September 11 was a busy day around the Crozet fire house. While our new honor guard was busy getting ready for the memorial ceremony at the County Office Building, the rest of us were working with the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad handling a three-car accident with multiple injuries on Rt. 64. The rescue squad, with help from fire fighters from both Crozet and the Dooms Fire Department, had to extricate two of the injured using a variety of power tools. Our community is extremely fortunate to have the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, which provides their heavy rescue vehicle with all of the specialized equipment it carries to handle accidents like the one we encountered that day.

Arriving back at the fire house from the first accident, we no sooner got our boots off when we received a call for another accident on Rt. 250 West. Thankfully this accident had no injuries and didn’t take too long to clear up and head back to the barn. Upon arriving back at the fire house we found someone had left us several boxes of cookies to enjoy. Next to the cookies was a note from the Johnson family: Craig, Pat, Meredith, and Cameron. The cookies were a gift in memory of their cousin Vinny Morello, a member of 35 Truck FDNY, who died in the South Tower on 9/11.

That brings me back to our honor guard. I’m very proud to be a member of the honor guard and I’m proud our department thought enough to allocate the money to purchase class A uniforms for the honor guard members. I believe the entire department felt the establishment of an honor guard was a fitting way to honor not only our own members, but to allow us to take part in ceremonies like the 9/11 remembrance and do it a manner suitable to represent the department and the community of Crozet. It’s important for the community to recognize that many of the members of the fire department have given not just years, but decades of service to Crozet. These members and their families have provided countless hours of service to protecting the lives and property of the community of Crozet and asked nothing in return. It is therefore appropriate that when we lose a member, those of us left to carry on render the respect due and the honor guard was selected to reflect our gratitude for their service. Additionally, the honor guard will be available to represent the fire department and the community of Crozet when there is a line-of-duty death in a department within a reasonable traveling distance.

In many ways, the fire service is a big family of fire fighters who face the same dangers and sometimes pay the ultimate price. As part of that family we, as a department, felt it was important to show our support to the family and the department who suffered the loss. I’m sure all of us remember watching the funerals of the emergency service workers who were killed on 9/11. At each one there was representation from fire departments from all over the country. The presence of such a large contingent of fire departments at the funerals was one way for the entire fire service, not just here in the U.S., but all over the world, to mourn the loss of so many fire fighters. So to the Johnson family, I say “Thank You” for the cookies. We want you to know that as long as fire fighters are needed to answer calls, fire fighters like your cousin will not be forgotten. Personally, I believe that on 9/11 heaven received 343 new saints who now watch over the rest of us. Our honor guard is our way of saying the best we can do is the least we can do to honor their service.