Oklahoma City Bombing

A thunderstorm, the boom of the Murrah Building implosion, lights suddenly going off in the middle of the day. For Social Security employees Liz Thomas and Tillie Lerma, these were eerie reminders of the 30 minutes they spent trapped in a stockroom April 19.

This week, the two women returned to work at the agency's new office in Shepherd Mall with a greater appreciation for life, for family and especially for friends and co-workers.

"I want to give people hope - miracles do happen. We're proof of that," Thomas said Wednesday.

At 8:30 a.m. April 19, the two bilingual service representatives were reorganizing a section of the Social Security office stockroom in the southeast corner on the federal building's first floor. Another service representative, Gina Hernandez, was there to help.

At 9 a.m., Thomas wanted to go back to her desk, but Lerma stopped her friend. "We won't get a chance to clean it up again," Lerma said.

Two minutes later, the women were jolted by the impact of what they later learned was the bomb that sheared off the north side of the federal building.

"Those couple of minutes ... if we had not been in the stockroom, we probably would have died," said Lerma, 35.

Lerma said she and Thomas thought perhaps crews that constructed new rest rooms near the stockroom had done a poor job and that was why the wall had caved in.

The women were pushed up against steel shelving, and when other wooden shelving disconnected from the walls and fell upon them, a triangular barrier was created around them, protecting them against falling debris.

All the pipes busted and water began pouring in on the floor, eventually covering their feet.

"It got dark, and then we couldn't breathe because of all the insulation. We felt like we were suffocating," said Thomas, 26.

Lerma said she saw someone's legs on the floor, and soon realized her supervisor, Carol Bowers of Yukon, had been knocked into the stockroom by the blast and was killed instantly.

Lerma, Thomas and Hernandez began screaming for help.

"We heard someone say, 'We're coming.' It was our assistant manager, Dennis Purifoy," Thomas said.

The women went into a nearby skylight area and saw that debris was falling from the building's upper levels. Until that time, they were unaware the rest of the building had been devastated.

Rescuers who made it to the southeast corner where the skylight was located tried to hand the women what looked like a wooden picket fence. As it turned out, the fencing wasn't long enough or sturdy enough to reach through a break in the window so they could climb out, Thomas said.

Disappointed, Thomas began wondering what had happened to the rest of the Social Security office. She said a General Services Administration worker crawled by and told them, "You all are lucky to be alive. I'm not finding anyone over here."

A few minutes later a ladder from a fire truck was slipped down into the skylight opening. The three women were able to climb the 10 to 15 feet out of the building to safety.

"We were in shock. All we did was just walk," said Lerma.

The women walked south to the Bank of Oklahoma in search of a telephone. From there, they went to the east side of the Murrah Building to let officials know they were safe. When they came around to the building's north side, they saw what had happened.

"When I saw the building was gone, I felt like all the blood had drained out of me. I said, 'Oh my God! Look at the building!" Lerma said.

"When they told us that it was a bomb, I thought, 'Oh my God - the children,'" Lerma added, referring to the second-floor day care.

The two returned to work Monday and learned - as they had expected - many of their co-workers were on sick leave due to injuries received in the bombing.

With crews still working to fix up the new Social Security office, and employees busily working, the lights suddenly went out one afternoon, Lerma said. It made her scream, she said.

"It was kind of panic," Lerma said.

Hearing the sounds of Tuesday's implosion of the Murrah Federal Building on a radio broadcast also made her feel nervous, she said.

The roar of thunder that accompanied a storm later that night also reminded her of the bombing.

"It all just brings flashbacks," Lerma said.

With their emotional wounds healing, both women said they are grateful to be alive.

"We just feel like faith and the power of prayer really works," said Thomas. "We have friends we thought would be in the hospital for a long time, and now they're out."

Thomas said the whole experience has convinced her that every day should be lived to the fullest.

"You never know when your last day on Earth is going to be. You have to really embrace your soul man.

"With family, friends, co-workers - mend your fences before it's too late," she said.