Stories of rescues were of little comfort for Len Gengel of Deerfield Beach, Florida, whose daughter was feared trapped in the Montana Hotel, a five-story structure that pancaked in the quake.
With 17 miles of corridors it was easily the biggest office building in the world, and yet the five-story structure was barely visible from the capital on the other side of the Potomac River.
Neighbors said all five had gone inside the home -- a two-story structure, one of many in the neighborhood about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta -- with a stretcher, then the single firefighter ran out about 30 minutes later.