Jackson Fire Department remembers 9/11

JACKSON, Tenn. — September 11, 2001 is a dark day in American history.

“Four hundred and 14 first responders — fire, police and emergency medical personnel — died along with 2,563 citizens,” Darryl Samuels, interim fire chief for the City of Jackson, said.

The Jackson Fire Department remembers each of those lives Tuesday during their memorial service.

“We’re here to let everyone know that they may be gone but they aren’t forgotten,” Samuels said.

First they rolled the fire trucks out onto the driveway, then held a moment of silence.

Finally, a bell toll to remember each event that happened on Sept. 11. “From the first airplane that crashed into the tower, five more events occurred, with the south tower collapsing as the last event,” Samuels said.

Samuels says that being a first responder means you’re part of a brotherhood, no matter where in the country you work.

“As first responders, and especially as firefighters, we are a family,” Samuels said. “And when one in our family hurts, everybody hurts, so our memory will live on forever.”

He wants the public to remember that first responders don’t run away from the unknown. “The fire department, EMS, police officers running into terror, running into tragedy, running into a situation that was unknown to them, that’s what I want them to remember,” Samuels said.

Samuels says there are seven fire stations in Jackson, and they plan to start rotating between them to hold their ceremonies throughout the year.