The Kensington Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD) has launched a Buy-a-Brick campaign to allow citizens to express their support for the new KVFD 9/11 Memorial and to those who lost their lives responding to the 9/11 attack. Groundbreaking for the KVFD 9/11 Memorialย is scheduled for this Saturday, April 2nd at 2 PM, thanks to the donation of services by many construction businesses in the local community. All are welcome to attend. Also, the dedication is scheduled for June 25th. A 3,500 pound bell, engraved with the names of the NYC fallen will be present. The list of federal, state and local officials scheduled to attend is growing...
Located on the northern side of Station 5 at Connecticut and Plyers Mill Road, the Memorial will feature a 16-foot, burned and twisted steel beam from the point of impact at one of the World Trade Center towers. It will also include a section of the limestone faรงade damaged in the 9/11 Pentagon attack. The Memorial will commemorate the lives of all citizens, including police, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics who fell victim to the events of 9/11.
"It's twisted, burned, sheared and distorted," KVFD President Steven Semler said of the beam, estimated to be from between the 91st and 95th floors of one of the towers. "It fully reflects the horrific events of Sept. 11."
"A brick walkway will surround these pieces, creating a simple but dramatic monument to all those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack. Members of the community may purchase standard-sized bricks (4"x8") and personalize them with an engraved inscription," Semler said. The engraved bricks are available through a secure PayPal-based website:
https://kvfd.engravedbricks.com/
at $100 per brick, engraved and installed. (Despite the PayPall statement to the contrary, we have arranged for ALL bricks to be shipped direct to KVFD.)
Last April, KVFD was awarded the steel beam by the Port Authority of New York, who were housing the rubble collected from the towers, in recognition of their efforts on Sept. 11, 2001. KVFD was one of several Washington, D.C.-area fire companies that responded to the Pentagon that day. In recognition, the U.S. Department of Defense donated the piece of limestone to the fire company.
The KVFD Member Memorial Garden also is home to a test garden for a Portland, Ore.-based project "Remember Me" Rose Garden.. KVFD will be one of the very few places in the nation commemorating all three national tragedies of 9/11 โ the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
All Buy-a-Brick donations are tax-deductible and will be used to offset costs associated with the Memorial and make donations to the charitable groups devoted to assisting the families of 9/11 victims. Surplus funds may be used for new emergency service apparatus in volunteer service to the community. Brick donations may also be mailed to KVFD at P.O. Box 222, Kensington, MD 20895. Please ensure your checks are made out to "KVFD 9-11 Memorial".ย ย For an order form, please email kralston@kvfd.org.
Hope to see you at the Groundbreaking this Saturday!ย
