A former defense contractor from Mahwah was able to get a firsthand look at the devastation left behind by the Sept. 11 attacks days after the Twin Towers fell.

Al Seneca worked for an engineering firm that handled defense contracts for the U.S. Navy. The office was located across from the World Trade Center. He was granted permission to go into the rubble to retrieve classified documents from his office.

Seneca says that he was working in Manhattan on the day of the attack.

"I couldn’t figure what was going on until I turned to the left and I could see flames coming out of the World Trade Center tower,” he says.

Seneca says that he hid across the street from One World Trade until the second plane hit.

"I knew I had to run because there were flames coming down,” he says. “I went down to the train tracks and an empty train came in. It didn't say where it was going but it opened its doors.”

Seneca returned to New York two days after the attack to retrieve his documents and take some pictures of the aftermath.

"Everybody assured me the air was fine and for that reason I had no second thoughts about going to the building,” he says.

But doctors say that Seneca suffered permanent damage from inhaling the dust and debris.

Seneca says that he took the photos as a way to document what had happened and to honor those who were lost. He says that he hopes to someday donate his photos.