Keymaster William Rodriguez recalls rescuing hundreds during World Trade Center collapse

Twenty-five years after the World Trade Center attacks, William Rodriguez, a former cleaning staff member, reflects on his role in the rescue effort. Holding a rare master key, he was able to open steel doors on numerous levels, allowing emergency personnel and trapped occupants to use the stairwells. He led firefighters up to the 39th floor, repeatedly returning to the blaze to aid those stranded, including a man in a wheelchair.

When the North Tower collapsed, Rodriguez took cover beneath a fire truck and was buried alive, later rescued after several hours. He describes vivid, haunting memories of falling bodies and shattered glass, and expresses lingering survivor guilt, especially for friends he could not reach. In recent years he has given motivational talks and criticized official narratives about the collapse, though his claims about explosives were dismissed by the 9/11 Commission.