An Army of Normal Folks - Father Mark Hanna: The 3 Civilians Who Saved Upwards of 77 Lives (Pt 1)

Episode Date: July 8, 2025

An Egyptian engineer, a Hispanic Navy Seal, and an Italian construction manager walk into a building. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but it’s the beginning of real-life heroism. The building was the World Trade Center’s North Tower and Father Mark Hanna is the only one of the 3 amigos to survive 9/11.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I start calling the police to come and help me, I said, please help me. I'm really tired. I'm coming from the 88th floor. Can somebody come and help me? I said, look, we cannot come to you. You walk towards us. And they actually warned me, make sure to be careful because there are people throwing themselves on the top. This is a tough scene I struggled so hard to my life, actually. I looked up and I see a body flying. And as soon as they touched it ground, really, they are basis. And I was worried. So they can't come help you because they're worried about getting hit by falling people.

I heard a bee coming from the top floor also. There are certain to be coming from there. So I just. And you look up and you see people flying. I did see people. In fact, I be honest, many times in my life I see the picture. But thank God, God gave me so much strength and power throughout my life. Matter of fact, I look at, I'm gonna talk about that.

9-11 was a turning point. They give me strength and strong. They make me strong. Welcome to an Army of Normal Folks. I'm Bill Courtney. I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, I'm a father. I'm an entrepreneur.

And I've been a high school football coach in inner city Memphis. And remarkably, that last part somehow led to an Oscar for the film about our team. That movie's called Undefeated. Guys, I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits using big words that nobody really ever uses on CNN and Fox but rather by an army of normal folks. Us. Just you and me deciding hey you know what maybe maybe I can help.

That's what Father Mark Hanna, the voice you just heard, has done. Father Mark and two of his friends helped save the lives of between, I don't know, 50 and 75 people inside the World Trade Center North Tower on 9-11. And they did this as civilians risking their own lives to save the lives of others. Father is the only one of these heroes who survived that fateful day. I cannot wait for you to hear his story and meet him right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. My Uncle Chris is definitely somebody worth talking about.

He was the kind of guy that used Confederate flags as window curtains, lived in a trailer with an ex-con and a retired stripper, left loaded machine guns laying around, drank a bottle of whiskey a night, claimed he could kill a man with his bare hands, drove a garbage truck for a living, spoke fluent Spanish with a thick Southern accent, and is currently buried in a crypt alongside the founding families of Panama. Listen to the Uncle Chris podcast to hear all about him and a whole lot more. This collection of stories will make you laugh,

it'll make you cry, and if I do my job right, they'll let you see the world and your place in it in a whole new way. I can't wait to tell you all about Uncle Chris. Listen now to Uncle Chris on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. From iHeart Podcasts, before social media, before the internet, before cable news, there was Alan Berg. You dig what I do. You have a need.

Unfortunately, you have no sense of humor. That's why you can't ever enjoy this show. And that's why you're a loser. He was the first and the original shock shock. That scratchy, irreverent kind of way of talking to people. You're as dumb as the rest. I can't take anyone. I don't agree with you all the time.

I don't want you to. I hope that you pick me apart. His voice changed media. His death shocked the nation. And it makes me so angry that he got himself killed because he had a big mouth. KOA morning talk show host Alan Berg reportedly was shot and killed tonight in downtown Denver. He pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. This guy aggravated everybody. From iHeart Podcasts, this is Live Wire, the loud life and shocking murder of Alan Berg.

Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A murder happens, the case goes cold. Then, over a hundred years later, we take a second look. I'm Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator. And I'm Kate Winkler-Dawson, a journalist and historian. On our podcast, Buried Bones, we reexamine historical true crime cases.

Using modern forensic techniques, we dig into what the original investigators may have missed. Growing up on a farm when I heard a gunshot, I did not immediately think murder. Unless this person went out to shoot squirrels, they're not choosing a 22 to go hunting out there. These cases may be old, but the questions are still

relevant and often chilling. I know this chauffeur is not of concern, you know, it's like, well, he's the last one who saw our life, so how did they eliminate him? Join us as we take you back to the cold cases that haunt us to this day. New episodes every Wednesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Barry Bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Adventure should never come with a pause button. Remember the movie pass era where you could watch all the movies you wanted for just $9? It made zero sense and I could not stop thinking about it.

I'm Bridget Todd, host of the Tech Podcast, There Are No Girls on the Internet. On this new season, I'm talking to the innovators who are left out of the tech headlines, like the visionary behind MoviePass, Black founder, Stacey Spikes, who was pushed out of MoviePass, the company that he founded. His story is wild and it's currently the subject

of a juicy new HBO documentary. We dive into how culture connects us. When you go to France, or you go to England, or you go to Hong Kong, those kids are wearing Jordans, they're wearing Kobe's shirt, they're watching Black Panther. And the challenges of being a Black founder. Close your eyes and tell me what a tech founder looks like. They're not gonna describe someone who looks like me

and they're not gonna describe someone who looks like you. I created There Are No Girls on the internet because the future belongs to all of us. So listen to There Are No Girls on the internet on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit.

I'm 100% innocent. While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch. Because oh God, Harnett, jailhouse lawyer. And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her. You're supposed to have faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her. So many of these women had lived the same stories. I said, were you a victim of domestic violence? And she was like, yeah.

But maybe Kelly could change the ending. I said, how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm going to be the first one to do that. This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriends too. I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison.

