Firefighters Heed Call To ‘Never Forget’

East Northport firefighter commemorated the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in ceremonies at Fire Department headquarters.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Fire Departments from around the Town of Huntington hosted memorial ceremonies on Tuesday to honor and remember the victims who lost their lives on Sept. 11.

The East Northport Fire Department hosted its annual memorial on Tuesday morning at department headquarters on 9th Avenue in East Northport. Members of East Northport and neighboring fire and police departments joined the local community to remember the events of that tragic day.

“All Americans have made a promise to truly never forget,” East Northport Lt. Brian Hinton said.

A piece of steel from the World Trade Center stands in front of the East Northport Fire Department headquarters.

The firehouse siren blared at 9:59 a.m. and 10:28 a.m. to mark the respective times that the South and North Towers collapsed. The speakers podium was flanked by a special tribute to the first responders who died at the World Trade Center; an FDNY helmet with the number 343 and a police uniform bearing the number 71 represented the number of people from each service who died on 9/11.

Later that evening, the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department held a candlelight vigil in front of the 9/11 memorial that stands in Cold Spring Harbor Fireman’s Park across Main Street from the firehouse.

The memorial, which was officially dedicated in June, contains a massive steel beam from the World Trade Centers. The massive steel beam was one of the last remaining physical pieces of the Twin Towers when the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department acquired it in 2016.

Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department held a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening in front of the 9/11 memorial in Cold Spring Harbor Fireman’s Park where a piece of steel recovered from Ground Zero is the centerpiece of the memorial.

The waters of Cold Spring Harbor served as a solemnly picturesque background for Tuesday evening’s vigil.

“Let us not forget those who perished on that beautiful September morning 17 years ago,” 9/11 memorial committee chairman Tom Buchta said. “Let us all press forward, never forgetting the sacrifices that were made that day.”

Firefighters, town officials and members of the community held candles as Buchta read the names of the 43 victims from the Town of Huntington.

A memorial at Huntington Manor Fire Department’s Station 2 is dedicated to former department chief and FDNY firefighter Peter A. Nelson who died in the towers’ collapse.

In Huntington Station, the Huntington Manor Fire Department dedicated a 9/11 memorial at Station 2 between East 23rd and 24th Streets on New York Avenue.

During the candlelight vigil on Tuesday night, Huntington Manor dedicated a memorial to former department chief and FDNY firefighter Peter A. Nelson. Nelson, a firefighter with the FDNY’s elite Rescue 4, was killed while on duty during 9/11.

The steel used to create the monument comes from the rails of the PATH train that ran directly below the World Trade Center.

Former Chief Peter Nelson

The memorial’s inscription states, “Blending this location and that steel we tie Peter’s two firefighting worlds together while providing a place that ensures generations to come… Never Forget.”