The Single Most Incredible Survival Story of the 9/11 Tragedy THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B

The Single Most Incredible Survival Story of the 9/11 Tragedy THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B

World Premiere Monday, August 14, 2006 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

I knew what kind of danger we were in. Time wasn't on our side anymore ... I said, 'It's time for us to get out of here.' JAY JONAS

You could actually hear the floors hitting one another, boom, boom, boom, and I remember thinking to myself ... Oh s**t, this is it, we didn't make it. SAL D'AGOSTINO

I rolled to a corner and basically went into a fetal position and waited for the end. JIM McGLYNN

I thought I was going to be dead in a few seconds, and I remember feeling, I hope, I hope this is fast. MICKEY KROSS

PASADENA, Calif., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Among the thousands of stories of courage, heroism, and tragedy of September 11, 2001, one amazing episode stands out. When the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10:28 a.m. that day, and so many perished, there were 14 individuals trapped inside, beneath half a million tons of twisted steel and debris, who lived to escape and tell about it. The story of how they cheated death is told, firsthand, in the special THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B, premiering Monday, August 14, 2006 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The History Channel.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051031/HISTORYLOGO )

This moving special tells how these people -- 12 firefighters, an office worker, and a Port Authority police officer -- lived through the collapse of the North Tower, survived for hours, and finally, when all hope seemed lost, were rescued. The program reveals the chain of uncanny coincidences and bizarre events that enabled them to stay alive. Their interlocking stories, from the time they woke up on 9/11 to the moment when they were finally reunited with their families, together tell an incredible feat of human survival. They also tell the bigger story of the heroic efforts of the firefighters to save lives ... and of the 2,749 men and women who never made it home.

THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B tracks the terrifying events, from the growing sense of confusion as the scene grew more chaotic; the harrowing journey up and down endless, hot flights of stairs as a giant fireball burned above them; the race against time to shepherd each other out of the tower as collapse became imminent; the shocking sound of the floors hitting each other as the building fell on top of them; the feeling of bracing for death and, in the words of one firefighter, "seeing your own funeral"; and the harrowing wait for help beneath the mountain of rubble. And finally, the ray of sunshine that pierced the despair and showed them the way to safety.

The survivors walk through that day from early morning, when all was normal, to late that night, when they reunited with their loved ones after the surreal ordeal and broke down in emotion and stress as the shock of what had happened began to set in. Also sharing their personal stories: the loved ones and rescue units that tried desperately and waited anxiously to establish contact with those feared lost in the collapse, including the heroic effort to navigate the treacherous debris field and connect a lifeline to the survivors as they waited for help. In addition to being a remarkable story of survival, THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B is a tribute to those that didn't make it, to the lives they led, and the courage they showed.

Executive Producer for The History Channel is Marc Etkind. THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B is produced for The History Channel by Testimony Films. Produced and directed by Steve Humphries and co-produced by David Long.

The History Channel(R) is one of the leading cable television networks featuring compelling original, non-fiction specials and series that bring history to life in a powerful and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network provides an inviting place where people experience history in new and exciting ways enabling them to connect their lives today to the great lives and events of the past that provide a blueprint for the future. The History Channel has earned three Peabody Awards, six News and Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. The History Channel reaches more than 89 million Nielsen subscribers. The website is located at http://www.history.com/.

MARC ETKIND
DIRECTOR, HISTORICAL PROGRAMMING
THE HISTORY CHANNEL

Marc Etkind has been a Director of Historical Programming at The History Channel since May 2003. In his position, he serves as Executive Producer for many of the network's series, specials and pilots like: Mega Disasters, Lost Worlds and Mega Movers. He is also responsible for program development -- from its creative inception to its final execution. His special, "Last Days of World War I" was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Historical Program, and "Tsunami Waves of Death" was garnered several awards. In 2005, he also executive produced "The Man Who Predicted 9/11."

Prior to joining The History Channel, Marc Etkind was the president of Pinball Productions, a Boston based production company specializing in history and science programs. He helped produce over a hundred hours of programming for such networks as The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The History Channel.

Before starting his own company, Marc was a staff producer for the PBS series "Scientific American Frontiers" with Alan Alda. He also produced interactive exhibits, which can be seen in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and The Science Place in Dallas. His book "Or Not To Be" was published by Riverhead Books.

He is a graduate of Brown University.

STEVE HUMPHRIES
PRODUCER, THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B

Producer, director and writer Steve Humphries formed Testimony Films, based in his home town of Bristol, England in 1992. He was formerly a lecturer in history and sociology at the University of Essex. Testimony is a small company specialising in history programs. Since it began Humphries has made more than eighty network history programs for BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4. The programs are distinguished by ground breaking research and emotional power. They are based on the intimate stories of men and women, often talking for the first time about difficult and taboo subjects. Many have won major national and international awards including the Royal Television Society Best Documentary, The BFI Archive Film Award, The Chicago Film Festival Gold Hugo and the Silver Spire at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Most of the series are accompanied by books, co-authored by Humphries, some of which have become bestsellers.

Humphries's first landmark series was A Secret World of Sex (BBC2, 1992) based on his book of the same name. In it the oldest generation spoke openly for the first time about how they had broken sexual taboos in their youth. He revealed that 30,000 women in Britain had been sent to mental hospitals during the first half of the twentieth century for having sex before marriage -- and interviewed some of them. After this he produced a number of very successful social history series for the BBC like A Labour of Love (BBC2, 1993), Forbidden Britain (BBC2, 1995), A Man's World (BBC2, 1996) The Call of the Sea (BBC2, 1997), and Veterans: Last Survivors of the Great War (BBC1 1998).

