Overview: On the morning of 11 September 2001, Middle Eastern terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners along the east coast of the United States, one of which they flew into the Pentagon. The crash, ensuing fire, and smoke killed 125 military personnel, Department of Defense civilians, and contractors in the Pentagon in addition to those on the plane. For hundreds of the building's occupants, the period after the crash was a struggle to help themselves and coworkers escape and survive. Two days after the attack, the U.S. Army Center of Military History began an extensive project to document the historic event through oral history interviews. Published for the incident's tenth anniversary, Then Came the Fire is an anthology of excerpts from those interviews. This collection highlights the personal accounts of participants who witnessed some aspect of the events in the Pentagon that day: the survivors, some of whom were injured; policemen; firefighters; medical personnel; observers; others involved in the rescue and recovery efforts; and building occupants who began picking up the pieces.

Reprinted in 2015. Shipping list no.: 2011-0449-P. Includes index.

Foreword -- Preface -- Brig Gen Clyde A Vaughn -- Alan Wallace -- Michael DiPaula -- Yvette Buzard -- Richard M Hudnall -- Maj Lorie A Brown -- Assistant Fire Chief James H Schwartz -- Capt Thomas Panther -- Ceci Mayhew -- Leona G Shaw -- Col Joseph M Tedesco Jr -- Charlene Ryan -- Neal Shelley -- Sheila Moody -- Janice A Jackson -- Charles Young -- Col Mark Perrin -- Maj David Irvin -- Capt Darrell Oliver -- Capt Lincoln Leibner -- Lt Col Victor M Correa -- Lt Col Thomas Cleary III -- Lt Col Brian D Birdwell -- Melanie Birdwell -- Brenda Hirschi -- Maj David J King Jr -- Maj Gen Peter W Chiarelli -- Col Mark Volk -- Col Marcus A Kuiper -- Brig Gen Karl W Eikenberry -- Maj Gen John R Wood -- Lt Col Isabelle Slifer -- Col Philip A McNair -- Dalisay Olaes -- Martha Carden -- Dr Betty Maxfield -- Sgt Maj Tony Rose -- John D Yates -- Maj John Lewis Thurman -- Col Edwin Morehead -- Lt Col Adrian Erckenbrack -- Robert L Jaworski -- Arthur Santana -- Maj Craig Collier -- Maj Jeanette K Stone -- Assistant Fire Chief James H Schwartz -- 1st Lt Steven Cunningham -- Assistant Fire Chief James H Schwartz -- Col J Edgar Wakayama -- Arthur Santana -- Lt Col Tracy Bryant -- Assistant Fire Chief James H Schwartz -- Brenda Hirschi -- Maj Gen John R Wood -- Charlene Ryan -- Maj Craig Collier -- Sgt Maj Tony Rose -- Col Henry A Haynes -- Spec Lauren Panfili -- Assistant Fire Chief James H Schwartz -- Deputy Bob McFarland -- Thomas N Kuhn -- 1st Sgt Steven Stokes -- Capt William Besterman -- Capt Lance Green -- Steven E Beck and Michael E Shea -- David A Nanney -- Maj Willis T Leavitt -- Sandi Hanish -- Col Roy Wallace -- Col Marcus A Kuiper -- Col Joseph M Tedesco Jr -- Brenda Hirschi -- Leona G Shaw -- Maj Jeanette K Stone -- Sheila Moody -- Lt Col Isabelle Slifer -- Col Marcus A Kuiper -- Martha Carden -- Abbreviations -- Index.