Members of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue will join with fire departments across the country  in paying tribute to the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. A simple remembrance will be held at all city fire stations Friday morning. 

At 6:55  a.m. firefighters will gather at the flagpole in front of each  city  fire station. At 6:59 a.m., the time of the South Tower collapse at the World Trade Center, fire dispatchers will sound three sets of bell tones over Las Vegas Fire & Rescue's communications channel in tribute to the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives that day.

The ringing of the bell is a longtime tradition of the fire service known as the “tolling of the bells.” Many years before radio communications existed in the fire service, communication was done via fire alarm boxes on street corners that were assigned a “box number” much like an address. Firefighters had to memorize the box numbers and their locations. When a person pulled a fire alarm, the signal would go to all the fire stations by wire and ring the bell in the stations. The bell would ring the number issued to that box and firefighters would respond. Fire dispatch would also have designated ringing of the bells to alert department members of certain events.

If a firefighter was killed in the line of duty, fire dispatch would ring the bell in sets of five, three times. This would let everyone on the department know that a firefighter had just lost his or her life in the line of duty.

In addition, to the ringing of the bells, a special United States flag that once flew over the World Trade Center will be hoisted to half-staff on the flagpole in front of Las Vegas Fire Station Five,  which is located at 1020 Hinson Street, just north of Charleston Boulevard. On display in front of the station is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. The city of New York has requested that the special flag be flown over the piece of steel at half-staff each September 11th. It has been done every year since the city received the flag in 2004.

The public is invited to join firefighters at any of the city fire stations during the tribute on Friday morning.

What:  Tolling of the Bells (Fallen Firefighter Tribute for 9/11)
When:  6:55 a.m.  Friday, Sept. 11, 2009
Where:  Any city of Las Vegas Fire Station
              Special Ceremony & WTC Flag at Fire Station Five
              (1020 Hinson Street)