9/11 to be observed by Chico Fire Department
All Chico fire stations will be holding a Sept. 11 observance beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
At the event, all on-duty Chico Fire Department members will assemble in front of their fire stations. Once assembled, all station members will remain silent. The fire station flags will be fully raised and then lowered to the half-staff position followed by at 7:05 a.m. (when the south tower fell Eastern Time), dispatch will read a brief statement over the radio followed by a minute of silence.
At the conclusion of the moment of silence, one member at Stations 1 and 2 will ring the station bell in customary fire service manner for line-of-duty deaths in memory of the firefighters that died.
Chico Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Chris Zinko said although the observance is yearly, the day always brings a mix of emotions.
“It’s one of those things that I’m proud that our members continue to observe and make sure that day in history is remembered,” Zinko said. “It brings back a lot of emotions from anger to sadness to frustration to happiness over how we came together as a nation.”
Zinko said he hopes the emotions of how the nation came together following the attacks, encourages people to treat one another with compassion.
“One of the things that highlights this event is you remember after that experience how everybody as a nation came together as one. It didn’t matter if we were from different backgrounds, religions, or whatever — we had a common threat, a common enemy, against something that we hold dear, which is freedom,” Zinko said. “That part of the remembrance is about remembering how we felt as a nation on that day and that’s what we should always strive for as far as being together as one nation. This serves as a good day to remember, ‘hey, we can be as one.’ We don’t have to fight each other.”
With 20 years nearly passed from Sept. 11, 2001, Zinko said many things have changed, including an entirely new generation being born post-event. Through observing Sept. 11, Zinko added it also serves a way of looking back on history.
“We’ve made a solemn commitment for that commemoration to never forget. You have to realize this is 20 years later and there’s a whole new generation that didn’t experience the event so they don’t have that emotional tie to it,” Zinko said. “It’s our duty to make sure we don’t forget and to make sure they understand the history behind it because we have a whole new generation coming up.”
Following the morning observance, a Sept. 11 tribute will be held at 10 a.m. at Chico Fire Station 5 located at 1777 Manzanita Ave. The Honor Guard will be posting flags followed by a traditional bell ringing ceremony lead by Captain Daniel Hart.
The public is invited to attend with all attendees required to wear face masks.
The event, which is also being livestreamed, can be found at https://www.facebook.com/chicofiredepartment.
Festival
Palermo will also be hosting its community festival Saturday in remembrance of first responders. The day begins with a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. followed by a parade starting at 10 a.m. beginning on the corner of Palermo Road and Railroad Avenue. The parade route will finish at Palermo Park where vendors and food will be available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A car show will also take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
More information on the Palermo Community Festival can be found by calling 588-5576.