The City of Forest Grove Firefighters and Police Officers held a brief memorial on Friday, September 11, on the eighth anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

On September 11, 2001, 19 Islamist terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There are no survivors from any of the flights.  2,974 people died in the attacks. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 different countries. A total of 343 firefighters died, plus 37 Port Authority Police and 23 New York Police Department officers.

September 11, 2001 is recognized as the single most catastrophic day for line of duty deaths of emergency workers in the history of the United States.  Long before radios and pagers, fire departments used the fire alarm telegram system to announce the line of duty death of a firefighter.  The signal 5-5-5-5 was transmitted over both primary and secondary circuits.  The tolling of the bell 5 times with 4 repetitions continues that tradition as we honor those that died in those horrific attacks. 

In addition to the memorial event, during the duration of the day a ladder truck from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, with its ladder raised in the air displaying a United States Flag, was stationed at Fire Station on 19th Avenue and Ash Street in downtown Forest Grove as a solemn reminder to the lives lost in the nation's fire service family.  Click here for video of ceremony.