Doug Stevens tolls the bell in honor of all those who died in the line of duty in the 9/11 terror attacks. Photo by Joey Benton, Salisbury Post.

By Mark Wineka

Salisbury Post

Dwayne and Michelle Davis, who serve as volunteer firefighters in East Spencer, joined many of their other fire-fighting brethren Monday morning at the 9/11 memorial ceremony in Salisbury.

"When firefighters die," Michelle Davis said, "we all lose a brother."

Five years ago on Sept. 11, Davis recalled, she sat in the living room with her children watching the whole day unfold.

"It was surreal," she said. The day remains vivid in the Davises' memories. Dwayne Davis had recently returned home from his third-shift job in industrial maintenance when the morning events came at America fast and hard.

Honored: Salisbury firefighters salute the flag during the memorial service. Rowan EMS and Salisbury firefighters have held ceremonies to honor those killed in the attacks since 2002. Photo by Joey Benton, Salisbury Post.

Using passenger jets as their weapons, terrorists flew into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

A fourth jet, which had detoured toward Washington, went down in rural Pennsylvania when its passengers prevented the terrorists from carrying out their mission.

"It's for everyone," not just firefighters, Dwayne Davis said of the Salisbury ceremony Monday. "Everyone had family in there (the twin towers in New York), and they're not coming home either."

Tribute: A wreath was placed at the memorial during the ceremony. Photo by Joey Benton, Salisbury Post.

Beginning in 2002, the Salisbury Fire Department and Rowan County EMS have conducted brief 9/11 ceremonies at the Firemens' Memorial, located at the edge of Chestnut Hill Cemetery.

At the direction of Salisbury City Council, the city revitalized the 1944 memorial prior to the first 9/11 ceremony in 2002. Now it's an attractive area of stone, brick paths, benches and landscaping with the obelisk memorial in the middle.

"It's so important that we not forget the events of that day," Mayor Susan Kluttz said at Monday's fifth gathering.

Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell says his department will always remember the many citizens who stopped by Salisbury fire stations Sept. 11, 2001, wanting to talk, comfort the firefighters and just say thank you. He thanked city officials for their support of his 81-person department both spiritually and emotionally.

New York City lost 343 firefighters that day, with the collapse of both World Trade Center towers. The city also lost 100 police officers among the almost 3,000 dead.

Monday's ceremony aimed at remembering the losses of five years ago and the local emergency services workers who have died through the years. It also honored today's fire, police and emergency services personnel who put their lives on the line daily.

The ceremony attracted a large crowd of firefighters. Most were from Salisbury, but several, including the Davises, came from volunteer departments in the county. Salisbury Police, city and state officials and private citizens also attended.

Moment of silence: The flag flew at half-staff at the Fireman's Memorial in Salisbury, site of the ceremony. Photo by Joey Benton, Salisbury Post.

The Salisbury Fire Department Honor Guard presented the colors. The flag at the memorial and flags in most of the state flew at half-staff Monday.

Doug Stevens, the Fire Department chaplain, rang a fire bell in three sets of five pulls at 9:59 a.m., the time that the first tower (the South Tower) collapsed in New York.

The combination of rings signals to firefighters that a comrade has been lost in the line of duty.

A moment of silence followed the bell-ringing, and Dan Peters read the Firefighter's Prayer before Bobby Hunter ended the ceremony by playing "Taps" on his bagpipes.

In the United States, 98 firefighters died in the line of duty in 2005.

The deaths last year resulted from a variety of causes, including motor vehicle accidents (while en route or returning from emergency calls), training incidents, building collapses, being struck by objects (vehicles, trees) while at a scene, falls, heart attacks, air tanker and helicopter crashes, electrocution, drowning, assault and burns.

New York had the greatest number of firefighter deaths in 2005 with 17; California, Pennsylvania and Texas each had eight firefighters die last year in the line of duty, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com.