Welles Crowther had already found a way out.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the 24-year-old equities trader was working on the 104th floor of the South Tower when American Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the building.
The impact tore through the tower.
Smoke poured through the floors.
The stairwells became dark and difficult to navigate as people desperately searched for a way down.
Crowther managed to escape.
He had made it out of the danger zone.
He could have kept going.
He could have joined the thousands of people fleeing Lower Manhattan that morning.
Instead, he turned around.
And went back inside.
Crowther had been a volunteer firefighter and had trained for emergencies since he was a teenager. He understood the danger of smoke and fire, and he knew how important it was to remain calm when everyone around him was panicking.
