As the nation watched yesterday's terrorist attacks unfold, the City of Philadelphia shut down, activating all emergency personnel as part of its emergency management plan.
At 11 a.m., all city offices closed, and at noon, all Philadelphia public and parochial schools shut down.
But despite the horror and threat of further attacks that New York and Washington were experiencing, Philadelphia remained physically unscathed.
"We currently do not have any information to lead us to believe that the City of Philadelphia has been targeted, but we are taking every precaution possible to ensure the safety of our citizens," Mayor John Street said in a speech at 11 a.m., a point he reiterated throughout the day.
As part of the city's emergency plan, all police officers, paramedic and firefighter personnel were deployed.
Some were sent to Independence National Historic Park in Olde City to guard -- among other landmarks -- Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell pavilion.
"Around 10 a.m. the park was closed," spokeswoman Kathy Dilonardo said. "Since then, [the National Park Service has] closed all parks in Virginia through Maine."
Dilonardo would not comment on the increased security presence at the historic sites other than to say that security forces were "very alert."
"I don't think we want to be more specific than that, for obvious reasons," Dilonardo said.
Starting today, some of the city's emergency personnel will be sent to New York to help fight the fires and find survivors amidst the rubble of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
"Twenty-three highly trained members of the Philadelphia Fire Department and the Philadelphia Housing Authority" will be sent to New York to search for survivors, Street said in a televised speech last night.
The force is in response to a request made by the Federal Emergency Management Agency yesterday on behalf of New York.
And while Philadelphia has offered some of its police personnel to New York, Street said that it is more likely that firefighters will be sent.
"The most pressing need is for firefighters, and we believe we will be in a position to send at least 100 volunteer firefighters to New York on an as-needed basis," Street said.
Out of respect for today's disasters and concerns for safety, Street ordered public schools closed and urged the Cardinal of Philadelphia to make the same decision for the city's parochial schools.
"Philadelphia is particularly vulnerable because of its historical sites, and we have a lot of schools close to these sites," city Education Secretary Debra Kahn said.
Per Street's order, Philadelphia public schools will remain closed until tomorrow, although teachers have been told to report to their schools by noon today.
"We certainly hope school will be returning to normal," Kahn said, pointing out that the school district will be providing counseling to those who need it. "There are a lot of upset children."
As the exodus of workers out of Center City -- many undoubtedly going to pick up their children -- reached its peak yesterday afternoon, city streets became packed.
To aid in the migration, SEPTA increased its bus and regional rail lines to rush hour levels.
"There was obviously some additional congestion because a lot of businesses and schools let out early, but SEPTA made provisions with additional man power and cars," SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax said, pointing out that the authority had little advanced notice before Street ordered all city employees to go home.
"It was basically reacting as we saw it was necessary," Fairfax said. "It was more or less a domino effect.... Act and react."
But SEPTA did experience problems between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. due to Amtrak shutting down its rails west of 30th Street Station.
Amtrak, which owns the rail lines SEPTA uses, also shut down all service between Boston and Washington for most of the day.
But by 2:30 p.m., both Amtrak and SEPTA were operating, albeit on delayed schedules.
Around 6 p.m., the first Amtrak train pulled into Philadelphia from New York.
Outside the Amtrak station in Newark, "they were trying to almost hose people down who had been near the [attack] because they were covered in dust, and people were afraid the dust might be carrying some kind of germs," said Scott Silliman, an Amtrak passenger.
"The most difficult part about being in Philadelphia today was not being able to reach my loved ones in New York," said one female passenger about to board a train to Manhattan. "You couldn't get through by phone."
The woman, who works in Philadelphia but lives in New York, was going back home.
Amid security concerns, Greyhound also canceled some of its services yesterday, closing its terminal in Philadelphia.
"We've closed our operations in the Northeast and closed terminals within a one-mile radius of federal buildings," Greyhound spokeswoman Kristen Parsely said yesterday. "We just want to ensure the safety of our employees and passengers."
Perhaps the most significant and long-lasting closure was at the Philadelphia International Airport, which shut down following a Federal Aviation Administration directive at 9:45 a.m.
Because of security concerns, the airport joined the dozens of other international airports across the country which operated on their highest levels of security after all domestic flights were grounded until further notice.
"We've instituted our hospitality program for those passengers that are here," airport spokesman Mark Pesce said shortly before noon yesterday.
Among other precautions, the airport ordered all airplanes to be parked at the gates, while the jetways were pulled away from the aircraft.
"We have our security on the airfield and all entrances to the airfield are being patrolled and staffed," Pesce said.
In accordance with an FAA order, flight operations at the airport will not begin before noon today.
Daily Pennsylvanian reporter Alexis Gilbert contributed to this story.
