Fire Department of New York Battalion Commander Richard Picciotto talks about leadership.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Chief Richard Picciotto raced to the World Trade Center to respond to a call for help. In minutes he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, and quickly moved in to join the rescue efforts as the Twin Towers burned. In the smoky stairwells of the North Tower, he heard and felt the collapse of the South Tower. Picciotto made the call for firefighters and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to assist a group of civilians in their struggle to evacuate the inferno. He was on a stairwell between the sixth and seventh floors of the North Tower when it collapsed.
Having discovered that members of his team and a 59-year-old grandmother also were alive nearby, he and his men used their radios to send out Mayday calls until making contact with a firefighter on the ground and a search party was dispatched. Five hours later, light finally appeared about four stories above and he climbed upwards, reached the top, and saw the “unfathomable, mind-boggling destruction.” He walked across the rubble to safety.
The highest-ranking firefighter to survive the World Trade Center collapse and the last firefighter to escape the devastation, Richard “Pitch” Picciotto will talk about that day during his keynote presentation at GAWDA’s Annual Convention in October. He recently spoke with Welding & Gases Today to share his thoughts on leadership.
WGT: What skills does a firefighter need to get the job done?
Richard Picciotto: The basic skills. We have to be in top physical shape. We have to be able to carry heavy weight. We must be agile, and we must be willing to work in a team environment and understand how that team environment works. All of this comes from training. Firefighters train constantly.
Operational procedures are ingrained in every firefighter. How much of what you did on September 11 relied on those procedures?
It’s true that we have different procedures and tactics that are always followed. But firefighters still require leadership. We didn’t have procedures for planes flying into high-rise buildings.
How much of leadership is following “planned and practiced procedures” versus gut instinct?
It’s a combination of both. We have standard operating procedures. We practice them. We train on them. But there is always an element of spontaneity. Every fire is different, even the “typical” ones. You have to adapt to whatever the situation is.
What skills does a firefighter need to become a leader?
When a firefighter becomes a boss, a lieutenant or a captain, they now have to motivate and lead a group of highly motivated people. For the most part, firefighters are all type A personalities and possess leadership capabilities. The individual who leads them has to have a very strong character.
You were a professional doing your job that day, showing enormous courage and strength. Where did that come from?
That’s inbred in the fire department. I think most firefighters are very courageous and strong-willed people. It’s part of what attracts people to the fire service. They must be willing to put themselves in danger, because it’s a dangerous job.
You threw some punches at the bureaucracy about cost-cutting and loss of leadership that left some gaps in the department. Did the investigations after 9/11 result in any changes in those areas?
Things have changed quite a bit for the better. The powers that be learned that strong leadership is needed to lead an organization. And strong leadership starts at the top.
Local members of GAWDA responded quickly to the attack, sending Oxygen and Acetylene to the site and assisting in rescue efforts.
They just knew what would be needed, and they showed up with cutting gases, torches, welding machines and other equipment. The whole country, especially private business, tried to do whatever they could to help us. It was tremendous. Ours is a great country.
How is your health? Any residual effects?
I was banged around quite a bit and tore my rotator cuff. My eyes were burned and scratched. My lung capacity has been diminished 30 percent, which is permanent.
Is there anything you would do differently today if you had to go through that experience again?
No. I went over that day a thousand times in my mind. I made a lot of decisions that day, and based on what I knew at the time, every decision I made, I would make again.
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Richard Picciotto |
Your presentation to attendees at GAWDA’s Annual Convention in New York City is highly anticipated, especially as the country marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
I really appreciate that GAWDA members have chosen the Fire Family Transport Foundation for GAWDA Gives Back. That means a lot to me and to the Fire Department of New York.
