Flashlight Symbolizes Survivors’ Journey to Safety

Although Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath were in two separate offices of the South Tower on 9/11, each heard the impact of hijacked Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower.

Praimnath, on the 81st floor, began evacuating with colleagues down the stairs. But, at the direction of a security guard – who assured Praimnath that the danger was confined to the other tower – Praimnath returned to his office. Praimnath was again sitting at his desk when hijacked Flight 175 struck the South Tower.

According to The New York Times, Praimnath could see the plane flying past the Statue of Liberty, directly toward him. When the plane crashed, its nose ended up about 130 feet from his desk.

Trapped behind a wall of debris, Praimnath banged on the wall and called for help. Clark, a volunteer fire warden who had been heading down from the 84th floor, heard Praimnath’s cries. Clark assisted Praimnath out of the rubble and used his flashlight to light their way down the stairwell.

The two men evacuated the building minutes before it collapsed. The pair was eventually separated when the North Tower fell.

A year later, Clark gave Praimnath the flashlight that had guided them to safety as a memento of their survival.

By Deena Farrell, 9/11 Memorial Communications Intern