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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2001

A New York City couple fleeing from lower Manhattan as the World Trade Center was collapsing credits an employee of the National Museum of the American Indian for "saving our lives."

Courtney Seibert Fennimore and Tom Fennimore were running away from the building and couldn't find refuge, they told NewsDay. They banged on a couple of windows at some restaurants but weren't let in.

As they approached the tip of Manhattan Island, they came upon the National Museum of the American Indian. An employee saw them crouching for cover and let them inside the building.

NMAI Director Rick Hill, who was not at the New York location at the time of the attack, said no employees were harmed that day. The museum's collections were protected, because an employee shut the ventilators, preventing debris from flying in.

Get the Story:
'It's Not the Same Place' - Residents of Battery Park City are wrestling with a decision to stay or move elsewhere (NewsDay 10/16)

Relevant Links:
National Museum of the American Indian - http://www.si.edu/nmai

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