Craig Cinelli on Craig Cinelli's Role in the Cleanup Brigade

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Craig Cinelli's Role in the Cleanup Brigade Craig Cinelli discusses the cleanup process post-9/11 Craig Cinelli, Neighbor Posted Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 1:50 pm ET | 

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Craig Cinelli hadn’t been behind the wheel of a truck or transported a load of scrap metal for five years when 9/11 happened. However, the terrorist attacks moved him immediately into action.

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Craig, then a 32-year-old vice president of CIMCO Recycling in Hackensack, N.J., was among a group of volunteers who didn’t receive widespread recognition for their assistance. In a telephone interview at the time, Cinelli shared that his primary desire was to help. “I couldn’t enlist in the Army but knew I had resources that others didn’t. It was a duty about which I felt deeply.”

After the tragedy of Sept. 11, Craig Cinelli reached out to FEMA and other government bodies but faced challenges in his efforts. He had generously offered his entire fleet of trucks for the cleanup operations. He had been thanked for each attempt to help and added to a list filled with numerous other assistance offers, but nothing was moving forward.

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One Sunday morning, impatience gripping him, Cinelli had decided he couldn’t wait anymore. In the dawn hours, uncertain about the kind of response he would get, he drove one of the company’s trucks straight to where America was most in ADVERTISEMENT

need. Upon his arrival, Cinelli was promptly pulled into service. “I was instantly taken in,” he had remarked. “There was zero delay; they checked my credentials and directed me forward. The efficiency was outstanding.”

Navigating through emergency routes, Cinelli made his way through New York’s streets. As he approached the main disaster site, he encountered multiple barriers from civilians, the military, the police, and the fire department. Reaching the core of the financial district had been emotionally taxing for him. “People were applauding all along the route,” Cinelli had recalled. “Every halt we took, volunteers gave us water, medical supplies, and other essentials. The spirit of camaraderie was incredible.”

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Cinelli’s truck was stationed beside World Trade Center Building No. 7, where it was swiftly filled with a massive 30,000-pound I-beam retrieved from the debris.

During another run, he was loaded up with 5,000 pounds of wreckage.

While there, he had the chance to witness the aftermath of the terrorist act. “It was heart-wrenching,” Craig Cinelli conveyed. “Seeing a large fire truck flattened down to its tires was the most harrowing sight I’d ever come across.”

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Even if FEMA hadn’t reached back to Cinelli or requested his assistance, he had been contemplating another visit and was determined to deploy his entire fleet of 12 trucks. “There remained a dire need for more trucks and torch-cutting tools,” Cinelli had stressed. “A collaborative effort of trucks was essential for the cleanup process.”

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