By Barry Brooks
Special to The Islander
Myself and several others worked very hard to construct the 9/11 memorial at the West Manatee Fire Rescue station in Holmes Beach.
The memorial — and the recognition that it’s there — means a lot to retired and current firefighters in the area, including the 12 or 13 retired FDNY fellows in the Sarasota-Bradenton area.
Shortly after the 9/11 cleanup was completed, a limited number of small sections of steel beams from the tower were donated to fire agencies wishing to construct memorials in remembrance of the firefighters who gave their lives in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center.
In early 2003, WMFR received one of these pieces of steel.
The piece, part of the memorial, has a small cross cut out of it, which was a common identifier that an area had been cleared.
All other materials for the memorial also were donated.
A unique feature is that it holds the names of the brave souls who sacrificed everything at Ground Zero.
Prior to my retirement from WMFR, we had a booklet with the name, rank and company of all the firefighters memorialized.
There are many others who’ve died since from medical complications, including WMFR volunteer Vic Accurso, who went to Ground Zero for cleanup for two weeks.
Vic died in 2018.
Editor’s note: Barry L. Brooks Jr. was a battalion chief with the West Manatee Fire Rescue District. He is now a public safety director in Tazewell County, Virginia.
