Crime & Safety

Timeline to 9/11: Final Pieces of Firefighter Memorial Arrive in Cranberry

Firefighters hope a new memorial will help people remember those first responders who gave their lives nearly 11 years ago. A formal dedication will take place Tuesday, Sept. 11 at the Park Fire Station.

After three years in the making, the final pieces of granite for the monument the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company is erecting in

“It’s all coming together now,” said Jeff Berneburg, chairman of the company’s 9/11 committee,

On Wednesday, a large memorial stone that depicts a timeline of the day’s events, including illustrations of the Twin Towers and ill-fated Flight 93, was delivered to the Park Fire Station on Route 19.

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Berneburg said he personally chose the lifelike designs that were laser cut into the granite to help people remember the lives lost that day, as well as to educate those who weren’t born or were too young to remember the attacks.

“I wanted to be able to show the Twin Towers as they were before everything happened,” he said.

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Located in front of the Park Station, the 9/11 memorial will be structured around that fell from one of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11 2001.

Two slabs of granite shaped like the Twin Towers will hold up the damaged I-beam. A likeness of the New York City block where the buildings were located also has been etched into the concrete surrounding the beam.

Once a seal coat is added to protect the rust on it from staining the granite, the beam will be bolted across the Twin Tower stones, Berneburg said.

And this is no untouchable museum piece.

Berneburg said the artifact was purposely laid at a height and in a way that encourages visitors to come up and lay their hands on it.

“The biggest thing is people will want to touch it,” he said.

Thanks to a at the that kicked off , firefighters were able to raise the final amount needed for the memorial project, which cost about $50,000.

A dedication for the memorial will take place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept 11 at the Park Fire Station. Berneburg said the public is welcome to attend it.

“We’re inviting everybody and anybody who is willing to participate in the formal unveiling of the final product,” he said.

What does the memorial mean to you? Did you take photos of the granite being delivered? Feel free to upload them to our photo gallery by clicking the "Upload Photos and Video" button on this article.


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