First doctor at Ground Zero releases never-before-seen 9/11 photos

Dr. Emil Chynn, who reached Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001, before most responders and treated the injured there, is releasing personal photographs he took during the attack. The images, unpublished for 25 years, offer a firsthand visual record of the destruction and the people who rushed to help.

Why it matters: - The photographs add a firsthand record of 9/11 from a physician who was at Ground Zero from the start. - The release preserves images of the attack's immediate aftermath as more of the public knows 9/11 through history than memory. - Dr. Emil Chynn's work highlights the long-term health and emotional toll on first responders and medical volunteers.

What happened: - Dr. Emil Chynn, MD, MBA, FACS, is releasing never-before-seen photographs he took at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. - Chynn says he reached the World Trade Center site before almost anyone else and became the first physician on the scene. - He set up a makeshift triage station and treated injured people amid the collapse and smoke. - The release comes 25 years after the attacks, on the anniversary of 9/11.

The details: - The images show an eye patient being treated in the wreckage, exhausted rescue workers between shifts, dawn over the ruins, and the aftermath at Ground Zero. - Chynn said he still remembers the faces, the chaos, and the courage of the people who ran toward the destruction to help others. - Chynn also responded to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and returned to help after the 2001 attacks. - He later developed asthma from his time at the site. - In 2014, Chynn launched a program offering LASEK vision-correction assistance to eligible first responders. - Chynn and Park Avenue LASEK have also supported 9/11-related charitable causes. - Park Avenue LASEK said it is honoring victims, survivors, families, first responders and medical volunteers on the 25th anniversary through Chynn's photographs. - Chynn is the Medical Director of Park Avenue LASEK in New York City. - His practice specializes in safe, non-cutting LASEK. - The practice describes itself as New York City's leading vision correction practice.

Between the lines: - The release is both a memorial and a personal record, with Chynn using photography to document what he witnessed while treating patients. - The photos may carry added weight because they come from someone who was not just present, but actively working in the emergency response. - The anniversary timing suggests the release is meant to reach audiences who may know 9/11 only through archives and classroom materials.

What's next: - Dr. Chynn and Mike, Park Avenue LASEK's head of marketing, are offering access to an extended gallery of 9/11 images. - Interested parties can contact Dr. Chynn or Mike to request the gallery. - Chynn continues to frame the photographs as part of his broader effort to remember and support first responders.

The bottom line: - These photos turn a personal archive into a public record from the first physician at Ground Zero.