Firefighters honor 9/11 with memorial walk

Members of the Albany Volunteer Fire Department gathered at the Shackelford County Courthouse on the morning of Sept. 11 to honor the lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

At approximately 8:30 a.m., seven firefighters arrived with Rescue 1, Rescue 2, Rescue 3, Engine 2 and Engine 3. At 8:46 a.m.—the exact time the first plane struck the World Trade Center—firefighters were joined by about a half-dozen community members to begin a memorial walk around the courthouse square.

The walk honors the 343 firefighters who died on 9/11, many of whom climbed approximately 110 flights of stairs in a heroic effort to rescue others.

“This walk is to commemorate their act of sacrifice,” said Albany Fire Chief Joel Viertel.