Amid all the stories of tragedy and heroism on September 11, there is one tale that has yet to be told–the gripping account of ordinary men and women braving the inferno at the Pentagon to rescue friends and co-workers, save the nation’s military headquarters, and defend their country.

Pentagon firefighters Alan Wallace and Mark Skipper had just learned the shocking news that planes had struck the World Trade Center when they saw something equally inconceivable: a twin-engine jetliner flying straight at them. It was American Airlines Flight 77, rushing toward its target. In his Pentagon office, Army major David King was planning a precautionary evacuation when the room suddenly erupted in flames. Arlington firefighters Derek Spector, Brian Roache, and Ron Christman, among the first responders at the scene, were stunned by the sight that met them: a huge flaming hole gouged into the Pentagon’s side, a lawn strewn with smoking debris, and thousands of people, some badly injured, stumbling away from what would become one of the most daunting fires in American history.

For more than twenty-four hours, Arlington firefighters and other crews faced some of the most dangerous and unusual circumstances imaginable. The size and structure of the Pentagon itself presented unique challenges, compelling firefighters to devise ingenious tactics and make bold decisions–until they finally extinguished the fire that threatened to cripple America’s military infrastructure just when it was needed most.

Granted unprecedented access to the major players in the valiant response efforts, Patrick Creed and Rick Newman take us step-by-step through the harrowing minutes, hours, and days following the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon’s western façade. Providing fascinating personal stories of the firefighters and rescuers, a broader view of how the U.S. national security command structure was held intact, and a sixteen-page insert of dramatic photographs, Firefight is a unique testament to the fortitude and resilience of America.

"Creed, a U.S. Army officer and volunteer firefighter, and U.S. News and World Report staff writer Newman (Bury Us Upside Down) interviewed thousands of people who were involved after terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:38 the morning of 9/11, while personnel were grouped around TV sets watching the Twin Towers attack in New York. Within two minutes, fire crews from Arlington, Fairfax, Alexandria and Washington, D.C. converged on the site, joining military and civilian personnel working to rescue those trapped in the building-Surgeon General P.K. Carlton working to help the injured, Navy SEALS stationed to catch people jumping from windows. But it was the firemen who took the lead in the search and rescue effort, fire control and helping to secure classified material in structurally compromised areas. Creed and Newman provide a minute-by-minute account of operations during the first two days, carrying the story through 9/21 when, with the situation under control, the FBI took charge of the crime scene. This gripping account of national tragedy and personal heroism gives readers a you-are-there look at the disaster that claimed 189, and a real appreciation for the work that kept it from claiming more." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

It took only eight-tenths of a second for American Airlines Flight 77 to strike the outer wall of the Pentagon, penetrate the concentric E, D and C Rings, collapse upon itself like an accordion and ignite chaos. The jet spewed thousands of gallons of fuel through hallways, offices and meeting rooms inside the nation's premier defense installation — into every place that airborne mist could go on the... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) wings of an enormous shock wave. A series of explosions sent an ominous mushroom-shaped cloud into the air.

The aircraft had punched a hole 90 feet wide at the entry point, then compressed into a bullet-like shape and burrowed 310 feet, or about twice its length, into the building. Its speed decelerated from 530 miles an hour to zero in less than a second. The bodies of the five hijackers were found about 100 feet from the point of impact; most of the bodies of the 59 passengers and crew, who had been herded to the rear of the plane, carried farther into the building. The final death toll included 125 Pentagon employees.

Because the fire got under a thick slab of concrete covering the roof, flames burned for three more days. The repercussions of that day, though, will be felt for decades. In the same way that a previous generation remembers the Kennedy assassination, many Washingtonians will forever remember where they were standing, what they were doing and thinking, when they learned of the Pentagon attack and felt the shock of a terrible vulnerability.

The Pentagon attack understandably has received less attention than the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan and United Airlines Flight 93 in a grassy field in Pennsylvania; the first was far more catastrophic, the second a more compact drama. After all, the Pentagon opened for business the next day, Sept. 12. For the onlooker, only one wedge of the Pentagon's five sections appeared to be involved, though about 40 percent of the building eventually received damage and smoke invaded every cranny.

