The St. Augustine Fire Department will hold its annual Ceremony of Remembrance on Friday, Sept. 11. The observance is a community gathering to remember those who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It will be held at 8:30 a.m. at the St. Augustine Fire Department’s main station, 101 Malaga St.
The public is invited to participate, while following CDC guidelines of wearing masks and social distancing. Masks will be available to anyone who needs one. The ceremony will also be broadcast live online on the fire department’s Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/CityStAugFire.
The Ceremony of Remembrance was first held just two days after 9/11 and has continued each year on the anniversary of the attack. The 15-minute program will include a presentation of the colors; invocation by the Rev. Tom Willis, pastor and rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine; a musical presentation; and remarks by St. Augustine Fire Chief Carlos Aviles.
The ceremony will conclude with a minute of silence at 8:45 a.m., timed to coincide with the time the first plane hit the first tower of the World Trade Center in 2001.
Then, the fire department will conduct the “Striking the Four 5’s” by ringing its historic 1900 fire bell in four intervals of five rings each. This tradition signifies the last alarm of a firefighter and will be performed in honor of the firefighters, law enforcement officers, military personnel and civilians who died on 9/11.
For additional information, contact the fire department at 904-825-1098 or send an email to cityfire@citystaug.com.
