Sedona Fire District to mark 25 years since the 9/11 attacks with community breakfast

SEDONA, Ariz. -- The Sedona Fire District will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with its annual pancake breakfast and community ceremony at Station 6 on Friday, Sept. 11.

The event will begin at 8:45 a.m., the time the first hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center. Attendees are asked to arrive by 8:30 a.m., and parking will be available at the nearby Christ Lutheran Church at 25 Chapel Road.

Governing Board Chairwoman Helen McNeal said it is important for the community to remember what happened, including the Sedona and Verde Valley firefighters who traveled to New York City to help in the aftermath of the attacks.

McNeal said she knows at least one Sedona Fire District firefighter went to New York. SFD Governing Board member Scott Springett, who was a California-based firefighter at the time, also traveled to the city.

McNeal, who was in Washington, D.C., during the attacks, said she vividly remembers how quickly the airports were shut down and her fear for friends who worked near the Pentagon. American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, killing 125 people on the ground and 59 passengers and crew aboard the plane.

"I remember that day very clearly, and I remember the aftermath," McNeal said.

The Sedona and Verde Valley Honor Guard will take part in the commemoration, assuming there are no emergencies, McNeal said. SFD Fire Chief Ed Mezulis and Sedona Mayor Holli Ploog will give brief remarks about the attacks and those who died. Sedona Area Veterans and Community Outreach also plans a special segment.

Mezulis said the district considered adding extra elements for the 25th anniversary but decided to keep the event simple and community-focused.

"Organically, we've gotten such good feedback from the community that our solemn ceremony and simple community breakfast together has meant a lot to them," Mezulis said. "We have a lot of New York retirees here in town and we just decided to keep it with that, organic and community-focused and not over do it."

Mezulis said a bagpiper may attend, though that is still to be determined because players are in high demand on the anniversary.

McNeal said the gathering carries special meaning as communities and the nation feel more divided than in 2001.

"For me, this is a real need for the community to come together as we came together as a country in 2001," McNeal said. "It's important to come together, now."

The 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people across New York City, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.