9/11 Memorial Update from South Fire District

“Pride of the South Side”

SOUTH FIRE DISTRICT

445 Randolph Road

Middletown, CT 06457

860-347-6661

www.southfiredistrict.com

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE

After many months of planning and lining up donors and volunteers, a permanent memorial to those who perished or otherwise affected by the events of September 11, 2001 is finally becoming a reality outside the South District Fire Department on Randolph Rd in Middletown.    In recent days the flag pole in front of the fire station was moved with the help of a crane donated by Mylchreest Construction Services, to make way for a landscaped plaza surrounding an artifact from the collapse of New York City’s Twin Towers.  Captain Michael Howley, spokesperson for the committee planning the memorial says “this memorial will honor the fallen heroes of 9/11 and will help insure that the residents of Middletown ‘Never Forget’ the events of The artifact that is the centerpiece of the memorial, a large piece of a steel beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was set in place on a concrete pedestal last year with the help of O & G Industries. The steel beam remains the property of the Port Authority of New York.  The South Fire District is one of 2,000 entities that have been designated as Curators of artifacts from the Twin Towers collapse.  Because 343 members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) died on 9/11, the memorial takes on special meaning to all members of the firefighting brotherhood, including those at South Fire District.

 Since the steel beam arrived in Middletown last year, South District firefighters, members of Local 3918 of the International Association of Fire Fighters have been soliciting donations for memorial brick pavers, plantings and four granite benches that will make up the memorial plaza.  Captain Howley says the first order for Memorial Bricks has been placed and they should arrive at the South District fire house by the end of the month.  By the time the bricks arrive, firefighters working on their own time and other volunteers are 

expected to have completed site preparation work which includes excavation of the area with the help of Mylchreest Construction that will become the paved plaza and laying in place the processed stone material donated by Tilcon will serve as the base for the brick pavers.  Howley says he expect installation of the brick pavers to begin in the first weeks of August.   Current plans call for the site to be completed in time for a substantial formal dedication on September 11th, the 12 anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.While many memorial bricks have already been purchased by local residents, Captain Howley 

says more are still available for sale.  4”x 8” brick pavers with 3 lines of information are $75.00, 8’x 8” pavers with 6 lines are $150.00 and 8” x 8” Corporate pavers are $300.   Brick purchase forms for the “Let Us Never Forget 9/11” Memorial are available at the South District Fire House at 445 Randolph Rd and on the District website at www.southfiredistrict.com.  

Payments to the “Local 3918 Memorial Fund” are tax deductible.  Further information can be obtained by contacting Captain Howley at 860-347-6661.  All monies left over after the memorial is completed will be donated to a fund for the families of the 343 members of FDNY who died on 9/11 and the others who have perished since then as a result of injury or illness caused by the Twin Towers collapse.

Captain Howley reports that the granite benches that will serve as a place for local residents to sit while they reflect on the horrific events of 9/11 have already arrived at the fire house, having been donated by Frank Galluzzo a local businessman and his family.   They will be installed in August along with the brick pavers.  A landscaping plan for the site has been donated by Amy Sampson of AES Landscape & Designs and Captain Howley reports the plantings needed to make the plan a reality have been donated by local nurseries.Although not in the original plan, the memorial will be lighted at night thanks to a lighting plan donated by Robert Isleib Lighting Design and a donation of the lights need to illuminate the steel beam, the flag pole, and the plaza.  The memorial plaza at South District Fire House is a project that has been 5 years in the making.   According to Captain Howley, just the application process to the Port Authority of New York to get the piece of steel from the Twin Towers, took two years.

Please click the link HERE for Paver Order Form pdf download.