| Our staff normally consists of 62 employees; however,
at 9:02 on 04/19/95 we had 50 employees on duty. Within minutes
nearly one third of our staff (16) and 24 visitors in our reception
area had been murdered. Twenty-six of the remaining 34 employees
required medical treatment. Four had to be hospitalized; the last,
Sharon Littlejohn, being released May 22, 1995.
I was sitting at my desk located against the north wall (NW 5th
street) 10 feet east of the large glass windows which exposed the
front half of our office and determined the portion of our office
located under the additional 8 floors of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building. I had just finished my first cup of coffee and paper work
started the day before. I remember seeing a brilliant flash of light,
simultaneous with the sensation of an invisible force pressing me
out of my chair to my knees and hearing a huge explosion before
everything turned pitch black. I found myself covered with bulky
5 foot square ceiling tiles, shattered glass from light fixtures,
modular furniture panels, and overhead doors from my modular credenza
unit which had sheared off hitting me in the back. My immediate
concern was my ability to see. I thought my eyes were wide open
but they were not adjusting to the darkness. Breathing also became
difficult due to dust and debris floating in the air. While groping
for anything familiar I could hear the cries of individuals trying
to free themselves over the roar of what sounded like sliding gravel
being dumped from a truck. The cries for help from the front of
the office and the sound of the collapsing upper floors stopped
simultaneously. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I responded
to the cries for help from Claims Representative Sharon Paulsen
and Operations Supervisor LaQuita Cowan. They were both covered
with 2 to 3 foot piles of rubble and debris. I led them out the
emergency exit located in the breakroom at the rear of the office
(east end of building). The interior walls surrounding the breakroom
had collapsed and the exit door had been blown open providing the
only light source for the back half of the office.
I immediately returned, working my way
to the center of the office. Aisles and reference points had all
but disappeared, debris and rubble was a minimum of 2 to 3 feet
deep. Some employees who had been initially knocked unconscious
at their workstations were regaining consciousness and slowly
making their way to the rear exit. The only light source at the
front of the office was the skylight located in the stockroom
whose interior walls had also been knocked down. From out of the
darkness, Claims Representative Laura Bode grabbed me from the
front with both arms around my neck. She was obviously hysterical
and disoriented. She had to be carried to the rear exit before
she thought about letting go.
During my third trip back into the office
my concern turned toward the 8 inch pressurized pipe located above
what used to be the office ceiling. The pipe, which provided "chiller
water" for the building's entire air conditioning system,
had severed and was pouring 42 degree water into the work area.
It was apparent anyone trapped on the floor could possibly have
drowned. During this period of time an Oklahoma City firefighter
appeared and made his way to my location in the center of the
office. After indicating my concern for the rising water in the
work area, he attempted to radio out but encountered too much
interference and had to exit the building. Approximately 20 minutes
later the water was finally shut off.
During this third trip I located Sharon
Littlejohn, Service Representation, who had been standing in the
front of the office. The force of the explosion had blown her
40 feet back from the reception area. She was under 3 to 4 feet
of debris and rubble. Her outer clothing had been blown off and
she was completely soaked with blood and water. I had to ask her
name because she was not recognizable due to significant blood
loss in the scalp and facial areas. She also complained she was
not able to breathe and requested CPR. It was apparent I could
not get her out by myself due to her extensive multiple injuries,
blood loss, and shock. I explained to her I needed additional
help to get her out and went to the rear of the office where I
found Sgt. Richard Williams and Sgt. Keith Simmons of the Oklahoma
City Police Dept. It took the 3 of us to carry her out due to
the debris we had to climb over and through. (See related
photo in The Daily Oklahoman, Thursday, April 20, 1995, bottom
of page 15.)
The scene outside the rear exit on Robinson
Avenue was frantic. The area surrounding the north, south, and
east of the building was saturated with rescue workers, firefighters,
police, and ambulance personnel. The streets were congested with
the walking wounded. Temporary first aid stations shared opposite
corners with burned vehicles.
Later, charter buses were brought in to
transfer the walking wounded to area hospitals.
After borrowing a flashlight from an Okla.
City firefighter I reentered the building concentrating my search
on the front part of the office. Accompanied by 2 Okla. City firefighters,
I pointed out areas where employees should have been sitting at
the time of the explosion. We found an office visitor partially
buried in the rubble. Unfortunately, there was no pulse. Moments
later, I discovered my supervisor, Carol Bowers, a dear friend
of over 20 years, who had taken a fatal blow to the back of the
head.
After several minutes of lifting and removing
debris we found Claims Representative Katrina Wreggit, who had
recently transferred from West Virginia. She was unable to speak,
curled up in a fetal position next to her desk and obviously in
severe shock. Due to the distance from the rear exit and concern
for her condition, the decision was made to carry her up the ladder
through the skylight.
By this time the water had reached a depth
of 2 feet in the office area. I continued to search our office
area after the Okla. City firefighters received instructions via
radio to proceed to the second floor to search for survivors (day
care).
Unfortunately, I was not able to find any
more survivors among the debris and I exited the building. |
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