PHOENIX — It's been nearly 20 years since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. First responders say that moment in history deserves to be honored more than once a year, which is why a ceremony was held at the Hall of Flame Museum in Phoenix on Sunday.
The ceremony included stories from firefighters who were there that day and a walk around the museum in honor of those who lost their lives. For the past few months, a replica of the World Trade Center Plaza created by a teenager in the Netherlands has sat in the museum. The non-profit Honor 365 is taking it on a tour around the country, and it is now headed to New Mexico.
Sunday's ceremony in part, granted the replica's departure. But there is still a piece of real history that you see at the museum in Phoenix any day of the year.
Fire Rescue 4 was salvaged from the scrap yard and is now sitting on display at the museum. Mark Anello, a volunteer at the museum, says he made it his mission to restore it.
“We worked on it for two years and here it is right now," Anello said. "Two of the other trucks were totally destroyed. Two of them were pretty severely damaged. This one survived the best because it was parked a little further away. If you were on one of these rescue trucks that day, any one of the five, you died."
Anello says the truck's tragic back story is important to remember year-round.
“It’s very important because we want to keep the legacy alive, we don’t want people to forget what happened on that terrible day,” he said.
If you would like to see it, the Hall of Flame Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
