Squeegee, Grit and a Narrow Escape: How an Ettore Tool Helped Save Six Lives on 9/11

On the morning of September 11, 2001, window washer Jan Demczur stepped into an express elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center with five other men—and moments later found himself trapped, smelling smoke, and staring at a sealed wall. What happened next is now preserved in the Smithsonian’s collection: Demczur used a brass Ettore squeegee—first the blade, then the handle—to punch through drywall, freeing the group and allowing them to reach the stairs and escape. 

According to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the elevator doors were pried open to reveal a solid wall marked “50,” a non-stop level for that car. Demczur and the others used the squeegee blade to cut through the first layers of drywall until it slipped down the shaft. He then turned the tool’s metal handle into a makeshift chisel, striking the wall until the hole was large enough to crawl through. On the other side was a restroom, where firefighters directed them to evacuate. The men exited the North Tower at 10:23 a.m.—about five minutes before its collapse. 

The tool itself—a brass squeegee handle made by Ettore Products Co.—was collected by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and is cataloged as part of the museum’s September 11 holdings. The museum’s record identifies the maker and notes that the handle’s brass channel is now missing, a detail consistent with the frantic effort to break through the wall.

Smithsonian Magazine’s recounting emphasizes the sequence and teamwork: from the emergency stop to prying the doors, cutting drywall, and ultimately battering through with the handle as a wedge and striker, with each man taking turns until they broke free. It’s an artifact story that connects brand, tool, and human ingenuity in a moment where seconds mattered. 

Ettore’s role enters the historical record not as a marketing note but as a matter of fact: the maker stamped on a handle that helped save six people. In the decades since, the handle has become a teaching object—featured by the Smithsonian and highlighted by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum—to illustrate resourcefulness, presence of mind, and the everyday tools that can make a difference.