Madison Fire District honors 9/11 victims
REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – The Madison Fire district took time to honor those who have lost their lives on 9/11, also known as Patriot Day.
It started early Saturday; The Madison Fire District's Pipe Brigade played "Amazing Grace" while the flag was raised to half staff.
The department then held a moment of silence and rang the outside bell by Fire Station One in Rexburg four times.
Deputy Chief, Troyce Miskin, says the ceremony has a unique significance for the department, "That was a tragic day in our history that a lot of good things came out of that. And those are the things that we want to try and promote and remember. We want to remember the acts of service, the kindness, the love, the generosity, the unity that we felt and we live in a great place."
Ringing the bell four times is also important to the department. Miskin says, "In our department, we adhere to four core values. They are integrity, honor, pride and courage. And that's what defines us, and should define us as a fire department, and individually. So we ring the bell four times to remind us of what our responsibility is to adhere to those core values."
Fire Captain, Robert Kohler, says, "Back in the day when the bell rang, that meant somebody needed to respond. And that's come to symbolize tradition for us that when the bell rings, we come. And sometimes that's to respond to other people's needs. And now we ring it also to remember those that that gave the ultimate sacrifice."
The department was able to set up a walk around Porter Park with plaques illustrating 9/11.
Devin and Shelbi Cox, who attended the walk, thought it was humbling, important and informative. "Even though we don't remember, I feel like you can get, I don't know, you can learn a lot from people who were in front of of that sense, of why it's so important," said Shelbi.
Jared Sommer participates in the walk every year, and this year he was reminded of the bravery on flight 93. "I mean, one of my favorite stories about it is Flight 93; Where Americans showed how you can band together and fight back against these things. Like that's a big thing to remember."
He says while he was in first grade that day, he didn't understand the impact until much later. "I guess I would have been seven. And I remember our teacher kind of explaining to us what happened and just the rest of the day just kind of, I don't know, it just kind of ended, I guess. We just went home and I didn't fully understand what's going on at seven. But I remember the years following, reflecting back on it. That's when I really learned what happened that day and kind of finally understood how bad it was."
The Madison Fire District also held a guided tour where participants were invited to carry a flag around the park starting at 6 pm Saturday evening.
