Members of the Southwick Fire Department stand and salute during a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – The town held its annual September 11 remembrance ceremony yesterday to honor those lives lost in the tragedy of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Held at the Southwick Fire Department, the brief and somber ceremony included ringing a bell five times in increments of four, a fire department tradition known as rendering final honors.
Fire Chief Richard Anderson said it is important to remember the thousands of lives lost at the Twin Towers that day, particularly the firefighters, EMTs, police officers and other emergency responders.
Southwick Fire Department Chief Richard Anderson welcomes everyone to a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony staged in front of the Southwick Fire Department Wednesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
“We all saw firefighters running into the buildings as everyone was running out,” Anderson said. “We want to remember and celebrate those lives – the are missed by a lot of families.”
While Anderson did not personally know anyone who died in the attack, he said his brethren firefighters are part of one big family.
‘We have to keep them in the forefront and remember,” he said.
A the time, Anderson was working for AT&T and recalled the offices shutting down to watch the tragedy unfold.
“To see that first building come down – I thought ‘We just lost a bunch of firefighters’,” said Anderson. “People watched their husbands and wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters die on television. We need to remember this every year.”
As first responders, Anderson said Southwick’s firefighters and EMTs may not be in the kind of danger faced that day simply because there are no structures that large here, but every call has the potential for loss.
Carolyn Bradbury of the Southwick Fire Department rings a bell as part of a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony in Southwick Wednesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
“You just never know,” Anderson said.
Following Sept. 11, 2001, there was a surge in people wanting to become first responders. Andersons aid that he still sees more people willing to volunteer today than before that tragedy.
“I think there was a new respect for first responders after that,” he sad. ‘And to have someone come up to you and thank you for saving their life, well, that is big.”
Anderson said Southwick’s volunteer department is fortunate to have enthusiastic, well-qualified volunteers but finding firefighters who are able to respond during the day is a struggle.
“Right now I’m reviewing 13 applicants, but none of them are available during the day,” he said.
During the ceremony, Chaplain Taylor Albright offered a prayer for families of the fallen, as well as for today’s first responders. He said there were so many lives lost that day, they must all be remembered.
“Bankers and janitors, secretaries and stockbrokers, workers and bystanders from all walks of life and backgrounds – we remember,” he said.
Albright also mentioned the recent tragedies at Sandy Hook and the Boston marathon and prayed for first responders to have “clarity of thought, caution, and concern for one another.”
The Firefighter’s Prayer was read by Lt. Paul Johnson and the ceremony concluded with the rendering of final honors again, followed by refreshments. Nearly three dozen people participated in the event.
