Smeggie Posted September 11, 2018 Member ID: 24118 Group: + COD4 Moderator Followers: 25 Topic Count: 54 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1087 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 2028 Achievement Points: 10085 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 11 Joined: 02/19/16 Status: Offline Last Seen: 3 hours ago Birthday: 01/23/1962 Device: Windows Share Posted September 11, 2018 A message that the President of my fire company posted in remembrance of 9/11. Just one more reason I am so proud to be a part of such a great volunteer organization. We must Never forget! --------- Today is the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. As we all watch the various ceremonies on television, see the flags flying at half-mast, and listen to the various speeches, I want to take a minute to remind everyone that September 11th happened to the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, too. On the morning of September 11th, 2001, the SVFC started our day as we do every Tuesday. The Volunteers made the handoff to the day staff and everyone went off to their regular day job. By 9:30 AM, things were different. The news reports were streaming images of a nation under attack with a sense of confusion and uncertainty. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. But we did know that the SVFC was prepared, willing, and able to respond. By 9:30 AM, SVFC Volunteers were leaving their regular day jobs and reporting for an uncertain duty at Stations 11 and 18. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Jack Brown was at Fire Station 18. He was fielding telephone calls from the Loudoun County EOC, Fairfax County EOC, and the Arlington County EOC. Loudoun County was requested to move a Task Force forward toward the Pentagon and the SVFC was the most logical starting point. AC Brown assembled a team of Volunteers and LCFR employees staffed on two engines and Quint 11 (now Truck 2 for the Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Company) and headed eastward. As the morning progressed, this Task Force was moved ever forwarded until it reached the site of the attack at the Pentagon trimmed down to just Quint 11 and all of the staff. This mixed crew of 10 firefighters remained at the Pentagon and was rotated out on 12-hour shifts for a total of 3 shifts and 30 firefighters. The SVFC response was not limited to just the firefighters at the Pentagon. Several crews were assembled to staff various units to include cross staffing Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad 615 and relocating it to Arlington and moving other units to include the HazMat trailer to stations in Fairfax and Arlington. The response was not just limited to the operational firefighters. Many SVFC associate members reported to our stations to staff the constantly ringing telephones, help prepare meals, and provide other much needed administrative support. By the end of the day, Station 18 had become the Eastern rally point for staff and resources for Loudoun County. At the peak, there were over 200 Volunteers from various stations standing by at Station 18. In the days to follow, two SVFC members (Andrew Holt and Berl Jones) had the opportunity to travel to New York City and assist with support activities at one of the affected firehouses. The loss of the 343 firefighters in New York was felt by us all and was witnessed firsthand by these two members. One of the things that I took away from those days in September was that while being a Volunteer in the SVFC starts with mundane tasks such as showing up to duty and resetting fire alarms, we have the capability to do so much more and to make a real difference - even on a national scale. Along with this comes an enormous responsibility, not only to the citizens of Loudoun County but to a nation that depends on its first responders and to the brotherhood we share with all firefighters. Below is the roll call list of all SVFC members that were part of the September 11th response. While some of the names have come and gone, there are many that remain. I recommend that you reach out to these folks to learn more about the details and varied missions of that day. Purvis (Agnolet), Deborah Banman, Jeffrey Banner, Frank Benham, Brett Bischoff, Johnny Brown, Jeff Bucy, Mike Cahill, Dan Carter, Dave Clements, Randy Davis, Geoff Featherstone, Mark Fierstien, David Firmin, Keith Gillespie, Randall Gingras, Steve Grant, Charles Graves, Eric Haddad, Julian Jones, Berl Ketcham, Dan Kiser, Jim Knoel, Roger Lam, Gary Lindstrom, Jeffrey Loraine, Charles Loraine, Karen Lusk, Tom Maffett, Fletcher Makowski, Kevin Mason, Kip Might, Eric Miller, Seaver Munsey, Melissa Nehls, Ren O'Brien, Mike Opett, Rick Pye, Robert Radcliffe, Scott Robertson, Troy Roman, Bill Schwiesthal (Bischoff), Danielle Short, David Short, George Starling, Jonathan Taylor, Beverly Todd, Patrick Trevarrow, Jim Tucker, David Valetti, Jon-Erik Weber, Bob Wilder, West YACCster, RobMc, Labob and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
YACCster Posted September 11, 2018 Member ID: 20683 Group: ++ COD4 Admin Followers: 138 Topic Count: 309 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 3356 Content Per Day: 0.88 Reputation: 4091 Achievement Points: 45298 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 22 Joined: 12/12/13 Status: Offline Last Seen: 7 hours ago Device: Macintosh Share Posted September 11, 2018 Always remember, never forget. Always remember, never forget. 17 years ago now, at 9:37am, AAL77 was crashed into the Pentagon here in DC killing 184 folks. Smeggie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
Smeggie Posted September 11, 2018 Member ID: 24118 Group: + COD4 Moderator Followers: 25 Topic Count: 54 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 1087 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 2028 Achievement Points: 10085 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 11 Joined: 02/19/16 Status: Offline Last Seen: 3 hours ago Birthday: 01/23/1962 Device: Windows Author Share Posted September 11, 2018 4 minutes ago, YACCster said: Always remember, never forget. Always remember, never forget. 17 years ago now, at 9:37am, AAL77 was crashed into the Pentagon here in DC killing 184 folks. Yes, my best friend's brother was on that plane.....definitely a day I will never forget. YACCster 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Awards
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