FDNY Holds 9/11 Ceremony at Headquarters, Dedicates New 9/11 Memorial

FDNY Chaplain Monsignor John Delendick blesses the new memorial at FDNY Headquarters dedicated to the 343 FDNY members who lost their lives on 9/11.

The FDNY remembered the 343 members killed on Sept. 11, 2001, during a touching ceremony on Sept. 9, which included the dedication of a new memorial made of World Trade Center steel outside FDNY Headquarters.

"The lives of every member of the Department were changed that day," said Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano. "And we've been faced with an awesome challenge to rebuild."

The families of the four FDNY members who responded from Headquarters that day - including First Deputy Fire Commissioner William Feehan, Chief of Department Peter Ganci, Assistant Chief Gerald Barbara and Assistant Chief Donald Burns - as well as many other staff attended the ceremony.

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and Chief of Department Edward Kilduff lay a wreath at the Memorial Wall at FDNY Headquarters, with the names of all FDNY members killed in the line of duty -- including 9/11.

"We looked to those four men as our mentors, our leaders," said Chief of Department Edward Kilduff. "Everything we do is in their name, their honor."

After the ceremony, wreaths were laid at the memorial plaques in the building's lobby, then the crowd walked outside to watch the dedication of a new 9/11 memorial. Made of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, the memorial is a tribute to the 343 FDNY members killed on 9/11.