Kitchener Fallen Firefighters Monument and 9/11 Memorial
This afternoon we visited the Kitchener Fallen Firefighters Memorial Monument. The top left photo is the main monument, and the top right photo shows some of the bronze helmets that have been placed around the area to remember the individual firefighters who have died in the line of duty. Each helmet has a bronze plaque on the front that bears the firefighter's name, rank, station number, and date of death.
In the same area but separated slightly from the main memorial is a specific 9/11 Memorial, which can be seen in the bottom two photos. In the days following the attacks in 2001, Kitchener Fire sent equipment and people to help in New York, as well as fundraised in support of the widows and children of the FDNY. Afterwards the people of NYC donated a steel beam from the World Trade Center-- seen in the bottom right photo-- to the city of Kitchener. It became the centerpiece of this memorial, and a bronze helmet like those used to memorialize the local firefighters was installed alongside the beam. I don't know if you can see it in the collaged photo, but that one reads "New York City Fire" and where the local ones have the station number and individual name, this one says "343 of FDNY's Bravest." Because of the date today, someone had lit a candle alongside the FDNY helmet and left a bouquet of red, white, and blue flowers.
