Westfield firefighter Roger Bernier plays a bagpipe during a 911 remembrance ceremony at the Broad Street headquarters. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The public is invited join the city’s firefighters Wednesday morning for their annual September 11 Remembrance Ceremony to honor the 2,977 persons who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and especially the city’s natives – Tara Shea Creamer, Brian J. Murphy and Daniel P. Trant – who perished.
A second 911 ceremony will be staged later in the day at the Sons of Erin.
The firefighters ask that visitors to their ceremony arrive at the department’s Broad Street headquarters by 9:45 a.m. as fire apparatus will exit the building at 9:55 a.m.
The remembrance ceremony is planned to start promptly at 10 a.m.
The ceremony will begin with the sounds of bagpipes played by firefighter Steven Makos as the firefighters on duty line up on the apron of the fire station with their fire apparatus and will continue with a prayer read by a firefighter.
Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Egloff said that the Fireman’s Prayer will also be read and a fire bell will be rung – in four groups of five sounds – and a full minute of silence will be observed before the U.S. flag at the fire station is lowered to half mast.
Egloff explained that the tocsin pattern of four groups of five bells has been taken by firefighters nationwide as symbolic of the call number, 5555, that New York City firefighters responded to when the World Trade Center towers were attacked.
Egloff said that city officials have been invited to the ceremony and may speak.
The same pattern of bells will be repeated at the close of the ceremony when the flag will be returned to full staff position.
A reception with coffee and light refreshments will follow inside the fire headquarters.
At almost the same time, a similar ceremony will be staged at the Southwick fire department.
The public is invited to join the Southwick firefighters for their ceremony at 9:45 a.m. which will include prayers, a moment of silence and the chiming of a fire bell.
Later in the day, at 5 p.m., city officials will be joined by members of the Murphy, Shea, and Trant families for a simple wreath laying ceremony at the Sept. 11 memorial obelisk on North Elm Street where a plaque has recently been installed to memorialize the city natives who died in the terror attack.
There will be little ceremony and no speeches at the memorial obelisk but there will be both at the 13th annual memorial ceremony hosted by the members of the Sons of Erin on the club’s grounds in front of the monument there it remember Creamer, Shea and Trant.
The organizer of that event, Pat Murphy, said that family members always attend the ceremony at the club at 22 Williams St. but will not speak publicly.
Murphy said that invited city officials may speak but the guest speaker will be Col. James J. Keefe, the current commander of the 104th Air National Guard fighter wing based at Barnes Municipal Airport.
A bagpiper will also open the Sons of Erin ceremony and Murphy said that Jim McArdle and Barney McElone of The Bards will play during the ceremony and perform afterwards downstairs at the club.
Westfield firefighter/paramedic, Randy Quarles, left, prepares to ring a ceremonial bell during a 911 remembrance ceremony at the Westfield Fire Department. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