For Channel 4 Humphries has produced a number of landmark history series documentaries like Hooked: A Secret History of Addiction (Channel 4, 1998), Green and Pleasant Land, the story of the British countryside and Far Out: The Dawning of New Age Britain, the hidden history of alternative culture and communes in Britain. One of his specialties has remained sex histories with the series Married Love (Channel 4, 2003), the story of sex in marriage, The Affair (Channel 4, 2003) and Sex in A Cold Climate (Channel 4 1998). This was an expose of a nun's abuse of young unmarried mothers. It led to a huge helpline response and directly inspired Peter Mullen's feature film The Magdalene Sisters. It was voted eighth in Broadcast magazine's top ten documentaries that changed the world.

Testimony won the RTS Bristol award for best network documentary for three consecutive years between 2003 and 2005, all with Channel 4 programs -- Married Love, Horror on the Home Front and Britain's Boy Soldiers. In the past twelve months, Testimony have made programs for all the terrestrial broadcasters in Britain and are diversifying by selling programs to digital channels in Britain and overseas like UKTV and The History Channel in the United States. Steve Humphries has produced The Man That Predicted 9/11 and The Miracle of Stairway B for The History Channel.

DAVID LONG
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B

David Long is associate producer of THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B, produced for The History Channel by Testimony Films.

Some of his previous productions include: The Man Who Predicted 9/11 (The History Channel), the story of Morgan Stanley's Cornish-born security chief who predicted the attack on the Twin Towers by plane, and organized the evacuation plan that helped to save 3,000 lives; the biography Jimi Hendrix: Made in London (BBC), about how the musician achieved success in London; Lost in Space (ITV), a documentary on sci-fi fans; Cary Come Home (also for ITV), a two part biography of Cary Grant to mark the centenary of his birth (he also raised money for a statue of Grant in his hometown of Bristol); 100 Years of Hurt, the story of England versus Germany soccer matches, as they reflect changes in the relationship between the two nations.

Born in London in 1957, Dave lives in Bristol, England. Originally a teacher, he moved into television 10 years ago. He is married to Alison, an elementary school teacher, and has two grown sons. His passions include the Beatles, the Tottenham Hotspurs football club, and early Peter Sellers films; he loves New York City, Venice and Barcelona. His favorite films are Broadcast News, It's a Wonderful Life and Hard Day's Night. On his current reading list: Divided by a Common Language - A guide to British and American English and White Heat - a History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties.

LIEUTENANT MICKEY KROSS
Retired, New York City Fire Department

Recently retired Lieutenant Mickey Kross is featured in The History Channel(R) presentation of THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B, which premieres on Monday, August 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

A native New Yorker, Kross was a member of the New York City Fire Department from 1977-2006. He recently retired as a lieutenant from Engine Company 16, the company he served with during the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Kross was in the North Tower when it collapsed and miraculously escaped injury. In the aftermath of the disaster, he spent months helping with the recovery effort at the World Trade Center.

Directly following Hurricane Katrina, Kross volunteered to go to New Orleans as part of the FDNY deployment. As the assistant to the Chief-in-Charge of Operation Chainsaw, he helped in the clean up and rebuilding efforts.

During his tenure as a firefighter, Kross spent two years at the Fire Academy teaching new recruits the skills of basic firefighting. Prior to that, he spent four years as a New York City Police Officer. He also served in the United States Marine Corp. and was based in California.

Since retiring from the department, he dedicates his time to both the 9/11 Families Association and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. On their behalf, he devotes a portion of his time speaking to groups of all ages about his personal experience during the tragedy and all the heroes of that day.

He resides in downtown Manhattan close to where the Twin Towers once stood.

CHIEF JOHN "JAY" JONAS
New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief

Chief John Jonas is featured in is featured in The History Channel(R) presentation of THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B, which premieres on Monday, August 14 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

John A. "Jay" Jonas is a Battalion Chief in the New York City Fire Department, currently assigned to Battalion 2 in Lower Manhattan. During his 27-year career with the FDNY, Chief Jonas has served in the South Bronx, Harlem, the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Chinatown.

On September 11, 2001, Jay Jonas was the Captain of Ladder Co. 6 and was one of the first responding units to the World Trade Center. Jonas and his unit were rescuing a woman from the North Tower when it collapsed on them. They survived the collapse and their entrapment. Chief Jonas was selected as the official representative from the New York City Fire Department to attend President Bush's address to the nation at the U.S. Capitol Building following September 11th.

Chief Jonas has been published several times in professional publications, and is the author of procedures for the FDNY to rescue trapped firefighters. Jonas has appeared on NBC's Dateline in special piece on The Miracle of Ladder Co. 6, and was featured in a September 2002 ABC television documentary based on Dennis Smith's book, Report from Ground Zero. He is the recipient of the Bishop's Cross, given by the Bishop of the New York Diocese of the Episcopal Church. Jonas received a "Men of the Year Award" from The Men's World Day Organization in Vienna, Austria, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev and Paul McCartney. Chief Jonas was also the first recipient of the New York Post's Liberty Award for Leadership. He was nominated for this award by his fellow firefighters who served with him on September 11th.

Chief Jonas has an AAS degree in Fire Protection Technology from Orange County Community College (SUNY) and a BS degree in Fire Administration from Empire State College (SUNY). He and his wife live in Goshen, NY. They have three children.

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AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The History Channel

CONTACT: Kathie Gordon, +1-212-210-1320, Kathie.Gordon@aetn.com, or
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Web site: http://www.history.com/

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