The Demopolis Fire and Rescue Department held its annual commemoration ceremony on Saturday for the victims of the 9/11 attacks nine years ago.
Lt. Chris Foster led the ceremonies, which included a moment of silence for the victims and their families, the Pledge of Allegiance and a ringing of the firetruck bell at the time each of the Twin Towers was struck.
The department has held the ceremony each year following the 2001 attacks, and has held it at Fire Station No. 3 since 2009.
“Over the past several days, they’ve shown the pictures (of the attacks and their aftermath) on TV,” Foster said. “This is a reminder for us that things can change in a heartbeat, and it usually does. This is something that we probably won’t ever have to worry about — something on that massive a scale — but for us, things like that can still happen here, with the industry that we have.
“We are remembering those firefighters, the police officers, the EMS (emergency medical services) who get up every day and go to work. That’s what we do, to be there when the citizens need us.”
On Sept. 11, 2001, members of the terrorist group Al Qaeda used commercial airliners to attack the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Another airliner was forced to crash by civilians in Pennsylvania that many belieeve was headed for the White House.
Several firefighters and police officers — along with thousands of civilians — died because of those attacks