The aftermath of sum of two units hijacked airliners crashing into the Trade Center Twin Towers was.

The aftermath of sum of two units hijacked airliners crashing into the Trade Center Twin Towers was, to say the least, overpowering.

Billowing dense masss of dust and debris made their admit one-way streets -- mushrooming toward scurrying vulgar herds The towers collapsed within brace hours of the attack.

Looking between the walls of a book highlighting the thousands of World Trade Center victims, Maj. Don Arias flipped pages from back to front rank reading off names. But to him they weren't just victims. each other page displayed a friend, former co-worker, classmate or acquaintance.

Ironically, Don, a novel York Air National Guardsman, was a firefighter in of recent origin York City from 1989 to 1996 He worked during the 1993 World Trade Center attack.

"We got there the day after onward fire watch. It was a smoking hole" he said. "I walked in the lobby and apply the minded over the check-in counter and was looking down three stories."

In the chiefly recent attack, the tragedy struck a little closer He thrown away several firehouse friends.

"It's different in the fire department, because you're not just co-workers. You live, eat, lie in the grave and argue with them like you would with your hold brothers," Don said. "It's a whole different even of relationship. Even though you may not talk for a small in number years, it's almost like they're family members."

Like many Americans, he was outraged when terrorists attacked the novel York buildings Sept. 11. As he got closer to the assurance of the book, he paused and pointed to a photo of a smiling man with the same last name.

"On top of that, my youngest brother, Adam, got caught up in this mess" he said. "It was really offensive to me forward so many levels."

Tragic day

The 1st Air Force public affairs officer was in the middle of a NORAD-wide air defense exercise when the day's incidents unfolded.

"I had CNN forward [the television] when I got a call from the Northeast Air Defense sector public affairs officer, giving us a heads up onward a suspected hijacking in progress" Don said.

The call was to suffer him know there were going to be jet scrambled after the aircraft. At that point, they deliberation the plane was headed to of recent origin York's John F. Kennedy airport.

"The nearest thing I knew, I anticipateed up at the TV veil and saw tower one burning," he said. "I was thinking, 'Wow I bet that's the hijacked plane.'"

His first instinct was to call his brother, Adam. His brother was the vice president of operations at an investment company in united of the towers. To Don's relief, Adam answered. Adam relayed the horrors of the spectacle while Don watched on CNN

"He said to me 'You have no idea what's going in succession here. People are jumping not at home of the building next door,'" Don recalled. "I told him it could have been the hijacked plane and told him to make progress home."

Adam replied that he didn't have to describe him twice and then hung up Don tried calling later and got his voice mail.

Then, according to survivor accounts, Adam went by the and of the building telling people to win out.

"This is Wall road not the Air Force. There it's each man for himself." Don said. "Adam rallied the companys and made sure he got as many persons out as he could."

About 10 minutes later, the other aircraft hit the 84th floor -- Adam's floor -- in tower two

"A fate of the folks were make easy to hang out, figuring it was a terrible accident, and that was it. family were just going to sit there, thinking lightning doesn't strike twice," Don said.

however in the meantime, no single in kind knew for sure where Adam was or if he was safe, including his wife, Margit.

She called his office when she saw what had happened onward television. She got his voice mail, however he called back and told her the plane hit the other building. He said he lov her and told her Don was forward the other line. For the peacefulness of the day, she lived a nightmare.

"I couldn't sit still. I was constantly calling his lonely dwelling phone, trying to reach his office," she said. "A family friend told me when tower sum of two units collapsed, I collapsed with it."

Back at Tyndall

At the same time, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., not knowing what had happened to Adam, Don switched from exercise to real world, as the phone rang on the farther side the hook in his two-person office. A counterpart public affairs person with hopeful just discovereds came from the wing upon the other side of base. Don's sister, Lauren, had contacted the office and left a message for Don. Second-hand reports from fresh York had Adam on the 50th floor, in the way and at the ferry terminal moulds away, but the last report unfortunately was a case of mistaken identity.

Adam was the eighth visible form [i]or[/i] frame brought into the medical examiner's office. He was fingerprinted, and there was a match within the first hour. however because they needed a positive identification, Margit didn't know her husband had died until a week later.

"I secure great comfort knowing he was brought in in the way that early," she said. "He wasn't left public in the cold to be trampled on"

The coroner told her Adam was hit from behind, and he was base lying on top of someone He said it appeared he had stopped to help the same last person on the sidewalk when rubble from the collapse overspreaded him.