9/11 commemorated in Torrington

TORRINGTON —  The Torrington Fire Department held a 9/11 commemoration ceremony outside of its North End firehouse on Sunday, Sept. 11.

Hundreds of people attended the event, including members of the fire department, members of emergency departments from surrounding areas and residents from throughout the Northwest Corner.

Department Lieutenant Mark Garrison was one of the co-organizers of the event.

“We as a department and as a community are going to gather today to honor those that lost their lives 15 years ago today,” Garrison said in an interview before the ceremony. “On 9/11 I was working here at the North End station. What sticks out in my memory the most is when we were called upon to see if we could go down to Ground Zero in New York City to volunteer. We were told to be prepared to wear the clothes we had on our back for about a week. Our department never had to go down because they used other departments that were closer to the city. What also sticks out is the days following 9/11 was how well people were treating one another following what happened and how courteous we were to one another. That’s what sticks out my mind the most. How we came together as a nation.”

“It’s 15 years of not forgetting,” Deputy Fire Marshall Todd LaMothe said before the ceremony. 

Outside of the firehouse on permanent display is a steel beam from the North Tower Lobby from the debris of World Trade Center.

LaMothe said that five years ago the New York City Port Authority announced to emergency departments the availability of artifacts from the World Trade Center buildings.

“We submitted for it and they asked us how long we wanted it,” LaMonthe said. “That’s all they asked us. So one morning Walker Trucking from Farmington donated to us a truck for us to use. We drove there at 5 a.m. to pick it up and brought it back. We did a lot of work on this monument. It means a lot to us. We want to make sure we never forget what happened. We always do something every year to commemorate 9/11.”

Emotional ceremony

At the ceremony itself, State Representative Michelle Cook (D-65), spoke to the audience that solemnly gathered at the fire house.

“It seems like yesterday that we turned on the television and watched the horrific news,” Cook said. “Fifteen years ago I remembered when my phone rang. My husband was calling from work and I was at home with the kids. He said ‘What are you doing? You might need to turn on the television.’ When I turned on the television I don’t think I ever turned it off for days. It was a tragedy unlike we have ever seen before. It was a tragedy that made time stand still, which is something I didn’t understand until that moment. It was a moment that, as a nation, we stood together and we fell together.”

Cook said it was hard for her to find the right words to speak to the audience gathered at the ceremony.

She proceeded to read a poem by Hannah Schoecher, who was in the seventh grade at the time of 9/11.

The poem is entitled “We’re Still Standing,” which Cook said summed up how she felt about the anniversary.

“Those twin towers, standing tall with pride, fell with grieving hearts,” Schoecher wrote in her poem. “Stunned, America cried. But we are still standing. Bin Laden tried to crush our land. But we stood our ground with our flag in hand. And we are still standing. Red for valor, and the blood that fell. White for purity, our heroes tell. Blue for justice that will be done. Proving once more these colors don’t run and we are still standing.”

The next speaker at the ceremony was  Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone.

“When I was called and invited to today’s observances, I too spent time reflecting on that day 15 years ago,” Carbone said. “I think it is something you never forget where you were and when you heard that news. I was at a conference in Litchfield. We were in the middle of getting a lesson on title insurance for real estate transactions. One of the attorneys at the event stood up and announced that we had been attacked and that two planes had flown into the Twin Towers.”

Carbone said she absorbed the news for a few minutes until she told the people around her that she had to leave the meeting.

“My oldest son was attending Manhattan College at the time, mere blocks away from where the Twin Towers were,” Carbone said. “I got home as fast as I could and attempted to call him. I just needed to hear his voice and hear that he was okay. I needed to know how we could get him home, if we needed to. Those are the memories emblazoned in my heart.”

Carbone said, like Cook, she watched the television news reports constantly for days.

“The TV was on for 24 hours a day,” Carbone said. “We did not sleep. We just cried and could not believe the devastation that occurred. We could not believe the heroic efforts of our firefighters, police officers and our everyday heroes. As I was watching some of the reminiscences on television yesterday, I remembered the everyday heroes and the people who responded to a call for help. The miracle that came out of this whole event is that we came together as Americans.”

The department’s Fire Chief, Gary Brunoli, was not present at the ceremony.

Garrison read a statement written by Brunoli to the audience.

“I would like to thank all of you who have come today to reflect on the events that occurred in the country and on this day 15 years ago,” Brunoli wrote in his statement. “While I cannot be with you today, I am here in spirit as we remember what happened on September 11, 2001. I ask that we all take some time to remember how we felt on that day and how far we have come in rebuilding our country after the events of that day and in the days and weeks that followed.”

After Garrison read Brunoli’s statement, the sky grew dark and the audience heard thunder.

A candle lighting ceremony was held where members of a local Cub Scout troop lit red, white and blue candles next to the 9/11 memorial.

After the candle lighting, rain fell hard from the sky as Syd White from the Police Pipes and Drums of Waterbury played “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes.

As the rain poured down and as White played, members of the Torrington Fire Department stood in attention until the very last notes of the song.