The Girlfriends, Jailhouse Lawyer. Listen from July 14th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. ["Memory of the Dead"] So we're in the back in the Crosstown Concourse in the cool Memphis Listening Lab, which is a spot more people need to know about because it's just groovy and there's not any music

you could ever have dreamed of, vinyl or otherwise, and I don't think you can find in this place. And Alex and I really love recording here. We've got a live recording going on, so there's some folks in front of us for our guest. And at the end of this, as always, when we do live recordings, we'll open it up for

any questions. Today we're speaking with Father Mark Hannah, and when you hear his accent, you'll say, Mark Hannah? Doesn't sound like Mark Hannah guy. His story is amazing. He is a priest at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in New Jersey, East Brunswick. Really his story is not about being a priest, rather it's about why he became a priest. And with that, I just want to say to you, welcome to Memphis.

Oh, thank you. Welcome, Coach Bell. I'm happy to be here. When did you get in? We arrived yesterday around four o'clock and went to the hotel. Then my son talked me out. We actually went downtown and we enjoyed some good meals in town town and we had a good time.

Then last night we met the priest of the church here in Memphis, Father Demian, and we met actually some of the members of the church here. We had dinner together. Then we went to sleep and then we're here tonight now. Perfect. Great. Well, welcome to Memphis. Your story is... I can't wait for you to share your story, but you're from Egypt. Yes, I am.

So tell me, how did you grow up, just briefly, how you went up and how you got to the US? Actually, that's a good question because I did grow up in Upper Egypt, not in Cairo, which is about three hours away from Cairo, in a small town, it's called Bani Mazar in Mania. And I grew up with a very average family, not really, very, very poor family, very simple family. And I went to school, but the turning point in my life actually, to come to United States of America.

The oldest brother, which is my brother William, actually he went to college and he become one of the good student in engineering school. Then he came to United States of America to study PhD in University of Connecticut. So while we're studying PhD here, I was just entering into engineering school in Egypt. So he sent me a visa. I came in 1984 on F1 visa. And yourself became an engineer? I became an engineer. Where did you go to school?

I went to school in Central Kent City University, which belonged to UConn University of Connecticut. UConn? Yeah. So you're a Husky. Big Husky fan. I love actually Marshall Madden this big time. I bet. Yeah. So good. So there it is. And you got a job at the World Trade Center. Yeah, actually when I arrived, when I went going to school, I worked as a carpenter in one of the companies. And then after that, I school full-time, I finished my college, and I worked in the Willett Retreat Center Construction Division.

So what is that construction division? Because the buildings were built. Is this like the engineering maintenance part for the building? When I read that I didn't even know what that meant. Willett Retreat Center Construction Division, because Willett Retreat Center has like seven buildings. You have the Twin Tower, and then you have another five building. One of the buildings actually with the custom house building and also another building, Building 7 Silverstein.

So because the building is very unique, the way it's built had its own regulation and all also codes. When you work the Willett-R Heritage Center Construction Division is a building department for the World Heritage Center buildings around the building itself. We acting actually if somebody tenant want to do any construction or any work, they submit the drawing for us, we review it and we act as an inspector, we inspect the drawings. So we are actually basically the building department of the World Heritage Center Construction. So really, like if I want to build something in my business,

I've got to apply to the Shelby County code enforcement guys, and there's guys at the city code that go over it. You were almost like code enforcement, construction, maintenance, specifically just for the World Trade Center complex. Yes. And in fact, we had to study certain codes required for the building itself. How to set the requirement for the construction of the building itself. Basically we did act as basically the reinforcement group that really

inspect or respect any work would be done in the World Trade Center. When the World Trade Center's, when the two big buildings plus the other, I think there were five others or seven total, right? Yeah, seven total, yes. When they were full, when the day was going on on a typical Tuesday or Thursday, how many people were in those seven buildings at one time? I will imagine, I did not really estimate it, but I will imagine at least over than 80,000. So the point is, just the World Trade Center complex, when it was inhabited and working

and people were there every day, it's larger than many small cities. Absolutely. Because in my fact, the concourse level of the World Trade Center, we had like one of the huge big mall. And underneath, they have another six floors, B1 and B6 levels. And also they had the subway and also they had the bus train which comes from Jersey to New York City. And I want you to imagine the Twin Tower 110 floors and every floor 200 by 200 square feet, which means every floor

equal to an acre. 510 acres above each other. That's a twin tower alone. Next to each other. Next to each other. The North Tower and the South Tower. And each one of them has one acres, which is, when you look at how tall the building is, it's basically two miles.

It's unbelievable. Unbelievable, yes. It's a huge building. So it needed guys like you. I mean this complex is like having its own town. It had to have its engineering and instruction division because there was something always going on like you would in a 80,000 person town. Absolutely. We had even we had a lot to do off of hours work because sometimes when a company is doing some work, we basically, they cannot do it during the day, we do it at night.

And in our department, we had a plan review when somebody submitted a drawing, there's a group review of the plan. And my job and the Frank DiMartini, which is, he was my boss at the time, take the plans and make sure that we enforce everything done according to the plan. Got it. So it's a good segue. On the day of 9-11, you were with your colleagues Pablo Ortiz and Frank DiMartini. What I've read is Pablo is an ex-navy SEAL and he was Hispanic and Frank was an Italian who was a construction manager.

