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floor caught Clark's attention. While his group continued to debate what to do, Clark grabbed coworker Ron DiFrancesco and entered the 81st floor to look for the person screaming for help. As Clark and DiFrancesco entered the floor, Clark turned around to observe his coworkers as they started to go up the stairs to the roof instead of down. That group would all lose their lives that day, as access doors to the roof were locked, and there were no plans for helicopter rescues from the roof, as the
206:
two blocks away, Praimnath told him he thought the buildings were going to go down. Clark was skeptical, repeating how solidly built the towers were, but he did not finish his sentence before the South Tower (Tower Two) started to collapse. Clark and
Praimnath had left the South Tower just three minutes before it collapsed; they were two of the last 25 people to exit the building; Clark was number 22. Only two other people exited the South Tower after Clark and Praimnath.
292:
201:
call was understood. This call might have been the only chance for rescue workers to learn that there was a clear stairwell that the several hundred people trapped above the impact could try to use to escape. Clark described how he and
Praimnath did not feel a sense of urgency, and before calling 911
181:
Praimnath was unsure he would be able to get over the wall but tried due to Clark's urging. Praimnath made several unsuccessful attempts to climb the wall, on one occasion injuring his hand, but he persisted, and on another attempt Clark was able to hook his arms around
Praimnath and help pull him to
172:
Praimnath had initially evacuated the building after the first plane had hit the North Tower but went back inside as South Tower security gave clearance to reenter the building. Once he had arrived back at his office on the 81st floor, he was on the phone when he noticed the second plane coming right
205:
At 9:55 am, they got to the ground floor where there were rescue workers. One advised them to run once they exited onto
Liberty Street, at the southeast corner of the complex. At 9:56 am, Clark and Praimnath ran out of the World Trade Center complex. Clark described how, when they had gotten about
160:
As Clark and DiFrancesco made their way to the voice screaming for help, DiFrancesco became overcome with smoke and returned to the stairs, which he would also ascend. Unlike the rest of his coworkers who went up the stairs, however, DiFrancesco reversed course and survived. Clark made his way to
148:
After Flight 175 struck the South Tower between floors 77 and 85, Clark and eight other employees of his floor who had survived the impact gathered together and started to descend
Stairwell A. They only made it to the 81st floor when Clark and his group were met by a woman and a man coming up the
218:
Sixty-one of Clark's co-workers were killed in the attack. Clark was later appointed by his company's management to be
President of the Euro Brokers Relief Fund, created to help take financial care of the families of those who were lost. He retired in 2006, a year after Euro Brokers merged with
152:
Clark and his coworkers stopped and debated on the stairwell landing about what to do next; whether to listen to the woman and go up the stairs or to ignore her warnings and go down the stairs. As the group stood there debating their next move, a faint scream for help coming from inside the 81st
744:
Meanwhile, Brian Clark had just made it as far as the stairwell outside the 81st floor where he heard
Stanley's cries for help. In spite of his vulnerability to dust and smoke because of his asthma and allergies, the broker entered that floor and went to work to free the man trapped in the
214:
Praimnath thanked Clark for saving his life. Clark, in turn, also thanked
Praimnath since he felt that the act of leaving his group and freeing Praimnath drew him out of a debate that might have ended with his joining the others who went up to their deaths. His Euro Brokers colleague, Ron
215:
DiFrancesco, who had initially turned around because of the smoke, mustered the strength to resume the descent and was the last person to escape the South Tower before its collapse; he awoke several days later in a hospital, suffering from extensive burns and a head laceration.
177:
had sliced through his office and become lodged in a door only 20 feet (6 m) from him. When Clark found
Praimnath, there was a wall standing between the two, and the only way for Praimnath to escape was to jump up and go over the wall.
306:
704:
Other ordinary citizens simply rose to the occasion. Brian Clark, a vice-president for a brokerage firm, heard someone call for help as he struggled down the stairway and found
Stanley Praimnath trapped behind a pile of heavy
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173:
at him. He screamed and jumped under his desk as the plane was hitting the building. After the impact, Praimnath found himself alive under his desk with only minor injuries; the left wing of
127:
Clark was one of only 18 people in the South Tower to escape from within or above the impact zone where the plane struck, escaping from his office on floor 84. Clark's testimony before the
149:
stairs. The woman blocked their paths and warned them there were flames and smoke further down, and their only option was to try and go up to the roof in hope of being rescued from there.
