We will all remember where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001, but Betsy Mallison, Community Relations Coordinator from DEP’s Southwest Regional Office in Pittsburgh, will remember it more vividly than most.

Betsy was heading to Harrisburg on the Turnpike when news of the attacks in New York broke and word came that there might still be planes left in the air ready to hit other targets.

Calling reporter friends in a Pittsburgh newsroom or two, Betsy found out that a plane had crashed in Somerset County, just as she was coming up on the Somerset Exit.

Somehow she found the crash site and relayed details of the site and its condition via cell phone into the Emergency Operations Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and to DEP.

She stayed on site to help local responders, federal and state agencies and DEP’s own Emergency Response Team set up and deal with the crash site and the hundreds of reporters that descended there. The site became a small city literally overnight.

She continued on duty for the next few days and weeks as the families of the victims of Flight 93 came to visit the site.

Betsy and Freda Tarbell from DEP’s Northwest Office also took time to help the Red Cross and Salvation Army make red, white and blue ribbons for emergency workers on site.

Flight 93 crashed on a reclaimed surface coal mine so DEP staff knew the geology of the area well and helped guide the FBI and federal agencies investigating the site. Investigators literally sifted the crash site down to a depth of 45 feet, but nothing much remained of the plane that was larger than a person’s fist.

Even though most of the fuel was consumed in the initial crash and ball of flame, some remained and posed a potential threat to investigators working at the site. DEP staff, along with local fire company personnel, helped organize decontamination procedures to keep investigators safe.

It was tough duty working in and around the crash site knowing what happened to the people on that flight, but everyone did their job.

Two DEP staffers walking back through the site happened to pick up a piece of paper lying on the ground. It didn’t seem too special because there were small pieces of paper all over the site. Then they realized it was a note one of the passengers wrote to their loved ones.

In all, 74 agencies totaling 1,100 people responded to the crash scene in the weeks following September 11.

Little did Betsy and other DEP staff know that just 10 months later they would be back in Somerset County to deal with another event that captured the world’s attention—the Quecreek Mine Rescue.

Betsy is just one of thousands of public servants doing her job that day in the face of unspeakable evil.

Visit the DEP Responds to National Tragedy webpage for more background on how DEP and Pennsylvania responded on September 11.

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