So honestly, when I read that, I giggled because that sounds like the beginning to an Egyptian engineer, a Hispanic Navy SEAL, and an Italian construction manager walk into a bar one day. It's almost like a joke would begin. I mean, what a collection of people. Well, it's the construction division. The beautiful thing of which I loved to work for them had a lot of diversity between the plan review and the people working with so much diversity in the everybody working together. But the most beautiful thing actually, we all work in harmony. And we had really so much love to each other and respect each other and we work in a very good way that we help

each other. So, you're close, you're diverse, you're like family, you've worked together for eight, nine, ten years, you've got each other's back, you're running around keeping this 80,000 person, seven building massive complex going and I'll just tease it and then you can take it from there. You guys were sitting in your office and on the 88th floor of tower one and the building shook. Take us through it all. Actually, this is moment actually we were gathering together talking about some project. We were very close to Frank DiMartini's office.

And when they... It's Frank DiMartini. DiMartini, yes. He was your boss. He was my boss, yes. Okay. And as soon as we... We felt actually the building was shaking.

You could feel it. Absolutely, you can feel it. You know, I'm sorry, I'm going to get out of your way and let you tell the story because just your recounting of all of it is enough and it doesn't need me. But so many of us, our experience of 9-11 was watching it on TV. our experience of 9-11 was watching it on TV and then all of the documentaries and Historical footage and stuff that many of us have reviewed

But when you hear the building shook and you hear The horrific things we've heard. It's one thing to hear it and watch it on film it's another thing to hear it and watch it on film. It's another thing to hear a human being who was there and there are few to survive and tell the story. So when you say you felt this massive building weaving and and all of the things you're gonna to tell us. Please remember our experience as not somebody who had feet on the ground. I don't want to just hear the building shook. I want to know what that felt like. I'd want to feel that from you. Actually, the moment that we felt the building was shocked, actually, some of us were scared.

We did not know exactly what's happening. Matter of fact, we did not even know the building was shocked actually. Some of us were scared. We did not know exactly what's happening. Matter of fact, we did not even know the building was hit by an airplane. I personally was in fear a little bit what happened, especially when we looked at the window, we see Babur flying. And we see some of the cabinets were falling down. But the building, after he shook, stood a little bit. And we did not know what happened So we gathered together all of us together Frank de Martini and myself will or these we'll gather everybody We in the center of the building itself and On the 88 on the 88 floor We still on 88 floor as soon as we got in the center because when the building was hit actually with health The airplane went to northeast corner

My office and Frank de Martini's office was on the southeast of the building. So we walked from the southeast to the center of the building, toward the west of the building. As soon as we got there, we started recognizing, you know what, there's a smoke in our floor. And that made me a little bit scared and afraid. And everybody was panicked. What exactly was happening? In the beginning, we thought, because we are really working for the building, we had a problem on 75th floor with one of the pumps,

that pumping water all the way to the top floor. — One of the pumps? — Pumps, yes. So we basically, when we found out, we said maybe this is one of the pumps, a really problem, but later on we did not know that, and it's an airplane. So we walked and we helped everybody. So you guys thought maybe that shaking and all was because the pump blew up or the water pressure or something?

That's our feeling in the beginning. Then we walked all the way to and walked out from the center of the building. We tried to, Frenny Martín telling us, you know what, we need to get out of this floor here because we start feeling a lot of smoke coming toward us. As soon as we came out of the floor itself, and the building had three stairwells, one A and B was basically blocked due to the damage, but also we went out through stairwell C. As soon as we get to stairwell C, we find actually a woman, her name is Judy Reese. As soon as we get to the stairwell, we find actually a woman, her name is Judy Rees. She was our personal administrative office. She was a little bit big woman and also in the meantime struggling with asthma. And she needed help.

So, Frank DiMartini, Paul Ortiz, myself, and also went and helped her to get out of the 88th floor to the sister wall. As soon as we get to the C stairwell, we actually were trying to figure out what we're going to do from here. Frank DeMartini actually felt somebody knocking from the top floor, 89th floor. Knocking? Knocking the stairwell, the door. They're hammering on it.

Hammering on. And Frank said actually, it seemed like some people up above us really struggling. They want to get out and they can't. So what we decide, Frank, we decide, let's go up. Matter of fact, in the beginning, I said, Frank, we cannot go up. We need to help some people here. He said, no, let's go up and see what exactly happening upstairs. So Frank, Paul and I went up, and Judy at this moment actually took by one of our fellow worker his name is actually Jeff Gettler and some other people with him and tried to help her down and as soon as we went upstairs on 89th floor we see the door was jammed completely it seemed like when the building starts shaking the door jammed it's a big door to the stairwell the emergency store thewell, yes. So we managed... The plane when it hit tower one,

I think it hit floor 93. So you're five floors, only five floors, and you still don't know a plane situation. We did not know anything until now. Okay. And then when we went to upstairs to the eighth and ninth floor, we find we heard the people actually screaming to us, can you help us open the door? So we tried to open the door with a bed that jammed. And thank God Paul Urdis had a crowbar with him. He's a Navy SEAL, why wouldn't he? He probably carried it in his pocket.

He did actually. He did. And so Paul Urdis actually managed to open the door and they all came out. How many? I will assume about 18. That's what I said. I counted about 18 of them. But I walked into the floor itself.

