Major Reginald Mebane, who heads security for one of the state court buildings, organized a group of about 10 officers. They grabbed some medical equipment and hopped a court bus to help evacuate people. But when one tower began to collapse, they raced for cover inside Building Five of the Trade Center complex. The smoke made it so dark they could see only a few feet in front of them, even with flashlights. They felt their way along the walls and windows to get out. "The building just blew," says Bill Faulkner, 53, a Vietnam veteran who was part of the group. "I would be dead if I hadn't jumped behind a pillar." Another court officer, Ed Kennedy, who also hid behind the pillar, says he grabbed the arm of a woman in an effort to pull her behind the pillar with him. But he didn't grab her fast enough. Suddenly he realized he was holding just an arm. It was only when a fireman broke the window in the Borders bookstore that the men were able to escape. 负责其中一个州法院大楼安全工作的Reginald Mebane少校组织了一队约有10名军官的小组。他们紧急获取了部分医疗设施，跳上一辆法院的巴士，前往出事地点帮助疏散人群。但当其中一个塔开始倒塌时，他们被迫冲进世贸中心建筑群的五号大楼内避难。倒塌产生了大量浓烟，救援小组只能看清数英尺之内的东西。他们沿着墙壁和窗户摸索着走了出来。救援小组成员之一的越南老兵、53岁的Bill Faulkner说：“大楼那会儿刚爆炸，要不是我跳到柱子后面，那我肯定完了。”另一名同样藏在柱子后面的法庭保卫 Ed Kennedy说，当时他正抓着一名妇女的胳膊，想把她拉到柱子后面，但他慢了一步。猛然间，他意识到自己抓住的只是一只残留的胳膊。困在大楼里的人直到消防人员打碎柏德连锁书店（Borders Bookstore）的窗户后才得以逃离。
Fire fighters pushed people further back, back up north. Mayor Giuliani took to the streets, walking through the raining dust and ordering people to evacuate the entire lower end of the island. Medical teams performed triage on the streetcorners of Tribeca, doling out medical supplies and tending the walking wounded. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, even lifeguards, were recruited to help. Volunteers with the least training were diverted to blood-donation centers or the dreaded "black teams," where they would not be called upon to save a life, just handle dead bodies during triage. The color code: black for dead, red for immediately life-threatening wounds, yellow for serious, non-life threatening and green for the walking wounded. Police and fire fighters realized even as they worked that hundreds of their colleagues, the first to respond, were dead. Each looked as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. A looter was arrested: he had two fire department boots on his feet, and the cops looked as if they were going to kill him. 消防人员将人们不断向北疏散。市长 Giuliani负责整条街道的疏散工作，他冒着雨点般落下的尘土在街道上来回疏散整个世贸中心低区的人群。医疗小组在 Tribeca 各街角将伤员按受伤情况分类，发放医疗用品，照顾轻伤员。医生、护士、紧急救护员（EMT），甚至连救生员都组织起来进行救援。稍稍经过培训的志愿者们被分到各个采血中心，或者分到情况最糟的“黑队”，黑队的任务不是救人，而是去处理伤员分类过程中死去的人。其中采用的各种色彩标志有：黑色表示死亡，红色表示有生命危险、需立即救治的伤员，黄色表示伤势严重、但无生命危险的伤员，绿色表示轻伤员。警方和消防人员发现，他们派出的第一批数百人组成的救援队伍也已遇难。人人看上去都痛不欲生。 一名趁火打劫的人遭到逮捕：他的脚上穿了两双消防靴，逮捕他的警察恨不得杀了他。
The refugee march began at the base of the island and wound up the highways as far as you could see, tens of thousands of people with clothes dusted, faces grimy, marching northward, away from the battlefield. There was not a single smile on a single face. But there was remarkably little panic as well--more steel and ingenuity: Where am I going to sleep tonight? How will I get home? "They can't keep New Jersey closed forever," a man said. Restaurant-supply companies on the Bowery handed out wet towels. A cement mixer drove toward the Queensboro Bridge with dozens of laborers holding onto it, hitching a ride out of town. Overcrowded buses, one after another, shipped New York's workers north. Ambulances, some covered with debris, sped past them, ferrying the injured to the waiting hospitals. 幸存人员排起了长队，队伍一眼望不到尽头，从世贸中心地下室一直延伸到高速公路。数以万计的人们满脸、满身都是尘土，向远离出事地点的北面行进。没有人脸上挂有笑容。但也几乎没有明显的恐慌－人们更加坚强，绞尽脑汁地想：今天晚上我去哪儿睡觉？我怎样才能回家？“新泽西对人们来说不再是近在咫尺。”有人表示。Bowery大街上的餐饮公司向人们分发湿毛巾。一辆水泥搅拌机连同数十名工人开往皇后区大桥（Queensboro Bridge），以开辟出一条通往镇外的道路。挤得满满当当的巴士一辆接一辆向北面输送纽约的上班族们。救护车从巴士旁急驰而过，将伤员送往候诊医院，其中一些救护车周身是碎石瓦砾。
All over the city, people walked with radios pinned to their ears. One man had the news on his car radio turned up as close to 100 people surrounded the car listening to the reports. Just before noon, a radio commentator said, "Inarguably, this is the worst day in the history of New York City." No one argued. 城市各处步行的人们通过收音机密切关注着事态发展。车上带收音机的司机将音量开到最大，车周围挤满了100多人收听新闻报导。快到中午时，电台新闻广播员报导说：“毫无疑问，这是纽约市历史上最黑暗的一天。”对此无人表示异议。
