ago. Andrew reached out, and we were able to meet and reacquaint. Andrew will now tell a story. So reporting for work on September 10, tell us everything.
[00:18:37] Speaker D: Just started with Brandex Airlines. I was just about ready to come off probation, actually, about a month, and flew with Michael, and we started a normal trip, a normal day, four day trip with nice layovers and looked to be like a, a nice morning to fly. Beautiful weather all throughout the country. It was going to be a good time.
[00:18:57] Speaker A: And so then all of a sudden, you had, you had all of these problems. You show up for the trip, and this trip turns out 911.
[00:19:05] Speaker D: And we got on the bus, and then all of a sudden, everyone's cell phone started ringing and all the news was coming out. And I remember when we got to the airport itself, it was just mass chaos. People running outside of the airport. The police were coming and shutting down. A lot of the interest to the airports.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: We took the bus with various crews, including our crew, our flight attendants, to the airport. And if the memory serves me right, it seems like they had some soldiers out in front there because we were so close to NORAD.
[00:19:34] Speaker D: Yeah, I remember, you know, military starting to mobilize, you know, sirens everywhere. And you know, we were, what, 1700 miles away, probably from the impact.
[00:19:45] Speaker A: Unbelievable. So it was like no one knew what was really happening other than airplanes that hit the tower. And so we went back and reclaimed our hotel rooms, which was a really good thing.
[00:19:57] Speaker D: That was your idea, actually.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: Occasionally have one or two good ones. But I remember we went back to make sure that we had a place to stay, because once we shut down the entire airline system, we knew right away it wasn't going to start up for several days. There's just no way that that could happen with airplanes going on their own specific rotation, pilots on their own specific rotation currency requirements, as well as flight attendants on their own. But I remember back to the hotel, we got our rooms back, and they wanted us to go to this one particular room.
[00:20:34] Speaker D: Yes.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: And we had american cruise, United Cruise, Delta Cruise. We had everybody there in that one room. It was a large room. And being that everyone knew that it was not going to be flying for.
[00:20:48] Speaker D: Days, they had, I remember refreshments, apples, bananas.
[00:20:53] Speaker A: Yeah. And pool tables. And everybody was kind of socializing, but there was no joy to it whatsoever. Nothing but somber. And everybody was talking. It was our. Was our community at the time. It was the community that we had.
[00:21:06] Speaker D: Well, and I think, in addition, the true impact had come then. You know, then a plane had hit the Pentagon. A plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. The real news was coming out, and.
[00:21:14] Speaker A: We'Re all in this room, this one large room in the Colorado Springs hotel with all of these air crews, everybody with a somber mood and a brand Z airline flight attendant in the middle of this group, she broke out singing a song, me and Bobby McGee. And she did such a great job of it. But everyone was so preoccupied with what was on their minds that it was just the strangest experience ever. She did a great job at singing it, but I think everyone was just so stunned that we didn't. So dumbfounded. We didn't know how to react to somebody doing something normal.
[00:21:52] Speaker D: I think the biggest thing was the unknown. I mean, people didn't know the scope of, was there a 912 or a 913 planned? I remember paranoia, picking up their kids from school, you know, things shutting down immediately, movie theaters. It was just a time that Americans, I don't think, have ever felt in their history. I mean, Pearl harbor, when it happened in Hawaii, was thousands of miles away, and it was via radio. Now people are watching this live building collapsing, people jumping out of windows, you know, an airplane fire crash into the Pentagon, fires in Pennsylvania. I think it was just the unknown that probably drove most of Americans to go, hey, it's time to hunker down and get home, get with your family and, you know, look at what's important to you.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: But we couldn't do that. We couldn't leave that, that property whatsoever. There were no cars available, certainly no flights, because they were all on the ground. And the air was so quiet, it was silent.
