Chief: How 9/11 Affected Richmond Heights Fire Department

Probably half of the people who work at the weren't on staff when the attacks of Sept. 11 happened, Chief Kerry Hogan said. But the events affected those who were.

"It made us more aware of the possibilities that could arise," Hogan said. That's true of other incidents since then, including the 2008 shooting death of firefighter Ryan Hummert in nearby Maplewood.

"Even with that, we all know that we have a job to do," Hogan said.

While some people consider the emergency officials who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks to be heroes, Hogan notes that several thousand people died that day. He thinks the real heroes include the survivors and family members of those who lost their lives.

Hogan and other members of the Fire and Iron Station 314 motorcycle club once visited St. Louis city to view the U.S. flag that hung at Ground Zero and to visit with a battalion chief who survived the attacks.

The attacks also underscored the need for communication. Hogan said a statewide tax issue approved about a year ago will provide new radio systems and other technology over the next several years, allowing first responders and other officials to talk with one another in the event of a disaster.

Richmond Heights fire officials tried to obtain a piece of steel from the Twin Towers, but couldn't because available artifacts had run out. Now, the department is tentatively planning to dedicate a memorial monument on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

The monument will be located outside of the city's public safety building. A firefighter developed the idea for the plaque, which reads: "In tribute to all of the innocent lives lost and the heroes of Sept. 11, 2001. We will never forget."

The monument also will feature the text of John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," the King James Version of the Bible passage states.