ISHPEMING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZMQ) – Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. Across the Upper Peninsula, communities took time to remember those who lost their lives that day.
The Ishpeming Township Fire Department rang its siren four times throughout the morning. The first siren sounded at 8:46 a.m., the time that American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower. The second siren sounded at 9:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 175 hit the South Tower. The siren rang a third time at 9:37 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Finally, at 10:03 a.m., the siren rang for a fourth time at the moment United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
Captain and Chaplain Ralph Roberts says the sounding of the siren has become an annual tradition for the department.
“It’s just important that we never forget what happened on 9/11,” he said. “So many people passed away that day. It was a terrible day in our country’s history, and we can’t forget. There are people that are now on our fire department that come every year that weren’t even born when 9/11 happened, so I believe we’ve done a really good job of keeping it in our memory.”
The department placed an empty set of firefighting gear in front of its truck in honor of the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice that day.
