In a building designed to hold tens of thousands of people, the most important system wasn’t steel, it was behavior. Rick Rescorla, head of security for Morgan Stanley in the World Trade Center, understood that long before Sept. 11. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, he studied the towers closely, learning how they could be attacked, how people would react, and where the system would fail. He raised concerns about vulnerabilities, but when large-scale changes didn’t follow, he shifted his focus to what he could control: the people.
Rescorla implemented mandatory evacuation drills regularly and without exception.
Employees practiced using stairwells, moving with purpose, and understanding the path out. It wasn’t theoretical. It was repetition. Employees were even encouraged to think practically about long descents, including what they would wear and how they would move, because the stairs, not the elevators, would be the way out. Running shoes were the most feasible option.
By 2001, thousands of Morgan Stanley employees had already walked those routes multiple times. Morgan Stanley occupied floors 50 through 72 in the South Tower.
On Sept. 11, when the North Tower was hit first, confusion followed. Announcements in the South Tower told occupants to stay put. Rescorla ignored them and ordered a full evacuation. Because his people had trained for it, they didn’t hesitate. They moved — calm, organized, and familiar with the process.
Roughly 2,700 Morgan Stanley employees made it out of the South Tower.
Rescorla stayed behind, continuing to direct evacuations and send people toward the exits. He was last seen heading back up. He didn’t make it out, but nearly everyone he trained did.
