Firefighters were told WTC-7 would collapse
WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW: FIREFIGHTER SCOTT HOLOWACH, Interview Date: October 18, 2001
"We ended up back up on Vesey Street and West Street and just hanging out until tower 7 came down. After tower 7 came down, we went right to work over at tower 7 to put the fires out." – New York Times [Local]
WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW: PARAMEDIC STEVEN PILLA, Interview Date: October 17, 2001
"Then it was about 5:00, because I was getting hungry. We were eating oatmeal cookies and watered-down Gatorade from the Salvation Army and the Red Cross…We walked back. We didn’t do any further because building number seven was coming down. That was another problem, to wait for building seven to come down, because that was unsecure. It was about 5:30 that building came down." – New York Times [Local]
WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW: LIEUTENANT WILLIAM RYAN, Interview Date: October 18, 2001
"At that time he said, "7 has got fire on several floors."
Then we found out, I guess around 3:00 o’clock, that they thought 7 was going to collapse. So, of course, we’ve got guys all in this pile over here and the main concern was get everybody out, and I guess it took us over an hour and a half, two hours to get everybody out of there.
So it took us a while and we ended up backing everybody out, and that’s when 7 collapsed. Then, basically, after 7 collapsed, I went over and told the Chief that — by then they had companies with handie-talkies, masks.
Basically, we fell back for 7 to collapse, and then we waited a while and it got a lot more organized, I would guess.
I was at the ferry when I called, and I ended up calling her again at about 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon from a position over here. I went in there to take a leak and I just looked around. I guess when we fell back for 7 to collapse I called her." – New York Times [Local]
WORLD TRADE CENTER TASK FORCE INTERVIEW: FIREFIGHTER FRANK SWEENEY, Interview Date: October 18, 2001
"Once they got us back together and organized somewhat, they sent us back down to Vesey, where we stood and waited for Seven World Trade Center to come down." – New York Times [Local]