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another company. Since his retirement, he has been volunteering with various non-profit organisations, including serving on the board and as treasurer of the
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Clark and Praimnath's descent through the floors of the impact was impeded by some debris and smoke, but by moving the debris, they made it passable.
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279:. It focused on his perspective that an unseen force convinced him to select the only one of three stairwells which were usable.
546:"The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Report)"
197:
offices on the 31st floor. Clark was on the telephone for over three minutes and talked to three different people before his
883:
2014–15 NBTS Catalog – New Brunswick Theological Seminary www.nbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2014-15-NBTS-Catalog-1.pdf
491:
1383:
615:
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399:"9/11 Calls Reveal Confusion: Dispatchers on Recordings Seem Unsure How to Instruct People Stranded in Twin Towers"
333:
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372:"Raw emotion marks 9/11 commission hearing: Police, fire chiefs grilled by panelists, booed by families"
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120:. Clark worked for the American international brokerage firm Euro Brokers Inc. (later merged into
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Paltrow, Scot J.; Journal, Queena Sook Kim Staff Reporters of The Wall Street (2001-10-23).
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Canadian businessman and survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11
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deemed it too unsafe to attempt due to dense clouds of smoke and rooftop antennas.
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Deep survival: who lives, who dies, and why : true stories of miraculous ...
112:(born July 4, 1947) is a Canadian businessman and survivor of the attacks on the
848:
639:
Reality, truth and evil: facts, questions and perspectives on September 11, 2001
607:
893:
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A Life That Matters: Making the Greatest Possible Difference with the Rest ...
287:
124:), which lost 61 employees that day, nearly one-fifth of its New York branch.
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102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
162:
169:, who was pinned underneath some debris behind a wall that had stood firm.
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611:
576:
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371:
1083:"An improbable escape: Two men defy odds and find a way out of the WTC"
514:"Could Helicopters Have Saved People From the Top of the Trade Center?"
49:
45:
845:"Final survivor of south tower collapse struggles with scars of 9/11"
1232:"Surprising and Important Ways New York Was Unprepared for Disaster"
923:
1148:"Canadian survived attacks with help of instinct and a flashlight"
198:
132:
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354:"Canadian survived 9/11 attacks thanks to instinct, flashlight"
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1021:
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552:. U.S. Government Printing Office. 22 July 2004. p. 279
273:
In 2020, his story was included in Episode 1 of Season 2 of
232:
Clark's and others' stories were told on the BBC docudrama
1167:"Complete 911 Timeline: World Trade Center Investigation"
867:"The Encyclopedia of 9/11: Stairwell A: The only way out"
602:
600:
598:
1106:"Brian Clark's story: A high rise disaster survivor"
96:
88:
80:
72:
64:, B.Ap.Sc., industrial engineering, M.B.A. (1971),
57:
28:
21:
953:"'Teflon man' moves on and finds new joys in life"
758:
822:"9/11 stories: Stanley Praimnath and Brian Clark"
431:"Sept. 11 Panel Focuses on Confusion in New York"
860:
858:
249:His story is also chronicled on the documentary
1062:"Families created Tribute Center out of love"
356:. CBC News. 11 September 2006. Archived from
8:
979:"Four survived by ignoring words of advice"
679:The social psychology of prosocial behavior
484:"9/11 Commission Cites Communication Flaws"
260:, his story was once again featured in the
636:Thomas Meyer, José García Morales (2005).
456:"Distant voices, still lives, 08:00–09:35"
18:
1379:Canadian expatriates in the United States
1150:. CBC. September 11, 2006. Archived from
1191:"Witnesses to Terror: The 9/11 Hearings"
1018:"Four Above WTC Crash Zone Tell Stories"
202:they each made one brief personal call.
334:"Euro Brokers team quits for Tradition"
324:
571:Lopes, Christina (September 6, 2002).
131:, where he detailed problems with the
1364:Survivors of the September 11 attacks
1036:Christina Lopes (September 6, 2002).
843:Torrey AndersonSchoepe (2011-08-26).
482:Michael Weissenstein (May 18, 2004).
7:
1374:20th-century Canadian businesspeople
1354:21st-century Canadian businesspeople
1279:. September 10, 2006. Archived from
1252:"The Fall of the World Trade Center"
977:Dennis Cauchon (December 19, 2001).
1060:Olivia Barker (September 9, 2006).
332:de Terán, Natasha (June 13, 2005).
1112:. October 24, 2001. Archived from
1081:Michael Okwu (September 9, 2002).
221:New Brunswick Theological Seminary
14:
865:Robert Kolker (August 27, 2011).
