09/11/2026
Twenty-five years ago, the world changed forever.
September 11, 2001 began as an ordinary Tuesday morning. People went to work, boarded airplanes, dropped their children off, grabbed a cup of coffee, and said goodbye to the people they loved — never knowing that within hours, thousands of lives would be lost and countless others would be changed forever.
Today, Augusta Fire-Rescue pauses to remember them all.
We remember the 2,977 innocent people who lost their lives that day. We remember the passengers and crews aboard the four flights, those inside the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Capitol, which was also targeted, and every family who waited for a phone call or a loved one who would never come home.
We remember the firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, police officers, dispatchers, military personnel, medical professionals, and countless others who answered the call.
For those of us in the fire and EMS profession, September 11th carries a weight that is difficult to put into words. While thousands were desperately trying to escape, firefighters and other first responders were moving in the opposite direction. They carried hose, medical equipment, tools, and each other. They climbed stairwell after stairwell toward people they had never met, simply because someone needed them.
343 FDNY firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice that day.
Behind every helmet and every uniform was a person, a parent, spouse, child, sibling, friend, coworker, and member of a community. They were firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, officers, and rescuers who reported for duty expecting another shift and instead became part of a story our profession will carry forever. Their service did not end when the towers fell. Firefighters, EMS providers, police officers, construction workers, medical personnel, volunteers, and recovery crews continued working at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and the crash site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for days, weeks, and months. Many would later become sick from illnesses connected to their work there, and we continue to lose members of the 9/11 responder community today.Their sacrifice is part of the legacy we are entrusted to remember. But September 11th is not only a story about first responders.
It is a story about people
Office workers helped coworkers down dozens of flights of stairs. Strangers carried strangers. Passengers aboard Flight 93 acted with extraordinary courage. Medical professionals prepared to care for the injured. Dispatchers remained at their consoles. Volunteers traveled from across the country to help. Ordinary people performed extraordinary acts simply because another human being needed them. In one of our nation's darkest hours, we witnessed some of humanity's greatest courage. September 11th changed the fire and EMS profession. It changed how we train, how we prepare, how agencies work together, and how we understand the risks of answering the call. But one thing did not change.
When someone calls for help, we go.
That promise existed before September 11, 2001. It was demonstrated in an unimaginable way that morning, and it continues in firehouses, ambulances, dispatch centers, police departments, hospitals, and communities across this country every single day. Here at Augusta Fire-Rescue we honor those who came before us by continuing that commitment to service. We remember the courage of the responders who climbed those stairs, the civilians who helped one another, the families who endured unimaginable loss, and everyone whose life was forever changed. Twenty-five years later, may we also remember something September 11th taught us about ourselves. When everything else was stripped away, people showed up for one another.They helped strangers. They chose courage over fear. They put service before self. And in a moment of unimaginable tragedy, a nation stood together.
Today, we remember the lives that were taken.
We honor those who answered the call.
We remember those who never made it home.
We stand with the families who still carry their loss. And we honor the responders and survivors who continue to carry the effects of that day.
From all of us at Augusta Fire-Rescue, we remember.
May we never forget the lives. May we never forget the courage.May we never forget the sacrifice.May we never forget how we came together.
🇺🇸 September 11th, 2001, Never Forgotten. Always Remembered. 🇺🇸