Yet vital facilities were compromised. It took hours for a secret backup facility to be made operational to replace the destroyed National Military Command Center. Top secret documents were strewn everywhere, prompting fears that enemy agents would scoop them up. Flames came close to destroying equipment on the roof whose loss would have shut down the entire building.

The direst scenarios did not come to pass, however, thanks to hundreds of firefighters, medics, FBI agents and military and civilian personnel. Heroes came in all shapes and sizes, from a vintage fire truck small enough to squeeze into the Pentagon's central courtyard to generals willing to forget their stars. Most people run from fire. At the Pentagon, military and civilian personnel rushed into the building to save others and protect vital information. A four-star Army general with 20 soldiers at his back got into a wrestling match with a firefighter who had been ordered to keep people out of the building. The firefighter won, and the general apologized. Capt. Jennifer Glidewell, an Army nurse at a Pentagon clinic, went to the central courtyard as it began to fill with wounded and found herself, momentarily, the ranking medical officer. She took charge, but after a few minutes a three-star Air Force general approached. He was a doctor, he told the captain, and asked where she needed him.

There were screw-ups, of course. D.C. Fire Department officials sent too much equipment, established separate command facilities and then ducked out early. But after three grueling days, the firefighters had saved the Pentagon — and done the job safely: Not one emergency worker was seriously injured.

It took five years for authors Patrick Creed, a volunteer firefighter and Army officer, and Rick Newman, a writer for U.S. News and World Report, to pull together this story. Combing public records and conducting 150 interviews, Creed and Newman have done a monumental reporting job. "Firefight" tells the tale moment by moment through the accounts of dozens of participants and eyewitnesses. The book needed an editor with a sharper blue pencil — it's too long, and the writing can be monotonous. Not unlike the heroes whose stories they tell, however, Creed and Newman faced a daunting challenge, rose to the occasion and rescued a piece of history from the ashes.

John N. Maclean is the author of three books on wildland fire, most recently "The Thirtymile Fire: A Chronicle of Bravery and Betrayal."

Reviewed by John N. Maclean, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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Advance praise for Firefight

“Firefight is a gripping human drama and a powerful story–not to mention a significant addition to the annals of American history.”

–David Morrell, author of First Blood

“Overshadowed by the calamity in New York, the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, was nonetheless a day of extraordinary drama, heroism, and tragedy. With riveting detail and a compelling narrative, Patrick Creed and Rick Newman have done a superb job in Firefight of capturing the courage, chaos, and sacrifice of that remarkable day.”

–Steve Vogel, author of The Pentagon: A History

“A gripping inside look at the swift actions taken by a small group of firefighters who saved the Pentagon from destruction.”

–Bing West, author of No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

“Firefight presents a different view of September 11, getting into the actions and mindsets of both the firefighters and the military in Washington D.C. A powerful read.”

–Richard Picciotto, co-author of Last Man Down: A New York City Fire Chief and the Collapse of the World Trade Center

“Firefight does an excellent job of showing the unique issues presented when the heart of America’s military was attacked on September 11, 2001. As I read this book, I felt a brotherhood with the courageous professionals at the scene of the Pentagon and their need to ameliorate the suffering of others.”

–Lt. William Keegan, Jr., PAPD., author of Closure: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Recovery Mission

“This little-known but equally horrifying story of 9/11 will raise the hair on your neck and add to the historical outrage inspired by these senseless murders. The firefighters are seen in grit and in heroism as they fight their way through the Pentagon flames to contain the fires, triage the wounded, interrelate with the FBI, and search for the all-important black boxes. Read this book to remind yourself just how shocked you were that day.”

–Dennis Smith, chairman of First Responders Financial and author of Report from Ground Zero

This fascinating, first-person account of the battle to save the Pentagon on 9/11 portrays the dramatic efforts of hundreds of firefighters, police, and other first responders as they fought to contain the largest building blaze in American history.

Patrick Creed is an amateur historian, volunteer firefighter, and U.S. Army Reserve officer who recently returned from a tour in Iraq as a civil affairs officer with the Army’s Special Operations Command. Creed has one son and lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania, where he is a member of Bon Air and Lansdowne Fire companies.

Rick Newman is an award-winning journalist and staff writer for U.S. News & World Report. He has also written for The Washington Post and many other publications, and is the co-author of Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Newman has two children and lives in Westchester County, New York.

www.rickjnewman.com

www.firefightthebook.com