09/11/2026
Twenty-five years ago today, our nation experienced a tragedy that forever changed America and the fire service.
For many of us, September 11, 2001, is a day we can remember almost minute by minute. But an entire generation has now grown up knowing 9/11 only through photographs, videos, classrooms, and the stories of those who lived through it. Today, we remember—and we teach.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.
At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed.
At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.
At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed.
By the end of that morning, 2,977 innocent people had been killed in New York City, at the Pentagon, and aboard the four aircraft.
Among those lost were 343 members of the FDNY who answered the call that morning. While thousands were desperately trying to escape the World Trade Center, firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel and other first responders were moving in the opposite direction—toward the danger and toward people who needed them.
For those of us in the fire service, 343 is more than a number.
They were firefighters, officers, chiefs and paramedics. They were husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and coworkers. They reported for duty that morning expecting another ordinary shift. When the unimaginable happened, they did what firefighters have always done: they went to work.
And the sacrifice did not end on September 11. In the years since, hundreds more FDNY members have died from illnesses associated with their work at the World Trade Center site.
Today, the members of the New Concord Fire Department remember the 2,977 lives taken that day, the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back, the survivors, and the families who have carried their loss for the past 25 years.
We also remember the unity that followed—the neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers, and a nation coming together.
For those who remember September 11, tell the story.
For those who were not yet born, learn the story.
And for all of us, never forget.
9.11.2001 — 9.11.2026
25 Years. We Remember.
343 — Never Forgotten.