Many people in many ways serve the best interests of the construction industry. The editors of ENR have chosen the following individuals for achievements covered in the magazine in 2001. All of those cited here will be honored at lunch and dinner events on April 18, 2002, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. One of them already has been chosen to receive the Award of Excellence, ENR's highest honor, and will be the subject of a cover story in the magazine's April 22 issue.
When the Pentagon was struck by a hijacked plane on Sept. 11, Dan M. Fraunfelter, a 24-year-old project engineer, was on the job, working on the Pentagon renovation for Wedge One contractor AMEC. He knew the notoriously confusing layout of the building and guided an ad hoc party of rescuers that came together in a smoke-filled hall. They searched offices and corridors on four floors above the crash site, sometimes crawling below the smoke and using wet shirts for masks, before they sought their own safety. Fraunfelter and his companions aided 40 or 50 dazed survivors, disoriented and choked by smoke. Once out of the burning structure, he ran to his office, grabbed plans and spent the rest of the day and most of the night briefing emergency workers and rescue crews on the layout and search areas.