Accession Number: C.2011.1496.1
Dimensions: 7.75 in X 2.5 in X 2.25 in
Dimensions (Metric): 19.685 cm X 6.35 cm X 5.715 cm
Credit Line: Gift of Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath
Description
Red and white plastic flashlight with a ribbed texture and white printed text: "W.T.C Fire Safety."
Historical Notes
Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath, working in separate offices high in the South Tower, each heard the impact when hijacked Flight 11 struck the North Tower. On the 84th floor, volunteer fire warden Clark saw fireballs outside his window. Praimnath, on the 81st floor, began evacuating with colleagues. Returning upstairs at the direction of a security guard who assured him that the danger was confined to the other tower, Praimnath was at his desk when hijacked Flight 175 struck his floor, leaving one of its wings lodged in a nearby office door. Trapped behind a wall of debris, he banged on the wreckage and called for help. Clark, heading downstairs, heard Praimnath’s distress, assisted him out of the rubble, and used his flashlight to light their way down the stairwell. They exited the South Tower minutes before it collapsed and were separated when the North Tower fell.
One year later, Clark gave Praimnath the flashlight that had guided their evacuation as a memento of their survival.