Monroe featured in 'Women at Ground Zero'

By Rose Hooper

The book gives a unique perspective of the events of Sept. 11 as viewed by the women heroes - firefighters, police officers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians.

A paramedic since 1991, Monroe holds the ranks of lieutenant at Battalion 4, the only EMS battalion in Lower Manhattan. She was responsible prior to Sept. 11 for training firefighters in the area about weapons of mass destruction and how to use the antidote kits EMS personnel are assigned to carry. "It's not a secret, but most people don't know that we've been carrying antidote kits for years," she said. "Ever since the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the federal government has mandated that we carry these kits."

Monroe was not scheduled to work Sept. 11, but when she turned on the news and heard about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center, she rushed to the scene.

In the book's chapter dedicated to Monroe, the lieutenant talks of the "insanity" of "bulldozers flying by, cranes coming in, live wires everywhere... shards of glass hanging over our heads." She tells of firefighters and others digging in piles with their bare hands, desperate to find people under the rubble.

"The bodies they found were just like mush. A lot of body parts. I looked down at my foot and saw this woman's hand with a wedding ring on it. Then one of the volunteers came and scooped it up," said Monroe, whose assignment was to provide medical care to people they found trapped.

"I try not to be overly paranoid, and I'm a very optimistic person," Monroe said. "But I have to tell you, next time we're going to lose our EMS people if it's a biological attack. It won't come in a fire. It will come in as a medical call, and our EMS people will be the first ones on the scene. It's not going to be the white powder in the envelope. It's going to be the big thing that happens, and it will wipe out a lot of people. Do I believe that can happen? I will never, ever, ever think that anything is impossible after seeing what happened on Sept. 11."

Monroe said what really makes her emotional is that her children's lives were forever changed by the events of Sept. 11. "They will never grow up with the security I had growing up."

Eight paramedics and EMTs from Monroe's battalion lost their lives Sept. 11.

"There is a perception that women don't do dangerous things. The truth is that women do do dangerous things. We just do them differently than men do sometimes," she said. "I think it's really important for the little girls in this country to read this book and see that women are not afraid to do dangerous things...

"I live in a small condominium complex with 12 units and we all know each other. We all have children, and there are 14 kids who live there," she continued. "When I came home from work after being out on the pile all night, the kids had this sign up that said, ŒYou are my hero.' The little girls wrote that to me. One girl wrote, ŒThank you for letting me know that women can do anything.'"

The book's authors - news journalist Susan Hagen and investigative social worker Mary Carouba - plan to contribute profits from the sale of the books to funds that assist the families of 9-11 victims and organizations that provide education and training for women in non-traditional fields.

See related story on Amy Monroe in the Sept. 20, 2001, archives of The Sylva Herald at www.thesylvaherald.com.

Back to Archive: 10/31/02.