I saw a lot of the smoke was very, very strong in the 88th and 98th floor. So I walked around and I couldn't really go inside too much because of the smoke. And then everybody left and we came back to 88th floor sister wall. And now a few messages from our generous sponsors. But first, I hope you'll follow us on your favorite social media channels where we share more powerful content including reels from our video studio and testimonials from Army members. We're at Army of Normal Folks on every channel. Give us a follow, we'll be right back. My Uncle Chris is definitely somebody worth talking about.

He was the kind of guy that used Confederate flags as window curtains, lived in a trailer with an ex-con and a retired stripper, left loaded machine guns laying around, drank a bottle of whiskey a night, claimed he could kill a man with his bare hands, drove a garbage truck for a living, spoke fluent Spanish with a thick southern accent, and is currently buried in a crypt alongside the founding families of Panama.

Listen to the Uncle Chris podcast to hear all about him and a whole lot more. This collection of stories will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and if I do my job right, they'll let you see the world and your place in it in a whole new way. I can't wait to tell you all about Uncle Chris. Listen now to Uncle Chris on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. From iHeart Podcasts, before social media, before the internet, before cable news,

there was Alan Berg. You dig what I do, you have a need, unfortunately you have no sense of humor, that's why you can't ever enjoy this show, and that's why you're a loser. He was the first, and the original shock shot. That scratchy irreverent kind of way of talking to people. You're as dumb as the rest that's I can't take anyone. I don't agree with you all the time. I don't want you to I

hope that you pick me apart. His voice changed media his death shocked the nation. And it makes me so angry that he got himself killed because he had a big mouth. KOA morning talk show host Allen Berg reportedly was shot and killed tonight in downtown Denver. He pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. This guy aggravated everybody. From iHeart Podcasts, this is Live Wire,

the loud life and shocking murder of Allen Berg. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A murder happens. The case goes cold. Then, over a hundred years later, we take a second look. I'm Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator. And I'm Kate Winkler-Dawson, a journalist and historian. On our podcast, Buried Bones, we reexamine historical true crime cases. Using modern forensic techniques, we dig into what the original investigators

may have missed. Growing up on a farm when I heard a gunshot, I did not immediately think murder. Unless this person went out to shoot squirrels, they're not choosing a 22 to go hunting out there. These cases may be old, but the questions are still relevant and often chilling. I know this chauffeur is not of concern.

It's like, well, he's the last one who saw our life. So how did they eliminate him? Join us as we take you back to the cold cases that haunt us to this day. New episodes every Wednesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Barry Bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Adventure should never come with a pause button. Remember the movie pass era where you could watch all the movies you wanted for just $9? It made zero sense and I could not stop thinking about it.

I'm Bridget Todd, host of the Tech Podcast, There Are No Girls on the Internet. On this new season, I'm talking to the innovators who are left out of the tech headlines, like the visionary behind MoviePass, Black founder Stacey Spikes, who was pushed out of MoviePass, the company that he founded. His story is wild and it's currently the subject of a juicy new HBO documentary. We dive into how culture connects us. When you go to France, or you go to England, or you go to Hong Kong, those kids are wearing Jordans, they're wearing Kobe's shirt, they're watching Black Panther. And the challenges of being a Black founder. Close your eyes and tell me what a tech founder looks like. They're not going to describe someone who looks like me, and they're're not gonna describe someone who looks like you.

I created There Are No Girls on the internet because the future belongs to all of us. So listen to There Are No Girls on the internet on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. I'm 100% innocent.

While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch. Because, oh God, her and that jailhouse lawyer. And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her. You're supposed to have faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her. So many of these women had lived the same stories. I said, were you a victim of domestic violence? And she was like, yeah. But maybe Kelly could change the ending. I said, how many people have gotten

other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm gonna be the first one to do that. This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriends too. I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison. The Girlfriends, Jailhouse Lawyer. Listen from July 14th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. wherever you get your podcasts. the heroes and the fire department and it trebles on the memories of the victims. But to paint a clear picture, when you were on 89, you said 15 people behind that door.

There were clearly a lot more than 15 people on the 89th floor. Were there others that you just couldn't help? I could not help others because we opened the door, those who were actually by the door, they left and went down. Matter of fact, after that, they called me and I went to the, they work for Midlife Insurance Company and they have their own building in Manhattan. I remember after 9-11, they called me and I went and I met most of them at that building. But I couldn't go inside the floor itself because there was so much smoke inside the

floor itself. So there were clearly people who had already perished. I'm assuming we'll be able to inside the floor itself because with goods with so much smoke inside the floor so there were clearly people who had already I'm assuming will be able to inside the floor yeah okay so you free them you and or does and and the Italian got Frank right your boss yeah and then you go back to the 88th because you date 89th is you just can't be that's too much. As soon as we arrived to 88th floor, everybody would seem like from my floor, a lady lifted the floor itself, but we find one older man, Mo Lipson. He was actually waiting for somebody to help him. So we were actually debating the sheer thoughts, who's going to take care of Mo,

because Mo was 89 years old and he really was short and really very, very skinny and very light. So they decide after a lot of discussion together, we agree that I will be taking care of Mo. So the four of us, Frank DiMartini, Paul Oredeis, myself and Mo, we went from Seastirwell all the way to 78th floor Skylobby. And that's probably because Sky Lobby was basically the center of basically the elevator when you... The building had two Sky Lobby, 44th floor Sky Lobby and 78th floor Sky Lobby.

