Hello, survivalists. This is the Crux True Survival Story podcast. I'm Casey McIntosh. And I'm Julie

Hennyson. And we are medical professionals with a passion for wilderness survival. Join us as we

explore real life survival stories and the critical

moments that determine their outcomes. Buckle up. Adventure awaits. Let's dive into this week's story.

Picture this. You're trapped in a stairwell on the 81st floor of a burning skyscraper. Smoke is

filling the air. You can hear screaming. A woman rushes to

your group and says the stairs below are impassable. Flames are everywhere. Your only hope is to go up to the

roof and pray for helicopter rescue. Behind you, people are already turning around heading upward.

What do you do? Do you follow the crowd up to what heading upward. What do you do?

Do you follow the crowd up to what might be safety, or do you ignore the warning and descend

to the unknown darkness below?

That split-second decision on September 11, 2001, determined who lived and who died in the

South Power of the World Trade Center.

This is the story of the 18 people who made the right

choice and the dozens who didn't. Oh, Casey, this gives me chills, just thinking about it.

Today we're telling the story of Starewell A, the only escape route left intact in the South

Power after United Airlines Flight 175 toured through floor 77 to 85. It's a story of

impossible choices, extraordinary heroism, and the razor-thin margin between survival and death.

September 11, 2001, starts like any other Tuesday morning in Lower Manhattan. The sky is brilliantly clear,

not a cloud in sight. It's primary election day in New York City, so many people are running a few

minutes late after stopping to vote. The financial markets haven't opened yet, which means the

World Trade Center towers are still filling up with their daily population of office workers.

...