He can't shake ground zero's somber air

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Nearly a week after returning from ground zero where he volunteered with the American Red Cross, Peter Orfanos still wakes up thinking he's in New York.
Orfanos, of Warren, returned after volunteering for three weeks as a mass care coordinator in New York City near the site where the World Trade Center towers stood before planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into and destroyed them Sept. 11.
Before he left, Orfanos said he expected the scene to affect him more than any disaster site where he'd previously volunteered. It did.
"You were right next to it," he said. "You felt part of it. If someone asked you to come out and work at the site, you'd have been there in a heartbeat. That's the feeling you got."
His job: As a mass care coordinator, Orfanos directed more than 50 other Red Cross volunteers at a respite center set up by the agency for emergency personnel at the Marriott Hotel. The area provided food, drink, supplies and a place to rest for the men and women working long hours, searching for remains.
"I was talking to one fireman who was working from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and I said, 'Why don't you work eight-hour shifts? You'd be more refreshed and not as tired.'
"He said, 'What would you do if it was your brother?' He answered my question," Orfanos said.
On a lighter note, volunteers were able to travel by bus, subway or ferry for free and could take in a Broadway show at a reduced price.
On their way from the disaster site, Red Cross volunteers were greeted by cheers from New Yorkers walking by.
"They were clapping and yelling 'thank you,' and they were there every day. We'd look forward to seeing them," Orfanos said.
Security: Volunteers have to go through several layers of security to access the disaster site, which workers there call The Pile. The mound of pulverized concrete and twisted metal stands about seven stories high, he said.
"It was about a 15-minute ride on the bus from where we were staying to the site, but it would sometimes take us an hour or an hour and a half because of all the security checks," Orfanos said.
New York police officers checked the bus's luggage carrier and verified passengers had the proper identification. Red Cross workers had to wear two badges, allowing them access to the site. The FBI and U.S. Secret Service guarded the disaster site.
Funeral: The sound of police motorcycles going by told volunteers another funeral procession was headed their way. Many churches in the area conducted several funeral and memorial services each day for those killed in the attacks.
"About a block and a half away you could hear the drums, then as you got closer, the bagpipes came in," Orfanos said.
He went to pay his respects at a service at the Cathedral of St. Patrick on Oct. 12 for New York Police officer Brian McDonnell, whose remains haven't been recovered. The church was filled.
"I looked around, and there wasn't a dry eye in the place," Orfanos said. "I had to get out of there, it was so sad."
Friends: The Warren man still doesn't know the fate of two New York firefighters he met two years ago while volunteering in Syracuse, N.Y., after a tornado struck the area. He's kept in touch with the men with whom he had formed a bond.
He's called the telephone numbers he had for them and gotten a recording saying the number isn't in service. But he couldn't bear to look for their names on the board posted at the site, listing those that are missing and presumed dead.
"I just couldn't do it," he said, adding that he couldn't explain. "I didn't want to. I still won't do it today. Maybe in a couple of weeks."
dick@vindy.com