'Never forget'

SANDPOINT — Never forget.

Carrying American flags, dressed in full firefighting turnouts, six members of the all-volunteer Clark Fork Fire Department walked across the Long Bridge on Wednesday to pay tribute to the firefighters and other first responders lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"It's an honor to be able to wear the turnouts, wear the helmet and say that you're a firefighter, especially with the sacrifices that firefighters have made throughout history up until this point," CFFD Capt. Austin Theander said.

Theander and a friend started the tradition six years ago when they realized no ceremony had been planned to mark the anniversary of the 2001 attack. Thousands were killed Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center. A fourth plane crashed into an empty field near Shanksville, Pa., when passengers stormed the cockpit, preventing it from being flown into either the White House or the Capitol building.

"We both got into the fire service because of 9/11, and no one had anything scheduled at that point in time to commemorate it," Theander said, walking near Dog Beach after completing the two-mile walk across the Long Bridge. "So I said, 'Well, we're going to start doing something.'"

The pair headed to the Long Bridge, dressed in firefighting turnouts to honor the men and women who inspired them to join the fire service.

"Anyone that joins the fire service, usually it's because they want to protect life, serve life and commemorate all the firefighters that have come before," Theander said. 

Those firefighters paved the way for today's firefighters to do what they do, serving as both inspiration and mentors, said the half-dozen firefighters who took part in Wednesday's walk.

"Never forget," one of the firefighters said as he continued to walk along the footpath leading from the Long Bridge to Dog Beach. "Never. Forget."

As the firefighters walked across the bridge, they were cheered on by passing motorists, honking horns, waving hello, and giving the Clark Fork volunteers a thumbs up or pumping their fists in the air in solidarity.

A few years ago, a woman met them at the far end of the bridge, wanting to give all of them a hug. Her husband, Theander said, was a firefighter who worked the scene after the attack on the center's north and south towers. She wanted to thank them for remembering the firefighters who fought to save those in the towers and those who desperately searched for survivors.

"She was in tears," the Clark Fork Volunteer Fire Department captain said. "She hugged all of us. That was a very positive, emotional experience for her to actually see someone remember everyone fought (to save others) and may not be with us now."

Tanya Becker was a producer for a California television station and remembers the crew immediately switching into "reporter mode" when they saw the news break of the attacks. It wasn't until much later that they were able to process what had happened and said subsequent recognition of their hard work wasn't wanted.

Those honors, she said, belong to the first responders who responded to the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and to those on Flight 93, which crashed into the Pennsylvania field.

Several of the others who took part in the walk said it was important to remember the date, one of the worst tragedies in American history, and to honor the first responders who served then and continue to serve today. It is also important to remember the tragedy's impact.

"It brought together all Americans like no other event like it," Theander said. "It brought people closer. The American spirit was alive and rekindled after that event, and we strive to never let that happen again, to just remember the power of the American spirit."

    Clark Fork Volunteer Fire Department firefighters pose for a photo after walking across the Long Bridge and back to pay tribute to the firefighters who worked on 9/11 after terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. Pictured are Austin Theander, Myles O'Quinn, Devon Nesselroth, Austin Harp, Kelly Kearns and Tanya Becker.
  

    Clark Fork Volunteer Fire Department firefighters paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as well as to the first responders who responded to the scene in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.