Ringing the bell of remembrance

Standing in the rain outside of Kenai Fire Department on Wednesday, Chief Jay Teague said New York City and the events of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 seem “like a whole world away.” But, he said, “people are people,” and communities everywhere rely on firefighters, police officers and emergency medical services who share the dedication of those who died that day.

“We’re connected to them, even though we’re 4,000 miles away — over here on the coast of Alaska,” Teague said. “It wouldn’t make a difference if we were standing at ground zero right now. I don’t think we could be more connected to our brothers and sisters that we lost.”

Teague, Deputy Chief Pete Coots and other current and former Kenai Fire Department staff gathered that morning for a remembrance ceremony. Between moments of silence, they spoke of the sacrifices made by people who bear the same calling and rang a bell in their honor. The lawn outside the department is filled by a display of flags representing those firefighters and emergency services workers who died.

In 2001, Coots said, he had only recently moved to Alaska. He had just completed a Firefighter I certification course in Homer. The morning of the attacks, he started to get calls from friends and family on the East Coast. He spent much of that day at the fire department.

“It was a pretty somber day,” he said. “To think about the firefighters, they’re showing up for work and receiving that alarm. Having to enter the towers, knowing what was above them. They still proceeded with undaunted courage.”

Coots explained that the Kenai Fire Department gathers each year to remember the people who did that work with a bell ceremony that’s traditional in the fire service. The bell is a retired element of an old department fire engine used for funerals and other times of remembrance.

Capt. Abe Porter said the meaning and significance of a bell has changed over time. That change has come alongside evolutions in the operations and strategies of firefighters, who he said today “are confronted with a more dangerous work environment than ever before.”

Today, a bell is often rung in honor of a firefighter who has died while on duty, Porter said. That traditional signal is the striking of the bell three times.

Firefighter Mitch Miller rang the bell in remembrance on Wednesday.

Teague said that the same dedication that drove firefighters in New York “up the stairs” is the dedication to community that drives the men and women of his department.

While the events of 23 years ago hang heavy over those who remembered them on Wednesday, Teague said there are young firefighters entering the service today who weren’t born when the attacks happened. He said that remembrance ceremonies like the ones on Wednesday can keep those sacrifices fresh in the minds of firefighters and the public. He said that people can best honor those who were lost by celebrating the ties and the unity that still bind the country together.

“It’s important for us, as a community, that we don’t forget that day,” Teague said.

For more information, find “City of Kenai Fire Department” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.