Members of the public are invited to join first responders and civic leaders Friday morning at local ceremonies commemorating victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Vancouver, Hockinson and Camas have announced Patriot Day observances to salute the 3,000 people who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
In Hockinson, members of Clark County Fire District 3 also will mark 9/11 with their annual daylong flag display in front of the Hockinson fire station. Starting at 2 p.m. Thursday, 300 flags — each representing 10 lives lost — will be placed in the lawn in front of the fire station along Northeast 159th Street. Four larger flags will represent the four sites that were attacked.
This observance will mark 14 years since 343 New York City firefighters died in the collapse of the Twin Towers, but there’s been no discussion among District 3 personnel of retiring the ritual, Assistant Chief Scott Sorsensen said.
Hockinson: 7 a.m. at Clark County Fire District 3 station, 17718 N.E. 159th St.
Camas: 8 a.m. in front of Camas City Hall, 616 N.E. Fourth Ave.
Vancouver: 9 a.m. in front of Vancouver City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.
“We’ve done it every year, and we will continue to do so,” Sorsensen said.
“I was there nine days before” the terrorist attacks, Sorensen continued. While attending an executive training course at the National Fire Academy in Maryland, Sorensen was part of a group that spent the weekend with New York City firefighters in Queens.
He doesn’t think any of those firefighters died on 9/11. However, “I went back to the same program in 2002, and a group from our class went to a firehouse in Brooklyn. They sent six people on one engine and lost five of them,” Sorensen said. “It was sobering, the things you hear: their firsthand experiences, and how it impacted their lives.”
Friday’s 9/11 observances:
• Vancouver: The city of Vancouver will host its event at 9 a.m. in front of City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St.
The ceremony will include the combined Vancouver police and Vancouver fire honor guard; musical performances; the ceremonial ringing of a fire department bell; and a rifle salute by Vancouver Veterans of Foreign Wars.
There will be remarks by state Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver; Mayor Pro Tem Larry J. Smith; Fire Chief Joe Molina; and Assistant Police Chief Chris Sutter.
Vancouver’s observance is sponsored by the Community Military Appreciation Committee and Waste Connections.
• Hockinson: Clark County Fire District 3 will host its annual ceremony at 7 a.m. at the Hockinson fire station, 17718 N.E. 159th St.
The ceremony will include a procession of uniformed personnel; a flag raising; the ceremonial ringing of a bell; a chaplain’s comments; and one minute of silence.
• Camas: The Camas-Washougal Fire Department’s ceremony will be at 8 a.m. in front of Camas City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St. The observance will include a flag-raising, the ceremonial ringing of a fire bell and a moment of silence.