The Sky Lobby, for anybody going from 78th floor to 110th floor, you take an elevator from first floor to the 78th floor, then you switch to whatever floor you want to go to. So on the Sky Lobby, actually, there was a lot of chaos. That's where everybody was gathering. That's what everybody was gathering from. And also with a lot of fear.

This is a moment to actually discover that the building was hit by an airplane. Frank actually amazing. Frank survived 1993 bombing. And he kept telling us the building will be good. Don't worry about it. You just worry about the smoking. So when the terrorists hit it in 93, down in the parking garage, he was there then. And so he decided the building handled that bombing, this building strong, even though

an airplane hit it. This I believe in this building we're going to be okay. Yusuf Ahram Absolutely. Frank actually, his background was in structure engineering. And he studied the structure of the building very well. He was sure that really the building would be fine, just the problem we're going to face is smoking.

That's why we skipped right away 88th floor. I've interviewed firemen and first responders who were going up as you guys were trying to help people coming down. Did you pass firemen on the stairwell? I did, yeah. On the 21st floor, I met with them, and I saw some firefighters. I'm going to come to the 21st floor.

What happened on the 21st floor? Go ahead. I'll shut up. 78th floor was a little bit of chaos. We actually, when we discovered the building, because we saw a lot of different fire in a different elevator shafts. And we were a little bit scared, I'm gonna, and also fear. We did not know what will happen.

And then on 78th floor, the guard asked us to leave right away. So we're trying to leave. We ran to one of our friends, his name is Tony Savas. He was also working for the Royalty Centre Construction Division. He was trapped inside one of the elevators. So Paul, Erdis, Frank, Martin and myself, we tried to open the door for him. We tried, we couldn't. Then finally the guard came and said, look, he must leave the 78th floor. This is a transition floor that everybody must cannot stay here. So Frank and Paul Ortiz asked me to leave and they're going to stay to help Tony Savis to come out to them. So I took Mo Lipson and myself, and this is the moment actually the last moment or the last time I saw Frank and Paul Ortiz on 78th floor.

We had a radio together because we were working for the building, we had a radio, and we had our own channel. So he asked me to keep the channel five, which is our channel, so we can communicate together. So I left the 78th floor with Frank DeMartini and Pollard Estate, and me and Mo Lipson, we started walking down from 78th floor all the way to 21st floor. 21st floor where I met a group of great firefighters. All of them was very nice young men. Matter of fact, I understand that this group was all of them, the majority were Irish guys. Because you know, New York City, every group has beautiful young men, honestly. I met with them and I stayed.

They talked more for me and they actually on the 21st floor, they actually had set a station for people who need medical assistance. And some people, they need help, especially for the elders. Actually, I saw actually Judy Reese go, you know, she's still walking down. So on the 21st floor, basically, I showed the firefighters where and how to get out, where are the three stairwells of the building. And one of the very interesting actually happened, we needed some water and some

something for people to drink. So I told the firefighters, by the way, there's the freight elevator lobby has a lot of vending machines. So we went to the vending machines, we broke the vending machines, and we had to grab some iced tea and coffee and soda and passed on to the people. And when they got discovered that D. Valdred wanted more, so we went on and kept actually passing. We emptied all the vending machines in the floor itself. And then after that, I stayed for a little bit. And the one of the firefighters came to me and said, by the way, you must leave the floor.

I said, no, I would love to help because I'm waiting for Frank and Bollerties to come down. He said, no, you have to leave the floor. I have a... What are they doing at this point? They were actually, some of them, they were walking to certain floors and coming back. If they find some elders people, they bring them down to 21st floor to help them because a lot of people who trapped on the floor itself, they wanted help. They were basically not putting the fire down as much as giving help to the people that they need help.

So Frank, they're going floor to floor clearing floors and helping people to the stairwell. They're literally trying to clear every single floor from 78 to 22. They're staying, saving lives. On the 21st floor, basically with the floor that they said basically an area where people needs oxygen, needs some help, needs some medical assistance. A triage area. Okay so they tell you to leave. Then after that they asked me to leave. I walked I went to Mollipson I said, Mo I'm leaving you are in good hand here with the firefighters I'm gonna leave you I will call you when I

leave. And I had his number. He said no don't leave me I want to go with the firefighters, I'm going to leave you. I will call you when I leave." I had his number. He said, no, don't leave me. I want to go with you. And I believe that's one thing really amazing. Everybody in life has its own time. I said, Mo, you want to come with me? He said, yes. So as soon as I took Mo and I went, I think by the 20th floor at this moment, I left 21st, 2019, I felt a huge bang it happened and we lost all the emergency power completely. It turned out to be later on that this building to already fall down was about almost 10 o'clock, a little bit before 10 o'clock. Then I took Mollipson and we just walking down few floors and something inside of me honestly, I was

praying to be honest with you. Matter of fact, when Mollipson and I were coming down, we saw a lot of when building one was hit, when building two was hit, a traffic stopped a little bit on the stairwell. People were praying, people were basically begging. Everybody knew that what exactly happened. The building was hit by an airplane.

