Firefighters prepare for Sept. 11 services

Hillsborough Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2 will hold a memorial service on Sept. 11 to honor the firefighters who gave their lives and the people they were trying to save.

By: Charlie Olsen
   Monday marks the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and the crash of United 93 in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation and claimed almost 3,000 lives.
   Hillsborough Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2 will be holding a solemn memorial service on the morning of Sept. 11 to honor the firefighters who gave their lives and the people they were trying to save in front of the station on Route 206.
   "As time goes by, people forget," said retired chief Pat Kelly. "I think it’s good to have a ceremony, even a short one, to get everyone centered."
   The ceremony will be attended by personnel from all the emergency services in Hillsborough, including the police honor guard. The ceremony follows the format laid out by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
   The ceremony will begin with a silent gathering of all station personnel by the flagpole at 9:45 a.m. Monday for the playing of the national anthem.
   At 10:05 a.m., when the South Tower collapsed on that tragic day, the station bell will ring, followed by a full minute of silence while the flag — given to the company by Port Authority police — is lowered to half-mast.
   Like most that were shocked by the events of that tragic day, Mr. Kelly remembers when he first heard the news.
   "It’s like the Kennedy assassination, everyone remembers where they were," Mr. Kelly said. "I was at work when the first report came through. I thought maybe somebody was just off target, but when the second report came through that changed everything."
   At 10:07 a.m., the chiefs will begin to read the names of the 343 firefighters from the New York Fire Department who died that day, while "Amazing Grace" is played by the Somerset County Police Pipes and Drums.
   At the time of the North Tower collapse, 10:28 a.m., the station bell will again toll, followed by a minute of silence. The flag will be raised following the silence while "God Bless America" plays.
   "The ceremony is something you’d rather not do, but I think it’s necessary," Mr. Kelly said.
   The ceremony is open to the public.
   "It’s a community thing," Mr. Kelly said.
   Mayor Carl Suraci and Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 27 Commander Ted Dima ask that all Hillsborough residents fly the American flag at their homes and businesses Monday, both in memory of those lost and as a show of support for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   "It is important for us not to forget the horrific events of that day and to remember how it brought out the very best in all of us," stated Mayor Suraci in a press release.
   It would be an honor to the ordinary citizens who became heroes on that day, Mr. Dima said.
   "We turned to each other for courage and support and found it in abundance," Mr. Dima said. "By flying the colors, we will show our support and show that here in Hillsborough, Americans are every bit as committed today as we were in 2001."