Tributes scheduled to victims of 9-11 attacks

By Mary Manning

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | 7:13 a.m.

Las Vegas firefighters and Metro Police officers today are paying tribute to those who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon seven years ago.

Metro Police will remember the victims of the terrorist attacks at the Clark County amphitheater, 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., at 6:30 p.m. The service will conclude with a candle-light vigil about 7:30 p.m.

Clark County Fire Dept. Senior Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Ratigan, Henderson Fire Chief Douglas Stevens and Las Vegas Fire Chief Greg Gammon will speak at the ceremony. The Palo Verde Vocal Ensemble, "Vocal Infinity," will provide music for the event and several local grade schools have created posters which will hang in tribute to the 2,819 Americans who died that day.

Earlier today, Las Vegas Fire Chief Gammon was to lead a 6:55 a.m. ceremony at Las Vegas Fire Station No. 5.

A piece of steel from the World Trade Center is on display in front of Fire Station No. 5 at 1020 Hinson Street off West Charleston Boulevard. The city of New York requested that a special flag be flown over the piece of steel at half-mast each Sept. 11. It has been done in Las Vegas every year since the city received the flag in 2004.

For the past six years, fire dispatchers rang bells five times in sets of three, honoring the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives in the attacks on the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

All city fire departments joined in the tribute by dispatchers ringing three sets of bell tones over the fire department's communication channel.

The ringing of the bell is a tradition of the fire service known as the "tolling of the bells," said Tim Szymanski, spokesman for the Las Vegas Fire Dept. Years before modern radio communications existed, fire alarm boxes assigned a number would ring when a person pulled a fire alarm. Firefighters memorized all the box numbers and could respond to the appropriate area where the alarm sounded.