By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
Red Cross volunteer Kris Krischano of Everett watched as four New York City firefighters filed onto his subway car Monday morning, still wearing their heavy, protective bunker gear.
"They were dusty, dirty; they had worked all night," said Krischano, who flew to New York over the weekend, joining nearly 1,200 Red Cross volunteers there assisting with disaster relief.
The firefighters had just finished a long shift sifting through debris and twisted rubble at "ground zero," the former World Trade Center.
Seeing their fatigue as they stood in the lurching subway car, fellow riders quickly understood that the firefighters had just left the scene of the emotional search and recovery work.
Krischano watched another Red Cross volunteer pat the weary firefighters on the shoulder, trying to encourage them by saying, "God bless."
"It almost brought tears to everyone’s eyes," Krischano said.
That and a Navy hospital ship manned with a machine-gun station facing the city are the two most vivid images from his first 48 hours in New York City.
"It’s there for real," Krischano said of the machine gun’s presence. "That’s not just for show.
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Krischano was sent to New York to assist the Red Cross with the crush of reporters who have converged there to cover the disaster.
Four local Red Cross mental health volunteers, unable to get a plane flight, left late last week to drive cross-county to get to New York, said Joni Dear, a spokeswoman for the Snohomish County Red Cross chapter.
Two other local volunteers flew out Sunday to assist with communications at ground zero, she said. Four more local volunteers are scheduled to leave today to assist relief workers with food and shelter.
Some 676,000 meals and snacks have been served to disaster workers since last Tuesday, Krischano said.
"Security is extremely tight," he said. "I think I’m going to end up with four credentials to access the building that I’m in," he said of a joint information center near Pier 90. The building is less than a mile from the former World Trade Center.
Krischano’s trip to New York City began at 3 a.m. Saturday, when he arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The ticketing line had at least 1,000 people in it, he said. "It snaked all around the airport."
Once his ticket was processed, he was directed outside the airport into another long line, where everyone’s baggage was checked by hand. A flight with an 8:10 a.m. scheduled departure instead lifted off at 10 a.m.
The flight was routine until they began their descent into John F. Kennedy airport about 6 p.m. local time.
From his window seat, Krischano looked at the devastation caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center.
"The airplane was totally quiet," he said. "Nobody said anything. We all looked and watched and were awestruck about what we were seeing with the smoke still billowing up from the buildings."
Krischano’s hotel is about three blocks from the United Nations. Huge trucks block the intersection closest to his hotel. Only law enforcement vehicles are allowed through.
On Sunday, he spent the day at the center where families come to bring items used by missing loved ones, from which DNA samples can be gathered to help with identification.
His first ground-level view of the disaster site on Monday left him struggling to find ways to convey what he saw.
"It’s hard to describe, to put into words," he said. "It’s an old cliche, but it’s a war zone down there. The devastation is unbelievable."
Krischano said he feels a sense of fulfillment to be able to help on this disaster mission.
"There’s been a togetherness here that’s just been phenomenal," he said. "You see the flags flying everywhere. It gives you kind of a chill to appreciate the fact that you’re an American."
You can call Herald Writer Sharon Salyer at 425-339-3486
or send e-mail to salyer@heraldnet.com.
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