Fire Company Dedicates September 11 Steel Memorial [PHOTOS]

A piece of steel from the World Trade Center is now mounted on the front lawn of the Firehouse on Island Road as a monument to those who lost their lives in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Firefighters, officials and residents held a ceremony Friday night to dedicate two new memorials in front of the firehouse – one to 9/11 victims and one to fallen Company 2 firefighters.

According to Co. 2 firefighter Jim Krause, who helped coordinate the installation of the monument, Town Council President and firefighter John Spiech first requested a piece of WTC steel from the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in October 2009. Company 2 members went to Hanger 17 at Kennedy Airport on September 30, 2010 to pick up the piece of steel, which came from the fifth floor of building seven, he said.

“Picking up the steel was a very intense experience,” Krause said. “Going there, seeing all of the twisted steel, and taking a piece home to our firehouse, it was a very intense experience.”

According to Krause, erecting the monument took a lot of thought and coordination. “Originally, we had different plans for it. But, we thought the way it was twisted really showed the forces behind the buildings’ collapse. This piece of steel has such character, and we wanted to showcase that.”

At the ceremony, Co. 2 thanked the Krause’s son, Jim, and other ironworkers who helped set up the steel, township’s , which cleared the area for the monuments, Uniscape Landscaping, which donated the slate, materials and time to make the foundation for the monuments, , which donated and installed lighting, and Travis Monuments, which made the memorials.

During the ceremony, firefighters said they were “honored” to have the memorial in Mahwah.

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