A lot of people were in fear. So I told Mo at that moment, said, Mo, you know what, I feel like I want to run a little bit. I cannot go slowly. Mo is a very patient guy, very relaxed guy. I said, look, I want... So I end up actually carrying Mo. He was very light. I did carry him from almost 19th floor, 18th floor, all the way to the concourse levels. And when I... Passing firemen going up at this point. Some of the firefighters will be going up at this point some of the fire from fighter will Will be going up actually with Swazia. I've been told that

That only stairwell that was open because other two were damaged It was packed with people going back to yeah when we started just one after the other Absolutely. And my fact that after building to his head the traffic stopped completely I find out from people I know know them, work in the building, they said actually when building two was hit, the debris was actually spread around the concourse level and also around the mezzanine. But they couldn't come out because of the fire itself, and they were afraid.

So that's why the traffic stopped completely. I see. So you're carrying Mo. I did carry Mo. I took Mo all the way to the concourse level. Concourse level was a huge chaos. I could not imagine myself. And matter of fact, actually, I had tears in my eyes,

because I work one of the last projects I work with. It was Thomas Pink. And also, another, because I was responsible. My job was basically doing inspection for the concourse level. I see the concourse level. I see the concourse level, the one has an amazing, beautiful mall, very expensive, very stores,

are really basically damaged completely after building two was hit, and the water coming from the sprinkler, it's basically, I felt like I'm in war zone. We'll be right back. My Uncle Chris is definitely somebody worth talking about. He was the kind of guy that lived in a trailer with an ex-con and a retired stripper, left loaded machine guns laying around, drank a bottle of whiskey a night, claimed he could

kill a man with his bare hands, drove a garbage truck for a living, spoke fluent Spanish with a thick southern accent, and is currently buried in a crypt alongside the founding families of Panama. Listen to the Uncle Chris podcast to hear all about him and a whole lot more. Wild stories about adventure, romance, crime, history, and war intertwine as I share the tall tales and hard truths that have helped me understand Uncle Chris. This collection of stories will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and if I do my job right, they'll let you see the world and your place in it in a whole new way.

I can't wait to tell you all about Uncle Chris. Listen now to Uncle Chris on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. From iHeart podcasts, before social media, before the internet, before cable news, there was Alan Berg. You dig what I do. You have a need. Unfortunately, you have no sense of humor. That's why you can't ever enjoy this show. And that's why you're a loser. He was the first and the original shock shock. That scratchy and reverent kind of way of talking to people. You're as dumb as the rest. That's I can't take anyone. I don't agree with you all the time. I don't want you to. I hope that

you pick me apart. His voice changed media, his death shocked the nation. And it makes me so angry that he got himself killed because he had a big mouth. KOA Morning talk show host Alan Berg reportedly was shot and killed tonight in downtown Denver. He pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. This guy aggravated everybody. From iHeart Podcasts, this is Live Wire, the loud life and shocking murder of Alan Berg. Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A murder happens.

The case goes cold. Then, over a hundred years later, we take a second look. I'm Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator. And I'm Kate Winkler-Dawson, a journalist and historian. On our podcast, Buried Bones, we reexamine historical true crime cases. Using modern forensic techniques, we dig into what the original investigators may have missed. Growing up on a farm when I heard a gunshot, I did not immediately think murder. Unless this person went out to shoot squirrels, they're not choosing a 22 to go hunting out there.

These cases may be old, but the questions are still relevant and often chilling. I know this chauffeur is not of concern. It's like, well, he's the last one who saw our life. So how did they eliminate him? Join us as we take you back to the cold cases that haunt us to this day. New episodes every Wednesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Barry Bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Adventure should never come with a pause button. Remember the movie pass era where you could watch all the movies you wanted for just $9? It made zero sense and I could not stop thinking about it. I'm Bridget Todd, host of the Tech Podcast, There Are No Girls on the Airnet. On this new season, I'm talking to the innovators who are left out of the tech headlines, like the visionary behind MoviePass, Black founder Stacey Spikes, who was pushed out of MoviePass,

the company that he founded. His story is wild, and it's currently the subject of a juicy new HBO documentary. We dive into how culture connects us. When you go to France, or you go to us. When you go to France or you go to England or you go to Hong Kong, those kids are wearing Jordans, they're wearing Kobe shirt, they're watching Black Panther, and the challenges of being a Black founder. Close your eyes and tell me what a tech founder looks

like. They're not gonna describe someone who looks like me and they're not gonna describe someone who looks like you. they're not going to describe someone who looks like you. I created There Are No Girls on the internet because the future belongs to all of us. So listen to There Are No Girls on the internet on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Kelly Harnett spent over a decade in prison for a murder she says she didn't commit. I'm 100% innocent. While behind bars, she learned the law from scratch.

Because, oh, God, her and that jailhouse lawyer. And as she fought for herself, she also became a lifeline for the women locked up alongside her. It's supposed to have been faith in God, but I had nothing but faith in her. So many of these women had lived the same stories. I said, were you a victim of domestic violence? And she was like, yeah.

But maybe Kelly could change the ending. I said, how many people have gotten other incarcerated individuals out of here? I'm going to be the first one to do that. This is the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who spent 12 years fighting not just for her own freedom, but her girlfriends too. I think I have a mission from God to save souls by getting people out of prison. The Girlfriends, Jailhouse Lawyer.

Listen from July 14th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. In the concourse, you say it was chaos and smoke. Obviously you and Mo are like, all right, how are we getting out of here? What you're about to tell us next. From what I envision, because I remember, Alex, what's the name of the fireman? Tim Brown. Huh? Tim Brown. Yes, Tim Brown, right?

