Firefighters
everywhere are connected. It really doesn’t matter if you work as a
volunteer in a small community, as a wildland firefighter, or if you pulled
on your gear and answered the call on September 11th and headed
to the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. Firefighters share a common bond
that has a lot to do with helping others, the chance to make a difference,
and as we all realized again, the necessity of sometimes risking life
itself."It’s my job," is what one exhausted, ash-covered New York firefighter told a news reporter just before heading back in to the rubble. The reporter later tried to get in touch with that firefighter. She couldn’t find him.
We join with hundreds of millions of others around the world who mourn the malicious destruction of life in New York City, northern Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Words cannot begin to capture the dimension of our sorrow. Nor can they adequately express the respect we feel and honor we give to the firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and civilians who heroically entered doomed buildings to perhaps save just one more life.
Their heroism will be a beacon to all firefighters of this and future generations. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten. Honoring them is something we will do each time the fire call comes. It’s our promise to them.
We understand. Remembering what happened on September 11th is now part of our job as well.
