PUEBLO, Colo. (KOAA) — Early Thursday morning, hundreds of people gathered along the Riverwalk in Pueblo for the annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony. It was organized by the Center for American Values.
During the ceremony, firefighters rang three tolls of a bell symbolizing the start or end of a firefighter's call for service.
“The bell is a significant tradition in the fire department. Before we had electronics, we had bells,” Pueblo Fire Chief Barbara Huber said.
The Chief of the Pueblo Fire Department, Barbara Huber, spoke about the firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty on 9/11.
“343 was the original number. We continue to lose people every day due to the contaminants that were in the air that day,” Huber said.
Captain Zane Owens said he remembers that day. He was on his way to work on September 11, 2001, when he heard the news.
“By the time I got to the gate through the fire department, that's when the plane hit the second tower, and that's when we knew the world changed, everything changed,” Owens said.
Captain Owens has worked for the Pueblo Fire Department for the past 22 years.
“I like to help people, but you have to be willing to take on the stuff that's not so good,” Owens said.
He said a career in firefighting comes with sacrifice.
“Your buddy may not come home tomorrow, but by the same token, there's also a lot more positive," Owens said. "The ones that you run into in public later, that you have helped and said, thank you so much. In my mind, I'm just doing my job. I'm glad to see you out and about."
On Thursday, honorary wreaths for the fallen first responders were displayed, and a large American flag was draped over the river walk.
Chief Huber and Captain Owens said they hope people will leave the ceremony with this message.
“That important sense of community and humanity that we all can be a hero on any given day, it's not a title. It's not a position. It's not a job. It is who we are at the core, and we're here for each other,” Huber said.
“We come together instead of scattering when something goes wrong. These younger generations coming up, they need to see, they need to see what's happened and learn to help appreciate, help them appreciate just how fragile life really is,” Owens said.
After the ceremony, firefighters, police officers, and the Pueblo community placed flowers on the World Trade Center Steel Memorial.
The steel was donated to Pueblo by the New York City Fire Department. The two pillars lift the steel in the direction of New York City as a reminder to never forget what happened on this day.
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