[font=Arial:lfejpomc]So the questions was what was it like and how did the 9-11 events change the US Antarctic Program and life on such a far away isolated community..[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]This is being cross posted to several lists…[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc](Pardon the word of profanity, but this is how it was…)[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Well I too was on the ice with Mike and Lori Poole for September 11th, I think this day hit me very hard for several reasons. I have been in Fire and emergency services for 10 or so years.. My time then on the ice was with the Fire Department, Second I am from Pennsylvania, I live 75 Miles from NYC and 3rd….my HAZMAT Team from where I work then and now responded to the WTC. How hard was it for me to look back on the CNN feed and watch these events take place back home, My back yard was Ground Zero! [/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]I can remember the day like it was yesterday, I was working at the firehouse and it was about 3AM there, I got a call upstairs in my bunk room, and it was the dispatcher who was from VA, At that time I knew a little about everyone there and she said this.. “Hey Chris, Its Elise.. your from PA right?”, I told her yes…”You better come down to dispatch, there is something on TV you need to see right away” its 3AM Elise “The US is being attacked and a plane went into the WTC” I ran down… [/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Not believing what I was seeing I made my judgments, I needed to hear this from the horses mouth, I made a call to the Pennsylvania emergency Operations Center, (For those of you that don’t know me.. I work for the County Govt here in PA in the field of Emergency Management) [/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Dialing the secret 800 number to the state operations center this is what I got, Luckily it was a good friend who answered… [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]”PEMA Operations, Mcateer” [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Jerry this is Chris [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]”Chris who” [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Post… [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]”Aren’t you in Antarctica” [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Yeah its me.. what the fuck is going on, is this stuff on TV true ” [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Yeah all hell is breaking loose, there is still one plane unaccounted for, its over central PA, its bad here” [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Shit, Ok thanks for the info..good luck [/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]”ok later Chris”[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]In these 15 seconds my world and the world of everyone on the ice changed forever, I think I was the 2nd person On Antarctica to know what was going on, About 30 min later we called the station manager on the phone and broke the news to him. [/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]So you ask what its like and changes, Living on such an isolated spot as McMurdo.. when such a dramatic event in history took place… It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, Knowing all my training and skills as an emergency worker would hours from now be put to the test at ground zero if I were back home… but there is was 9,344 miles from McMurdo to my front door back in PA, and no chance of leaving the ice for several more weeks…. I would be missing this call…[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]I was back on the ice for the Sept 11th 2002, We had a very special ceremony on the deck of the Challet, This is the National Science Foundations offices in Antarctica.. Here is a picture of that day… Some how it even found its way into Firehouse Magazine..[/font:lfejpomc]
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[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Cheer’s[/font:lfejpomc]
[font=Arial:lfejpomc]Chris [/font:lfejpomc]
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