1189:Deborah Amos, Catherine Winter.
904:from the original on 2021-12-22.
290:
804:"Accounts From the South Tower"
618:from the original on 2011-03-09
1:
1296:"NOTES: 9 Heroism and Horror"
454:York, New (August 18, 2002).
1369:University of Toronto alumni
1210:"The Response on the Ground"
1133:"Interview with Brian Clark"
999:"9/11: What Really Happened"
1359:Businesspeople from Toronto
262:National Geographic Channel
193:The phones were working in
144:Rescue of Stanley Praimnath
1400:
767:W. W. Norton & Company
757:Laurence Gonzales (2003).
175:United Airlines Flight 175
135:, has been widely quoted.
66:Thornhill Secondary School
1276:Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
133:911 emergency call system
894:"Inside the Twin Towers"
267:9/11: One Day in America
916:"United by 9/11 (2006)"
824:. BBC. 5 September 2011
717:Ron Hutchcraft (2007).
644:Temple Lodge Publishing
1038:"A miraculous descent"
922:. 2006. Archived from
573:"A miraculous descent"
242:). Clark is played by
240:Inside the Twin Towers
435:All Things Considered
235:9/11: The Twin Towers
62:University of Toronto
1384:September 11 attacks
1214:American Radio Works
1195:American Radio Works
1171:Cooperative Research
1005:. September 11, 2002
646:. pp. 118–119.
608:"A Survivor's Story"
360:on 24 December 2011.
102:September 11 attacks
1283:on January 31, 2013
1024:. September 7, 2002
518:Wall Street Journal
1237:The New York Times
1208:Catherine Winter.
1093:on August 27, 2007
958:The Globe and Mail
951:(March 13, 2002).
808:The New York Times
227:In popular culture
139:September 11, 2001
118:September 11, 2001
114:World Trade Center
1048:on August 9, 2007
780:978-0-393-05276-3
733:978-0-8024-3649-8
693:978-0-8058-4935-6
653:978-1-902636-66-5
583:on August 9, 2007
258:Stanley Praimnath
167:Stanley Praimnath
107:
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81:Years active
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1230:(May 19, 2004).
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100:Survivor of the
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1271:"Inferno Below"
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1258:. March 7, 2002
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810:. May 26, 2002.
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129:9/11 Commission
58:Alma mater
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380:. May 18, 2004
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276:The UnXplained
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256:Together with
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1323:. Retrieved
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1129:Alison Smith
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461:The Guardian
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92:Euro Brokers
39:July 4, 1947
1344:1947 births
849:Yahoo! News
828:3 September
769:. pp.
550:GovInfo.gov
310:(2005 book)
110:Brian Clark
76:Businessman
23:Brian Clark
1338:Categories
1325:2007-08-05
1306:2007-08-05
1287:2011-04-06
1262:2007-08-05
1243:2007-08-05
1219:2007-08-05
1200:2007-08-05
1181:2007-08-05
1158:2021-09-11
1139:2007-08-05
1120:2007-08-05
1097:2007-08-05
1073:2007-08-05
1052:2007-08-05
1028:2007-08-05
1009:2007-08-05
990:2007-08-05
969:2007-08-05
930:2014-09-11
786:2011-04-01
739:2011-04-01
699:2011-04-01
659:2011-04-01
622:2007-08-05
531:2016-07-14
498:2007-08-05
468:2007-08-05
440:2007-08-05
411:2007-08-05
384:2007-08-05
315:References
73:Occupation
35:1947-07-04
1228:Jim Dwyer
1067:USA Today
984:USA Today
684:Routledge
587:August 5,
526:0099-9660
210:Aftermath
165:employee
163:Fuji Bank
84:1973–2006
1042:CTV News
902:Archived
900:. 2006.
871:New York
676:(2006).
616:Archived
612:PBS Nova
577:CTV News
464:. London
404:ABC News
377:NBC News
284:See also
89:Employer
52:, Canada
898:Youtube
773:, 172.
745:rubble.
705:debris.
556:30 June
270:(2021).
253:(2006).
186:Descent
50:Ontario
46:Toronto
1315:"Zero"
777:
730:
690:
650:
524:
68:(1965)
1135:. CBC
320:Notes
161:find
920:Hulu
830:2015
775:ISBN
728:ISBN
688:ISBN
648:ISBN
589:2007
558:2023
522:ISSN
155:NYPD
29:Born
1256:BBC
1110:CBC
1087:CNN
1022:CNN
1003:CNN
199:911
116:on
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