Firefighters honour fallen colleagues
Posted Sep 9, 2011 06:51:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Over 200 firefighters followed by antique fire trucks and newer rigs made their way to City Hall from Police Headquarters Friday.
They were marching to honour the lives of fellow fire fighters killed in the line of duty and 10 years ago during the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The march was a somber procession, led by two fire fighters holding a Canadian and an American flag.
The fire fighters wore white gloves and dress uniforms, some with red stripes up the side of the pant leg. They came to a halt at City Hall, where U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson thanked them for their service and solidarity during the 9/11 attacks.
“It is time to remember and remind the world of our gratitude,” he said. “It’s a time to celebrate the spirit of resilience and the defiance that was born at Ground Zero.”
He remembered a note left at the American embassy, dedicated to the fire fighters who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001.
“It said, ‘You rushed in, so that so many others could rush out. To those of you who rushed in and never rushed out, and to all of you who risked your lives so that so many others may live, I can only say thank you.'”
Bob Chiarelli was mayor of Ottawa during Sept. 11th.
“When the second plane crashed into the towers, we knew instinctively that a new and undefined world had been thrust upon us,” Chiarelli said. “But as we remember 10 years later, we know the greatest legacy of this event is the triumph of our humanity.”
Jacobson helped unveil a new memorial to fire fighters at City Hall, which features two bronze fire fighters. Embedded into the sculpture is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.
