Never Forget
This page is dedicated to our 343 FDNY Brothers and thousands of civilians who fell in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
Dedicated to the 343 FDNY firefighters who gave all
Spring Lake Fire Department – World Trade Center Memorial – The Beginning
Early in 2011 Spring Lake Fire Department was granted permission from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to obtain a piece of steel from the World Trade Center remains for the purposes of creating a memorial. This approval came as the result of a lot of dedication and paperwork by Chief Cranston. Finally, on May 11th, 2011 a small contingent of our members were able to make the trip to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Hanger 17, and receive the steel, which we transported in our light rescue vehicle, R59-40.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190721162024if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/EuyBKqstB-I?rel=0
An NBC news presentation about the storage of the World Trade Center remains in JFK airport
Once the steel had been relocated to our firehouse, we had a chance to give it a very thorough overview and we discovered architectural/engineering markings on it.
This inspired some of our officers to do some research on these markings, and we were able to determine these markings indicate this steel was once a floor joist from the South Tower, and we believe from somewhere in the vicinity of the 80th floor. From a discussion with the folks at the Port Authority we also know the left side (as you view it in our memorial) is where the steel was torn during the collapse of the tower, while the right side was cut to make our memorial steel manageable. You will also note the spires on the top of the steel (where the floor would have been secured) were bent or broken during the collapse.
Spring Lake Fire Department – World Trade Center Memorial – The Creation
Over the course of the summer of 2011, the members of the fire department had a few work parties where we constructed the memorial. The first work detail, July 16th, was tasked with creating a location for the monument in our existing memorial garden, and placing footings which the steel would be welded to after the concrete had set.
The second work detail, August 19th, required a bit of extra help. With the donated assistance of of “Bryant’s Towing and Recovery”, who assisted with the moving and placing of the steel upon the footings. Along with “Fitzgerald Brothers Truck and Heavy Equipment Repair”, who provided the welding equipment and skills to secure the steel to the footings.
Spring Lake Fire Department – World Trade Center Memorial – The Unveiling
On September 11th, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy, we unveiled and dedicated the finished memorial as part of a special ceremony open to the public.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190721162024if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/kMq-RupAyd8?rel=0
This was a presentation shown at the unveiling ceremony giving a brief review of the history of the 9/11 events, followed by the stages of our memorial construction (recommended viewing full screen).
Prior to the ceremony, a Maltese Cross flag for each fallen FDNY firefighter was placed in the yard adjacent to the memorial, 343 in total. Similarly, a series of 60 American Flags were placed along side the other flags representing the 37 fallen Port Authority Police officers and 23 fallen New York City Police officers.
While the ceremony progressed, some of our officers took turns reading the names of the fallen 343, as each name was read, the audience was asked to retrieve one of the flags; allowing the audience to better understand the vastness of the impact on the fire service. Likewise, the Town of Ulster Police Chief, Matthew Taggard read the names of the fallen Law Enforcement personel and the public was again encouraged to remove one of the 60 American Flags.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7l3KfhW4uYg%3Frel%3D0
A YNN news report on the SLFD unveiling ceremony
You may use the navigation menu on top to view the pages dedicated to the media for each stage of the memorial creation or choose one of the following: