A crowd of dignitaries, school children and residents joined Santa Fe first responders on Monday to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The ceremony included firefighters in full gear as commemorative stair climbers to symbolize the firefighters who climb the stairs of the World Trade Center, an honor guard the “Striking of the Four Fives,” a meaningful series of bell chimes to memorialize fallen firefighters in New York City; and, a memorial flower placement for the 343 firefighters who lost their lives while responding to the 9/11 event.
Assistant Fire Chief Freddie Martinez told the crowd those lost will always be remembered by their colleagues.
“They were not just firefighters, they were brothers, they were sisters, mothers, friends, they were the embodiment of duty, honor and sacrifice,” he said. “In the aftermath of the attacks the pain was immeasurable but so was the strength of our firefighting community. Firefighter departments from across the nation rallied to support each other offering our condolences, their assistance and their unwavering family.”
Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya says it’s good to remember the tradition since youth and including some of his own firefighters weren’t even alive when the terrorist attacks occurred.
He himself didn’t join until six months later and about 80% of the department was not in the fire service at the time.
Moya says next year they would like to take the commemoration back to the Santa Fe Plaza instead of Fire Station One, in hopes of getting more of the community involved.