Tim barely survived. He lost 70 firefighting friends. It's hard for me to talk about after interviewing him. But he said in the concourse, they'd set up, like, a command and control center the fire people had and a triage center. And it's where a lot of his comrades ultimately perished. But I have to imagine all the dust, all the debris,

all the falling, fire people running around everywhere, port authority, police, triage. There's probably bodies and... I did saw bodies, yes. Actually when I did arrive at the Congress level, I would say about 10, 10, 10, 12. Now the time is running for me. And then I did not see too many people because after building fall down they got out they get out to everybody get out to because the concourse level was basically a mess and I did actually walk through it but

because it was water up to almost here in the concourse because of that it's team like from a sprinkler system all the way they're coming down yes so and I start walking and thank God the animal was telling me let's go to the It seemed like from a sprinkler system, all the water coming down, yes. And I start walking, and thank God, the animal was telling me, let's go to the... Actually, one of the electric engineering was involved in that when they designed the building itself. So he was asking me, let's go out toward Church Street exit. I said, no.

Close enough. Let's go out to the side of the highway. So I managed myself, and matter of fact, because of the smoke and the dust I could not really see very well but being I know I'm in a concourse level I know the West Side of this way here and I saw one of the glass was broken completely all the glass was broken so I managed to carry more and come out of the building to the West Side Highway and this is a moment actually, it was a very emotional moment for me because I started to see, I realized that this is not just only a building with, I tell

you something that left when we were going down, me, Paul Ortiz saying, oh my God, look at the damage that was happening. It looks like we're going to have a lot of overtime here. We're going to have to work overtime. And then now I realized, you know what, this is something bigger than what I thought actually. It's not just only then I I was carrying more and I start to actually screaming to the police department so almost one hour and a half right then I'm struggling to go down and basically I was an hour and a half after the building got hit. Exactly because the building was hit 846 I was out of the building I would say 1015 maximum. The building collapsed completely

1027. If I was out of the building 1015, 1028, very close because I wouldn't even give it like seven, eight minutes. So I was screaming to anybody. I was basically the last person calling Frank DeMartino on Channel 5, where are you Frank? They're still inside the building. Are they talking to you? They were just barely talking because the voice... But they're still clearing floors trying to rescue people. Yeah, Frank and Paul Ortiz actually, well, Pablo Ortiz actually, they did help a lot of people to save a lot of people. And then when I started calling the police to come and help me, I said, please help me, I'm really tired. I'm coming from the 88th floor.

Can somebody come and help me? He said, look, we cannot come to you. You walked or not? And they actually warned me, make sure to be careful because there are people throwing themselves from the top. This is a tough scene I struggled so hard to my life, actually. I looked up and I see body flying. And as soon as they touched it ground, really, they are basis.

And I was worried. So they can't come help you because they're worried about getting hit by all the falling people. And they be coming from the top floor also. There are certain to be coming from there. So I just. And you look up and you see people falling. I don't see people.

In my fact, I be honest, many times in my life, I see the picture. But thank God, God gave me so much strength and power throughout my life. Matter of fact, I look at, I'm going to talk about that 9-11, it was a turning point to give me strength and strong, to make me strong. So I go in, I said, look, but I'm carrying a man, he's 100 years old, can somebody help me? He kicked me because I was carrying him and his right hand by his feet.

He said, by the way, Mack, I'm 89 years old. In the middle of all that, he had a sense of humor. Mollipson was actually, I call it, Mollipson was God's gift to me to save me personally. It is. But you were saving him. You know what? He came visit me in my house after that and his family to thank me. And he said, I told him, by the way, I want to thank you because actually it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here because I would be

with Frank and Paul already is helping other people. But because of you, God allow you to be there so I can be with you. And I would have stayed with Frank helping everyone. But now I'm actually, we're actually debating who saved who. And I kept to know you are the reason that I'm here. And he kept, you are the reason I'm here. And he had really taken a lot of place in carrying him down. He was very patient, he said, slowly, don't worry about it, everything will be good.

He was giving me so much energy and power and help. And I call it emotional support. So the police can't come to you, there's debris and human beings falling, but you know you got to get out. So what do you do? I walked all the way, I crossed the side highway, you know, those side ways, the two ways, until I get to the other side, which the area exactly when I went out was by Vizier Street. If you're Vizier Street, above Vizier Street, by Vizier Street there's actually a bridge connecting

Wall Street Center and Financial Center. So I was actually at that area here by Vizier Street. So as soon as I arrived, the ambulance took me from me and actually some police and some security and as soon as they took me I was looking to the building for a few minutes and all I remember just I was crying and then I was kept crying and then suddenly the building was coming down. How close were you? I was across from my financial center. All I remember all of us, everybody, even the ambulance,

we start everybody running. I remember I was running from my life and running from all my power. I kept running and running and running until I came to the Hudson River after the financial center. Then I was basically I sat and relaxed. And this moment actually two beautiful young lady

came to me and tell me where he comes from because I was actually full of dust and smoke I said I was an 88th floor they thought I jump or something I said no I was I came down and carrying a man and I was actually tears because this is a moment that I realize I realize actually Frank D. Martin and Paul Ortiz will not make it. And it's very difficult to realize that you lost one of your good friends that you love very much. And they were saving lives.

