January 1, 2009 (Updated Feb 4)
The Wisdom Fund

When Did FMFD 161 and MWAA 331 Arrive at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001?

by Enver Masud

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When did Fort Meyer Fire Department (FMFD) Unit 161, and Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) Unit 331, arrive at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and why does it matter?

National Airport's aircraft rescue firefighters (ARFF) foam units "knocked down the bulk of the fire in the first seven minutes after their arrival," said Captain Michael Defina, who was the shift commander that day at Reagon National Airport (National Fire Protection Association Journal, November 1, 2001 - original removed, but available elsewhere).

Captain Defina, who had been at the site of a motor vehicle accident, arrived at the Pentagon "two to three minutes" after he "saw a smoke plume arise" from the Pentagon.

FMFD Unit 161 at the Pentagon before Flight 77 strike?

"Captain Defina drove onto the heliport and directed Foam Unit 331 to set up there, where Fort Myer Unit 161 had established a hydrant water supply. The only other firefighting apparatus he saw on the west side was Arlington County's Engine and Truck 105 on the far north end. Their crews went into the building to conduct search and rescue."

Click to see a Boeing 757 superimposed, details of destruction from The Pentagon Building Performance Report

From the photo and diagram above, it appears that the crew of Engine 161 are seen entering the Pentagon's heliport side entrance (shown in the diagram at bottom center). Engine 161 is just left of the entrance. The gap in the Pentagon wall after the collapse of its roof would be on the right - just off the photo.

After the right wing hit, wouldn't the plane veer right?

Reported path of Flight 77

"While Foam Unit 331 hit the fire with foam from its roof and bumper turrets, Unit 335's four-person crew used hand lines in an attempt to control the fires".

MWAA Unit 331 at the Pentagon

Why does this matter?

Let's contruct a timeline of events at the Pentagon, and see if it tells us anything.

9:29 - Flight 77 is at 7000 feet, 38 miles west of the Pentagon (9/11 Commission Report, p9).

9:32 - Bombs cited in Barbara Honegger's two-hour, under-oath, videotaped interview/testimony of key Pentagon eyewitness April Gallop.

9:xx - Captain Defina arrives at Pentagon "two to three minutes" after seeing a plume of smoke.

9:xx - Captain Defina's Engine 331 "knocked down the bulk of the fire in the first seven minutes after their arrival".

9:xx - Firefighter Alan Wallace hears "the Boeing 757's screaming engines" and yells "Runnnnn!" to "firefighter Mark Skipper."

9:37:46 - Flight 77 traveling at 530 mph hits the Pentagon (9/11 Commission Report, p10).

9:38 - FMFD Unit 161 is on fire at the Pentagon (Arlington County After-Action Report, Annex pages A-4 and A-5).

9:40 - FAA grounds all flights at U.S. airports (FOX Facts, May 3, 2006).

9:41 - ACFD fire Truck 105 arrives at the Pentagon (Arlington County After-Action Report, Appendix 1).

9:41 - ACFD Battalion Chief Cornwell arrives and assumes Incident Command (Arlington County After-Action Report, Appendix 1).

9:41 - Command established (9/11 Commission Report, p314).

9:48 - ACFD Assistant Chief Schwartz arrives and assumes Incident Command (Arlington County After-Action Report, Appendix 1).

9:55 - Incident commander orders evacuation of impacted areas (9/11 Commission Report, p315).

9:57 - A partial collapse occurs (9/11 Commission Report, p314).

10:15 - Incident commander orders full evacuation (9/11 Commission Report, p315).

Was the "plume of smoke" that Captain Defina saw from the crash of Flight 77, or from the bombs reported inside the Pentagon at 9:32?

The debris seen in the photo of Unit 161 above, and the "slab deflected upward," are consistent with an explosion inside the Pentagon.

At the Dept. of Defense News Briefing on September 12, 2001, when asked about the "small pieces of the plane virtually all over, out over the highway, tiny pieces", Arlington County Fire Chief Ed Plaugher responded, "I'd rather not comment on that." Neither Flight 77 nor Boeing 757 were mentioned during the news briefing.

Questions about what hit the Pentagon on September 11, continued to be raised at the Dept. of Defense News Briefing on September 15, 2001. Neither Flight 77 nor Boeing 757 were mentioned during the news briefing.

Arrival time for Units 161 and 331 are not included in the Arlington County After-Action Report timeline (Appendix 1). Units 161 and 331 are not mentioned in The 9/11 Commission Report.

The Arlington County After-Action Report confirms the presence of Unit 161 at the Pentagon prior to impact (page A-4):

Captain Dennis Gilroy and his team were already on station at the Pentagon when Flight #77 slammed into it, just beyond the heliport. Foam 161 caught fire and suffered a flat tire from flying debris. Firefighters Mark Skipper and Alan Wallace were outside the vehicle at impact and received burns and lacerations. Recovering from the initial shock, they began helping victims climb out of the Pentagon's first floor windows. Captain Gilroy called the Fort Myer Fire Department, reporting for the first time the actual location of the crash.

What do Captains Defina and Gilroy, and firefighters Mark Skipper and Alan Wallace know about what happened at the Pentagon?

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Pilots for 9/11 Truth

"The Pentagon Building Performance Report," ASCE, January 2003

Enver Masud, "What Really Happened on September 11 at the Pentagon," The Wisdom Fund, March 7, 2005

VIDEO: "Pentagon Witness: Cameraman Bob Pugh," YouTube, May 21, 2008

VIDEO: "Pentagon: Morning of September 11, 2001," YouTube, January 2, 2009