Crime & Safety
Steel Beam From World Trade Center to Be Centerpiece of Edmonds Memorial
The public is invited to a ceremony on Tuesday at Fire Station 17 on Sixth Avenue North.
Two years ago, former Snohomish County Fire District 1 employee Catherine Russell launched an effort to bring a piece of the World Trade Center to Edmonds to honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Members of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1828 took on Russell's project and arranged with the City of Edmonds for the memorial.
On Tuesday, Russell's efforts will be realized at public ceremony marking the arrival of a steel beam recovered from the ruins of the American icon that will become the centerpiece of a memorial to be built at the Fallen Firefighter Memorial Park at Fire Station 17 in downtown Edmonds.
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The ceremony will begin at noon at Fire Station 17, 275 Sixth Ave. N.
Firefighter Dave Erickson traveled to New York last week to take ownership of the steel beam on behalf of Fire District 1, and with help from New York firefighters transported the beam to a FedEx facility providing free shipping.
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On Tuesday, a motorcade of officers from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Edmonds and Lynnwood police departments will escort a truck transporting the beam to the fire station from Fire District 1 Headquarters, 12425 Meridian Ave. S, Everett.
The motorcade will depart at 11:30 a.m. and will travel on southbound I-5 to 220th St. SW, then head west to Edmonds.
The ceremony at Fire Station 17 will feature a presentation of the colors and flag-raising by the Fire District 1 Honor Guard and music by the Snohomish County Firefighters Pipes and Drums. The 2,018-pound, 8-foot long steel beam will be placed on a display cart that firefighters will roll into the station where it will remain on public display until the memorial is built at the adjacent park.
A public reception will be held at the station following the ceremony.
The construction of the memorial will be a cooperative effort involving Fire District 1, the City of Edmonds, IAFF Local 1828, the Fire 1 Foundation and the community.
The next step will be to design and build the memorial in the park where firefighters already maintain a memorial to honor fallen colleagues. The memorial honoring victims of the Sept.11 attack will be paid for entirely with donations, and no public funds will be used for construction.
Donations can be made to the Fire 1 Foundation, PO Box 12915, Everett WA 98206.
The community has already shown support for the effort with Dick’s Towing donating its services to help with unloading the steel beam and Costco providing food for the Dec. 6 reception.