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Chapter I
Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
 he
bombing of the Murrah Building took its toll in human life and property
damage and changed the community's and the Nation's general sense of safety
and security. The blast killed 167 men, women, and children and injured
853 others (Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services,
May 31, 1998). A volunteer nurse became the 168th fatality when falling
debris struck her as she responded to the emergency. The explosion rocked
downtown Oklahoma City, reduced the north face of the Murrah Building
to rubble, and dealt extensive damage to each of the nine floors as they
collapsed into the center, pancaking one on top of the other. When the
dust cleared, one-third of the building lay in ruins. The force of the
blast damaged 324 surrounding buildings, overturned automobiles, touched
off car fires, and blew out windows and doors in a 50-block area. News
reports indicated the explosion was felt 55 miles from the site and registered
6.0 on the Richter scale.
 Nineteen
children, many in a second floor daycare center, died in the Murrah Building's
collapse. Thirty children were orphaned. A total of 219 children lost a
parent. More than 400 individuals were left homeless in the area. Seven
thousand people lost their workplace and some 16,000 people were downtown
at the time of the explosion (Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance
Abuse Services, May 31, 1998). It is estimated 360,000 Oklahomans knew someone
personally who worked in the Murrah Building (Oklahoma Department of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services, May 31, 1998). To compound the devastation
the bombing had on the primary victims, unimaginable psychological and emotional
impacts from the 16-day rescue-and-recovery effort took its toll on secondary
victims including law enforcement and fire department personnel and Urban
Search and Rescue (US&R) team members.
At the time the bomb was detonated, numerous federal agencies had offices in the Murrah Building: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Army and Marine recruiting offices; Department of Veterans Affairs; General Accounting Office; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Customs Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S.
Department of Transportation; and General Services Administration. The Federal Employees Credit Union and "America's Kids" Child Care
Development Center were also housed in the building. When the catastrophe occurred, about 600 federal and contract workers and about
250 visitors were in the building (Oklahoma Department of Civil Emergency Management, 1996).
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