‘You live with this every day’: 25 years after 9/11, World Trade Center survivor recounts escape from South Tower
On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, a South Tower survivor is sharing his story of escape, loss and resilience with CityNews — a detailed, harrowing account of what unfolded inside the World Trade Center as the deadliest terror attack in modern history began. Joseph Dittmar, then a commercial underwriting executive from Chicago, […]
On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Joseph Dittmar, a survivor of the South Tower, recounted his harrowing escape from the World Trade Center. Dittmar was on the 105th floor for a meeting when the first plane struck the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. Upon seeing the flicker of the lights, the group was ordered to evacuate by a volunteer fire marshal.
Dittmar was the last person to leave the conference room, despite his colleagues' insistence that they were fine. As they descended the stairs, they had no idea of the scale of the attack. Upon reaching the 78th floor, Dittmar witnessed the devastating aftermath of the second plane strike. He credits his quick decision to stay in the stairwell, rather than use an elevator, as the reason he survived.
When the South Tower collapsed, Dittmar heard the deafening sound of twisted steel and crumbling concrete, followed by the screams of terrified New Yorkers. He expressed deep gratitude for the humanitarian assistance from Canada, both first responders and the Gander story, as well as the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
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