[00:22:51] Speaker D: That was the eeriest thing. No contrails, no jet noise. And especially near Colorado Springs, which is a large air force base there. And things normally air traffic. And that was completely shut down.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Yeah, I imagine it was like five days before we were able to do something with it. This airline, as well as other brand Z and Brand A, all of the.
[00:23:09] Speaker D: Other, all my friends were getting furloughed because we had all been, got out of the air Force and got hired all at the same time.
[00:23:15] Speaker A: I went through that when I originally started it, my first airline, and it was no fun. But, you know, I focused on something else. It sounds like you did, too.
[00:23:24] Speaker D: Exactly. And I took your advice because you had told me, like, this is going to be the best thing that's ever happened to you in my life. And I looked at you and I said, I don't think so, but it took a couple years. But, you know, once I realized what life was about and the important things, it actually worked out well in my favor. Got the opportunity to grow up with my children. I have. Yeah, it actually worked out better. Just like you told me, you're going to get a whole new life. Which I did. And so when brand X went to call me back, I really had to think about possibly going back. For me and my family, we focused on the long term goals. You know, eventually I knew I would get a job back at Brand X, you know, once things turned around the other time is it allowed me to start interacting much more with my family, with my brothers and sisters, allowed me to kind of get involved a lot with the family business and some of my dads real estate ventures. And it was really good. I was able to reconnect and it kind of set my values like I tell people I have, you know, and for example, for today, you know, one of the pilots I was flying with was complaining. I'm like, you know what, dude? My worst day at Brandex Airlines is better than my best day in Afghanistan.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: So for the country as a fighter pilot, and thank you for reaching out a few weeks back and reacquainting after all of this. And this has just been a wonderful, wonderful time and your legacy.
[00:24:49] Speaker D: So when this Covid furlough happened or was going to happen. I passed your knowledge on to my friends and every one of them thanked me. So your legacy continues.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: I don't know if it's my legacy. You know, a good, a good, a good thought that helps people. That's really what we can take forward from 911 is that I we all came together as a country. It is american flags where we never had them before. People that come together, people helping each other, people wanting to do something. You know, as far as just sit in a corner and complain.
We ask ourselves, where were you that day when the earth stopped turning? Fear, anxiety, high emotions and sadness. This event produced the highest amount of these undesirables I can personally recall. Then all of a sudden there was overwhelming pride in our nation, solidity in our people. Webster's Dictionary of Community is a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals. That was it. It is clear to me that our community plays a tremendous role in dealing with events such as 911. It is also clear that we need people in our lives, people of like interests and goals that care about one another. Hope and love, being humble and kind and all working together in a sense of community is the wonderful takeaway from this horrendous event of September 11, 2001. I will endeavor personally to search out these people with these desirable qualities to include in my life. Thank you for listening today to real estate and more special edition 911 until next Saturday morning at nine, when our show will again speak about real estate in the Bay Area, it is our hope. Your week is wonderful and full of joy. Good morning. The views and opinions expressed are based.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: On current economic and market conditions and.
[00:26:50] Speaker A: Are subject to change.
[00:26:51] Speaker B: Information on the show provided for illustrator.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: Purposes only and does not constitute professional or legal advice. Information from sources deemed reliable, but accuracy.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: And completeness not guaranteed.
[00:27:04] Speaker A: Michael Hatfield and the Michael Hatfield Remax team have no liability for information discussed on the show, consult with qualified professionals.
[00:27:13] Speaker B: Prior to taking action.
[00:27:14] Speaker A: We at the Michael Hatfield Re Max team enjoy representing our valued clients. If you or someone you know is interested in buying or selling and wishes to schedule a complimentary appointment with the Michael Hatfield Remax team, call us at 925-32-2775 that's 925-32-2775 or go to our website, michael hatfieldhomes.com dot. I'm Michael Hatfield. Thank you for listening today. Join us next Saturday at 09:00 a.m. for the next real estate and more when we again sharpen our focus on how's the market. Join us next Saturday morning at nine and have a wonderful week. Best wishes and blessings to you.
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