The Journey of the Beam

In a chemical reaction, a substance changes at a molecular or ionic level. The process transcends the physical, as one thing becomes something else.

In a way, that’s what happened with a singular piece of steel, pulled from the twisted wreckage of the World Trade Center walls and delivered home to Fort Collins on Oct. 24, 2015.

The 5-foot-long, 3,059-pound piece of metal was, at one time, just a rust-colored I-beam – one of the countless parts of the World Trade Center’s towering skeleton torn asunder by two planes. Donated to PFA by the Terry Ferrell Firefighters Fund in recognition of their service, it was transformed, becoming charged with the grief and love of the thousands of people who bore witness to its roughly 1,800-mile, four-day journey.

After emerging from a non-descript New York Port Authority warehouse, the beam’s journey began at NYFD’s Engine 311 Hook and Ladder 158 station in Queens. From there, PFA firefighters serving as guardians of the steel escorted the beam across the U.S. making stops along the way: State College, Pennsylvania, South Bend, Indiana, Lincoln, Nebraska; drawing communities together in warm reception. Finally, the Beam was escorted by motorcade into Fort Collins. A deeply reverent ceremony held at PFA Station 3, the site of the future 9/11 Memorial.

“It’s not about us (the PFA firefighters who brought the beam back to Fort Collins),” said Jim Durkin, a PFA fire inspector and one the beam’s guardians along the journey. “It’s about what this represents. The 343 firefighters who ran toward danger, perishing in their efforts to save people trapped in the towers. It’s about the emergency medical technicians and law enforcement officers who perished and the nearly 3,000 others who died that fateful day. It is that sacrifice, those people, the beam’s guardians want people to “Never Forget.” 

Thanks to hundreds of hours of work by PFA staff members, as well as the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund and State of New York’s Port Authority, which donated the momentous artifact to PFA, our community has a tangible and timeless connection to 9/11. 

The beam currently rests at the PFA Training Center where it is ever- draped in the American Flag. The 9/11 Memorial at Spring Park is an answer to the goal of giving the beam a home that is both accessible to the public, but reverent in its setting. The Memorial was collaboratively designed by a community committee including firefighters, passionate citizens, and the City of Fort Collins Parks Planning Department.