Francis Albert De Martini (March 31, 1952 – September 11, 2001) was an American architect employed by the Port Authority of New York, the agency that managed the World Trade Center. He was killed in the September 11 attacks when the North Tower collapsed.[1][2][3][4]
Frank De Martini | |
|---|---|
 De Martini in January 2001 | |
| Born | March 31, 1952 Camden, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | September 11, 2001 (aged 49) |
| Cause of death | Collapse of 1 World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Known for | Acts of heroism, evacuation efforts, and heroically rescued occupants of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks |
Background
editDe Martini was hired in 1993 to assess the damage to the building from the World Trade Center bombing. He later became the construction manager and was in charge of changing of indoor layouts such as wall removal and plumbing rearrangement at request by the occupants.[5]
Death
edit
On September 11, 2001, De Martini and his colleagues Pablo Ortiz, Peter Negron, and Carlos da Costa, were at their offices on the 88th floor of the North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the building. De Martini and his coworkers had arrived early and were having coffee with De Martini's wife when the plane struck a few floors above them at 8:46 AM. When the building was hit, all elevators stopped. De Martini and his colleagues worked to help free the people trapped inside the elevators. The men helped clear the entrance to one of the building's three stairwells and directed their fellow occupants to descend to safety.[citation needed]
De Martini assured his wife he would follow her. However, the four men then began gathering tools to find and rescue people. They ascended to the 89th floor, and smashed through drywall next to a blocked door, allowing the occupants of that floor to escape.[1] By that point, they had rescued 25–40 employees,[6] including his wife Nicole De Martini. De Martini, Ortiz, Hanna, Negron, and da Costa went upstairs, where they freed two more groups of people. These included a man on the 89th floor that De Martini directed Mak Hanna to carry down to safety.[7][8][page needed]
Still trying to rescue fellow occupants, De Martini, Ortiz, Negron, and da Costa all died when the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 AM; Hanna was the only one of their crew to survive.[9] De Martini's remains were never found. It has been estimated that 77 people survived the attacks due to their rescue efforts.[1]
Accounts of De Martini's actions during the attacks were given in the documentaries 9/11: Heroes of the 88th Floor, 9/11: The Twin Towers, and Rise and Fall: The World Trade Center.[citation needed]
At the National September 11 Memorial, De Martini is memorialized at the South Pool, on Panel S-27, along with other first responders.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Jim Dwyer (2003-08-29). "THE PORT AUTHORITY TAPES: OVERVIEW; Fresh Glimpse in 9/11 Files Of the Struggles for Survival". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
As for Mr. De Martini and Mr. Ortiz, the transmissions disclose only fragments of their efforts, but taken with the accounts of the people they saved, add to a powerful narrative of heroism and loss.
- ^ McGregor, Jena (2013-09-11). "Remembering some of 9/11's great leaders". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz: The 'Heroes of the 88th Floor,' as they've been memorialized, these employees of the Port Authority, an architect and a construction inspector, respectively, "pushed back the boundary line between life and death in favor of the living," wrote Jim Dwyer in the New York Times, helping to rescue at least 50 people.
- ^ Jim Higgins (2011-09-02). "'102 Minutes' captures tragedy, humanity of Sept. 11". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Sometimes the rescuers were fellow civilians. Port Authority employees Frank De Martini, Pete Negron and Pablo Ortiz roamed through the north tower helping to free trapped people. They did not make it out alive.
- ^ "Remembering Pablo Ortiz: A Hero of the 88th Floor". National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Altogether, Ortiz, De Martini, Pete Negron, and Carlos da Costa helped at least 50 trapped people by acting as citizen first-responders, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn estimated in their 2011 book 102 Minutes.
- ^ Celestine Bohlen, Adam Clymer, Anthony DePalma, Barnaby J. Feder, Jonathan Fuerbringer, Hubert B. Herring, Lynette Holloway, Dena Kleiman, Gretchen Morgenson, Gustav Niebuhr, Terry Pristin, Susan Saulny and Debra West (2001-12-01). "Frank De Martini: Defending the Brownstone". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Transcripts offer fresh glimpses into 9/11". Tampa Bay Times. 2003-08-29. Archived from the original on 2023-05-28. Retrieved 2023-05-31.
- ^ Dwyer, Jim (2011-09-08). "n Love With Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
That morning, Raffaele Cava, age 80, was working on the 90th floor of the north tower. After the plane hit, no one could open the exits, so he went to another office and sat with Dianne DeFontes and Tirsa Moya. The hall floors were melting. Suddenly, two men in the stairwell pried open the door, walked in and ordered everyone to go. They were Frank De Martini and Pablo Ortiz, Port Authority employees who worked one flight down, and who took it on themselves to climb up and down 14 floors, getting scores of people out. They never left.
- ^ Inside 9-11: What Really Happened. St. Martin's Press. April 2007. ISBN 9781429972888 – via Google Books.
- ^ Nick Westoll (2016-09-11). "9//11 survivor recalls carrying elderly man down 89 floors before losing 2 best friends". Global News. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
As they were getting ready to leave, Hanna said De Martini insisted Hanna and Ortiz go to the 89th floor after he heard someone banging on the door. Despite the smoke from the upper floors, they managed to open the door, allowing those trapped to escape—including the 89-year-old man. The men made their way down to the 78th floor. De Martini and Ortiz stayed behind while Hanna made the 46-minute journey to the ground floor with Mo.
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