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BELLOWS FALLS – Area firefighters will once again take to the streets of Bellows Falls this Saturday in a commemorative “Walk to Remember” in honor of the 343 New York firefighters who died on September 11.
Westminster Fire and Rescue member Jason “Jay” Gagne said Thursday he expected about 300 people to show up for the Saturday morning march, which begins at the Bellows Falls fire station. About 200 firefighters marched last year, he said, and this year the march is being expanded to include other emergency responders, including police, as well as the general public.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk will begin shortly after 9 a.m.
He said that this year, because it’s the 20th anniversary of September 11, there will be a short service starting at 9 am, and there will also be a bagpiper. He said he hoped the march would start at exactly 9:11 a.m.
Gagné said that this year members of the public, as well as other emergency responders, are invited to join the firefighters, who will march in full gear, like their New York brethren who died in the terrorist attacks. Full equipment can weigh up to 100 pounds, and some firefighters will also carry American flags.
He said some firefighters will even carry firefighting tools as a realistic commemoration.
Firefighters will walk the sidewalks of Bellows Falls and make two loops for a total of 3.43 miles – to match the number of firefighters who have died.
He said the weather should be better than last year, which was hot. He said there will be at least two water stations set up along the route, with students handing out the bottled water that was donated.
He said he hopes the march will continue each year, for firefighters to honor their fallen brothers and for the public to remember the sacrifices that were made.
“It will be a beautiful, dark walk,” he said.
Gagné was in high school on September 11 and was a cadet in the fire department. “I understood what had happened,” he said. “It was the biggest loss of life in the fire service.”
The village of Bellows Falls marks the death 40 years ago of two of its firefighters, Dana Fuller and Terry Brown, both of whom died trying to rescue residents of the Star Hotel in downtown Bellows Falls. The site of the old hotel is being transformed into a memorial park and fundraising for this effort is well underway.
On the 25th anniversary, he said, there will be firefighters who won’t even remember that day, he said.
“‘Never forget'” is our motto, he said.
Contact Susan Smallheer at [email protected].
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