Fentress Fire Department Holds First 9/11 Commemorative Walk Saturday

Fentress Volunteer Fire Department has put together a memorial walk and speaker event to commemorate lives lost at the World Trade Center September 11, 2001.

Fentress Firefighter Tyler Arms said the fire department just wanted to assemble the community and remember that tragic day. Arms said there are young people of voting age too young to remember that day.

Arms said guest speaker and retired firefighter Lt. Joe Torillo was at ground zero and survived the tower collapse.

“Right at the World Trade Center, that was his old fire house,” Arms said. “He borrowed gear and went in and that’s when the collapse happened. And he was actually deemed lost or deceased for a few days because he was in borrowed gear that didn’t have his name on it.”

Arms said he and other firefighters got the idea for the Fentress event at the Chattanooga Memorial Stair Climb. He said the stair climb event has a walking event as well and they decided to adopt that memorial practice.

He said this year the event is free and they will learn what works, then make improvements. Next year, Arms said they will probably have an entry fee and provide a t-shirt for fundraising efforts.

“Anything we make off of it, we don’t want it to go here,” Arms said. “We want it to go to the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation.”

Arms said they are prepared with water stations at midway and the end of the course on the out-and-back walk. He said of course there will be many medically trained personnel on hand with representatives from various emergency services agencies.

“We’ve walked it and it’s not hilly, it’s pretty flat,” Arms said. “Should be able for pretty much anybody to walk at any distance. And even if they’re not I’d love for everyone to come out and listen to the speaker and just be involved.”