By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
A Plover native who works near the World Trade Center in New York City escaped the destruction Tuesday, Sept. 11, but the office where he works was extensively damaged and he may be relocated.
Ryan Kedrowski, the son of Bruce and Sue Kedrowski, Plover, was near "ground-zero" when the first plane struck the north tower of the center.
Kedrowski, who graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High in 1995 and then received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Harvard University, works for Goldman-Sachs in the building at 1 Liberty Plaza, across the street from the World Trade Center complex.
He usually arrives at work between 9:30 and 10 a.m. and on Sept.11 he was working out in a gym near City Hall, about 4 blocks from the Trade Center.
"We heard an explosion and the radio and lights went out in the gym," he said, adding that people thought a truck hit a utility pole.
Then someone looked out the window, he said, and pointed out there was a big hole and fire in the Trade Center. Those in the gym were asked to evacuate the building, so everyone went outside, Kedrowski said.
"We were milling around outside after that and were looking at the first building," he said. "We were on the north side and didn't see the other plane coming." But they suddenly saw the flames shoot out of the south tower. "We could feel the wind and heat from it," he said.
"At that point, people were screaming and running in my direction," he said, adding that people thought the first plane hitting the Trade Center was an accident, then knew something else was up when the second plane hit.
He said many people made a "mad dash" after the second plane hit, then slowed to a brisk walking pace.
As the others went by, Kedrowski said he joined the group heading away from the Trade Center. "The thought occurred that if the building fell where would it land," he said. "I was a little afraid at first, it was scary, intense."
When he got to the north side of City Hall, he said he stopped and turned around, then he saw the south tower collapse. "It was a pretty scary sight to see, a giant building just crumbling," he said.
The collapse started "another surge of people coming out of the zone of debris," he said, so he started walking a little faster away from the area and tried to make some calls on his cellular phone as he was walking but he couldn't because he couldn't get a signal.
About a mile away from the Trade Center, a crowd gathered in a parking area where someone had a radio, and Kedrowski said he tried to hear some of the reports. As they were looking back at the Trade Center, he said, he saw the antenna of the north tower start to tip and then that structure came tumbling down.
"Fortunately, I decided to walk out of there earlier," he said.
He was in North Carolina this week attending a funeral unrelated to the Sept. 11 tragedy, and said he keeps in touch with Goldman-Sachs to find out what to do next.
He is an analyst developer ("computer programmer," he explains) and has a lap top so he can continue to work at home. Goldman-Sachs is looking for office space, so he may be working in New Jersey or some other area for a while.
"My office building has a lot of damage, and we're not allowed back in. We may not be allowed in for several months," he said. He's not sure about the status of his building, but others in that area are in danger of collapsing, he said.
Reflecting back on his escape, he said he didn't see people pushing others out of the way as they tried to leave the immediate area of the World Trade Center. They would make a mad dash after an explosion, he said, then would walk briskly. The explosions would bring a brief burst of heat, he said, but he escaped being in the debris area.
One frightening thing he witnessed, he said, was people either jumping, falling or being blown out of the Trade Center. "That was one of the more disturbing things to see," he said.