ANS -- The Elevator Man of 9/11

This is a story of a hero or 9/11.  Read it.  It will make you cry, and make you feel better about humanity. 

I googled it and the story appears in a lot of places so I hope that means it is true. 

--Kim

Christina Tann · ·

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Charles “Chuck” Costello Jr. was working at a hotel in SoHo, about twenty blocks north of the World Trade Center.

He was forty-six years old, a New Jersey father of four, a Navy veteran, and an elevator mechanic.

It was unusual for him to be working in Manhattan that day.

Then the first plane struck the North Tower.

As crowds began pouring away from Lower Manhattan, Costello made the opposite choice.

He ran toward it.

When a coworker tried to stop him, Costello reportedly answered simply, “I’ll be fine. Just keep your cellphone on.”

Then he disappeared into the smoke.

The World Trade Center depended heavily on elevators, and after the impacts, many had stalled. People were trapped in dark shafts and cars filling with smoke, unable to open the doors or reach the floors around them.

Costello understood those systems.

So he went inside.

While other crews were being pulled back from the danger, he volunteered his knowledge to firefighters and police officers working inside the complex. They quickly began referring to him as “the elevator man.”

Using his tools and experience, Costello helped override systems and force open jammed elevator doors.

One trapped group after another was released.

He worked through the North Tower helping people escape from elevators that had become deadly traps.

Then, instead of leaving, he went to the South Tower.

And started doing it again.

Costello continued helping emergency crews free trapped occupants while conditions inside the World Trade Center became increasingly dangerous.

He could have walked away.

He had already done more than anyone could reasonably have expected from an off-duty civilian technician.

He stayed.

His efforts were credited with helping save hundreds of people.

But Chuck Costello never made it home.

Months later, on January 5, 2002, recovery crews found his remains deep beneath the wreckage in a South Tower elevator shaft.

He was found beside a firefighter and a police officer.

In his pocket were his driver’s license, his union card, and his rosary.

Those small objects were still with him after everything else had disappeared.

Costello had spent his working life understanding elevators, machinery most people barely think about until something goes wrong.

On September 11, that ordinary technical knowledge suddenly became lifesaving.

He did not have a fire department badge.

He was not assigned to the towers.

No one ordered him to go.

He simply knew there were people trapped inside systems he understood better than almost anyone else nearby.

So he ran more than two miles toward the burning buildings.

Today, his son carries part of that legacy forward, working as both an elevator mechanic and a volunteer firefighter.

Charles “Chuck” Costello Jr. is one of the quieter stories of September 11.

A technician.

A father.

A veteran.

A man who saw thousands of people running away from danger and understood that his particular skill might help someone still trapped inside it.

So he turned toward the towers.

And kept working until he could not come back.

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