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Donors remember Sept. 11 at blood drive at Charlotte Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. — Hurricane Irma's devastation comes during a difficult anniversary for the nation. It has been 16 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Inclement weather did not stop many people from coming out to donate blood at The Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Former New York Fire Department firefighter Peter Cachia said every minute of what happened on Sept. 11 is etched in his memory.

“As we were driving to the scene, we saw the second plane hit the tower,” Cachia said.

He was chief aid assigned to division one in Lower Manhattan.

“I was walking with a police officer and two firefighters, and the ground started to rumble,” he said.

That ground shaking was the south tower collapsing.

“I saw a truck and I just went under the truck and got hit by debris, and was buried by debris,” Cachia said.

He dug himself out and realized the two firefighters he was with had died.

He still finds it hard to think about 16 years later, but the blood drive at the speedway helped him deal with the memories.

Red Cross volunteer Doren Wilder was in the Pentagon on Sept. 11

“All the windows shook,” she said. “I immediately smelled the jet fuel.”

After she retired from the U.S. Air Force, she became a Red Cross volunteer.

“There is always a constant need for blood,” Wilder said. “You never know when the next disaster, hurricane, or event will happen.”

They've canceled blood drives across the South because of weather, but hope to collect 350 units of blood.

How to donate blood:

Download the American Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information.