Richard Picciotto, a New York Fire Department battalion commander and the highest-ranking firefighter to survive the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, recounted his extraordinary experience, later documented in his book Last Man Down. Responding to the North Tower, Picciotto made the decision to focus on evacuating civilians and containing the massive fire rather than attempting to extinguish it. After feeling the South Tower collapse, he ordered rescue workers to evacuate the North Tower, personally clearing floors and becoming, in his words, the "last man down."

Picciotto was on the sixth floor when the North Tower collapsed, trapping him with 13 others in a partially intact section of stairwell. Buried in darkness beneath tons of debris, they initially believed they were dead. After nearly two hours, they made radio contact with another chief, and Picciotto eventually squeezed through a narrow crevice to escape. Still battered and exhausted, he spent another hour and a half using a bullhorn to guide rescuers through the treacherous rubble.

Picciotto also described the lasting physical and psychological effects of the disaster, including burned corneas, a torn rotator cuff, survivor's guilt and nightmares. He reflected on how surviving 9/11 changed his priorities, his views on confronting terrorism, and his belief that the World Trade Center site should be rebuilt while avoiding the creation of another "super high-rise" target. The first hour featured news and Open Lines.