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| Two disabled women remember their escape on 9/11 |
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print story|email storylast updated: 9/11/2002
Two disabled women remember their escape on 9/11The first anniversary of September 11 is approaching. Millions of people lives have been touched by the horrible tragedy that occurred on this day.
Imagine yourself in a wheelchair trying to escape a building while wondering if evacuation procedures exist for people with disabilities. This is the story of two women with disabilities.
"I knew it was a bomb but I didn't know it was a plane being used as a bomb but than of course it came on the news that I had on in my hotel room. I, in fact, was getting ready to leave. I was going home to Chicago that morning and then the impact of the second plane certainly erased any doubt you might have had about what was going on," said Leigh Gilmore.
Leigh Gilmore has multiple sclerosis. She was staying next door at the Marriott when the planes hit the World Trade Center.
"All the elevators had been shut down, and so I would say to anyone that went by to please tell someone in the lobby that there's a women in a wheelchair up on the sixth floor," said Leigh.
After waiting 40 minutes two maintenance men came up and put her on the freight elevator.
Leigh's mother was with her but they were separated after getting out of the hotel.
"A firefighter pushed my mother into a liquor store and he herded some other people in there. I was in the scooter I would have been a bit ahead of her so I ducked into the patio of a restaurant and sort of waited out the dust," said Leigh.
Covered with dust, Leigh knew she had to keep moving without her mother.
"I was put on a boat. I want to say, I think it was probably a sightseeing boat not unlike the Wandela boats here. They took us across the river," said Leigh.
Leigh had a problem though. She needed her medication and her mother had taken her purse.
"I knew I was in need of medical attention. That, you know, was going to become more critical as time went on, so I spoke with a nurse because they had set it up like a triage center there. And I was actually taken then to the Jersey City Medical Center," said Leigh.
Her mom was found that evening and they returned home by car six days later.
While all this was going on, Leigh's friend Maureen Howard was worried about her. Maureen was concerned about whether or not there were evacuation plans for people with disabilities.
"I began to call around before she was even back from New Jersey. I called the city of Chicago to see if there was such a plan and I found out that there wasn't. I got a lot of answers like, well of course a building should have a plan but there was no legislation that said it was mandatory," said Maureen.
So Maureen got to work and developed statewide evacuation legislation for people with disabilities. This legislation passed in the spring.
"It is the buildings responsibility to have the plan, but it is the person who needs the special assistance responsibility to identify themselves and to let the building know what type of assistance they require," said Maureen.
The city of Chicago has an ordinance requiring buildings to have a plan. This went into effect February 24. The state's evacuation plan will go into effect January of 2004. If buildings do not have a plan, they will be fined.
"I believe it's about $500.00 and it increases each day that they are not in compliance," said Maureen.
Despite the tragedy, Leigh is not afraid of being in high rises.
"It doesn't bother me because, in both instances, I know how to get out. I know what the protocol is, I know what the plan is," said Leigh.
Maureen says that the city of New York is starting to work on a mandatory evacuation plan for people with disabilities.
Extra Info:
312-726-6200
312-744-7050
1.800.FIGHTMS
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