We're saving lives, saving so many lives actually. I realized that it was a very tough moment for me to sit and look at the building, look at the smoke, and realize what, what happened. And then I find out actually, even other buildings fall down. It was just very emotional. And especially the Wilter Center for me, when I work there, I treat it like my own home. There's something about the Wilter Center you would love when you work for the Wilter Center.

LARSON Later you were told by a reporter that there was an unidentified picture of a sick covered man carrying a man out of the bottom of the building only minutes before it fell. And it's assumed that that was the last living person or persons out. Is that you? That's me. Me and Mo Lipson also. Does that make you feel?

Excuse me? How does that make you feel knowing you were the last two human beings out of that building? Honestly, in the beginning I started crying and weeping for my friends, but I started realizing I was appreciating life. And I started to thank God, really, because I feel like God gave me a life to give. And that's why 9-11 was a turning point in my life. I did struggle a lot actually to be honest. After, the biggest now the journey going back home is a tough journey also. But really it makes me feel like you know what,

God gave me a chance to live and later on I realized you know what this is a time for me to give more than to live. And later on I realized, you know, this is a time for me to give more than to take. To serve people and to help people. How many funerals did you attend? I attended about 44 funerals. The four emotional one, which is my close friend, but I attended so many funerals for people that I know in 9-11. What about Frank Ababla? I did Frank because Frank, Frank, I was the only, Frank Martini's funeral I did broke down a lot because when I saw his wife, Nicole, matter of fact I did not mention that, we're coming down from the 88th floor, Nicole, his wife was with us. And she actually kept telling Frank, come, let's leave, and Frank tell her, go down,

I'm going to meet you when I come back. Whoa, I come home. Frank's wife was there too? Was in the on 88th floor. And she went down with you guys and left Frank? Frank actually made her go down by herself. But Frank funeral I was very emotional I even give a small talk because Frank was a great man. It happened when when I work with him, he's a good family-oriented person. He loves everybody, and he treated us in an amazing way. I never felt he's my boss. I felt he's like my good friend that I can share anything with him. Matter of fact, a week before 9-11, my son came with me

because he's taking your son to work, and he met Frank. Actually, Mark met Frank and talked to Frank and Frank took Mark and his son. Frank had two beautiful kids actually, Dominic and Sabrina. And I remember he took Dominic and Mark my son to out downstairs because the Concourse level had the beautiful restaurants, the eight beats, and they, so he met Frank actually. So I read not only were you attending funerals, but for a month or so you kept going back looking for Frank and Pablo's body. Yes, I was actually, after a few weeks, I was called to go and help in ground zero.

In fact, I have my card that when I went to, because it was controlled by the police at that time. So I went to ground zero. And the moment that really tough moment for me was actually I met one of my good friends. His name is Jiri Gada. He was an architect for Walters Center. So as soon as I saw Jiri, I said, what is building one? I kept asking, because all debris.

It's phenomenal that you were part of the construction place there for a decade, and you couldn't even tear what Building One was. Absolutely. So finally, they got at me, this is the debris of Building One. Honestly, from my heart, I was looking. I wish we can find the body of Frank or Paul. What is the body of Frank and Paul?

And I remember when I broke down, they had one of the chaplain to come and talk to me and consulting me and help me how to really accept what's happening. And they were trying to help me actually, because I was crying and weeping, where is Frank? And I felt that Frank under the derpy, actually. Did you recover either of their bodies? No, Frank DeMartino Borutis never recovered the body. Nor actually Tony Savas and also Judy Rees, the four of them,

when I attended the funeral, did not recover their bodies. Again, I don't want to sensationalize it. but when I read it, I choked up. You told a reporter one day that part of what was tearing you up is that you felt like the dust of the remnants of the building you were walking on could be the dust of your friend's body. That's it, yeah. And my fact, honestly, as a priest, normally, as a young person, I would go to church, we'll normally look at the places holy. I felt at that time I wanna take my shoes off

and not to walk on the rubble because I was in fear and tears and I missed them so much at this moment here. And I had a hope when I went to ground zero actually, I had a hope that we're gonna find their body. And that concludes part one of my conversation with Father Mark Hanna. And guys, don't miss part two.

It's available to listen to now and there is so much more here for you. Together guys, we can change this country. It starts with you. I'll see you in part two. can change this country. It starts with you and I'm gonna hang up on you. This is Live Wire, the loud life and shocking murder of Alan Berg. And he pointed to the Denver phone book and said, well, there are probably two million suspects. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Open AI is a financial abomination, a thing that should not be, an aberration, a symbol of rot at the heart of Silicon Valley. And I'm going to tell you why on my show show Better Offline, the rudest show in the tech industry, where we're breaking down why open AI along with other AI companies are dead set on lying to your boss that they can take your job. I'm also going to be talking with the greatest minds in the industry about all the other ways the rich and powerful are ruining the computer. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you happen

to get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When your car is making a strange noise, no matter what it is, you can't just pretend it's not happening. That's an interesting sound. It's like your mental health. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed, it's important to do something about it.

It can be as simple as talking to someone or just taking a deep calming breath to ground yourself. Because once you start to address the problem, you can go so much further. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council have resources available for you at loveyourmindtoday.org. A body, a suspect, and a hundred years of silence. Buried Bones is a podcast about the forgotten crimes history tried to leave behind. A common misperception about serial predators is that every single time they commit a crime, they commit it the same way. The past is a way of talking if you know what to listen for.

New episodes every Wednesday on the Exactly Right Network. Listen to Barry Bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.