Usually when the words “September 11^th” are uttered, most people are ready to listen to the horrors and graphic details of that fateful day, but former firefighter Deputy Chief Robert Cobb of Jersey City, New Jersey, highlights the events in a much more memorable way.

On September 16, 2011, Robert Cobb shared his stories to a group of students, here at Millennium

On September 11, 2001, Cobb worked as the Deputy Chief of Jersey City’s firehouse which is located only one hundred yards from the twin towers.

Jersey City firefighters got the call about the twin towers at 9:15 AM. They responded immediately, bringing along over a hundred oxygen tanks for their firefighters and as well as those already in New York City.

Cobb was assigned to the command post, located just two blocks north of the north tower but was delayed twenty minutes. “I still think to this day that those twenty minutes saved my life,” states Cobb. For when he was on his way to take his post, it collapsed along with the north tower.

After the first tower fell, response teams could not communicate over radios or cell phones for some time. The command post went down with the first tower, making everyone disoriented since they were the ones calling the shots.

When all the dust had settled and radio frequencies were cleared, it took about thirty minutes to reorganize and regroup all teams to what needed to be done.

Since Cobb could no longer go to the command post, he went back to what he knew best: rescuing civilians.

He had spent seven years prior in Rescue 1, learning how to search and rescue in a timely and efficient manner. “About an hour into our search, I knew that no one was going to be alive,” says Cobb.

Searching for civilians for eleven hours was a gruesome and frustrating process for the Jersey City firefighters. The first door he opened was to a part of the north tower. Cobb opened it only to realize that the whole interior was gone.

Cobb made his way to section seven and began rescuing civilians. He was so wrapped up in finding victims, he didn’t realize the second tower fell into dust and debris clouded over him.

“The dust and wind were like a hurricane. Fifty mile per hour winds were coming over us,” he explains.

They sent over 3,500 civilians needing medical attention west towards Jersey City by ferry, boat and basically anything that could float.

People who evacuated to Jersey City, not needing medical assistance walked the streets as if they were zombies, as Cobb referred to them. They wandered aimlessly not knowing where they were or what had happened.

Buses would drive around to pick up these “zombies” and bring them to a safe zone where they could receive water and use a phone to call their loved ones.

Soon enough the military arrived to assist New York and Jersey City firefighters with the aftermath of both towers.  The destruction and devastation was far too great for only city firemen and policemen to handle. “I never though I’d have to be protected by the military on my own street,” finishes Cobb.