Ground Zero Steel to be Used in Mercer County Memorial

Firefighters from Lawrence Township joined emergency personnel from around the county on Monday, March 28, as Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes and county freeholders unveiled a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.

The 10-foot, 2,108-pound section of I-beam – which was recovered from Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 – has been donated to Mercer County by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The piece of steel was displayed during a noon ceremony on Monday at the county’s Capt. John T. Dempster Sr. Fire Service Training Center on Lawrence Station Road in Lawrence Township.

The steel will remain at the fire academy until the county locates a site for a permanent 9/11 memorial.

“Today is not a celebration, but recognition that Mercer County has just received a piece of history in the form of a section of a steel beam that was recovered from the World Trade Center,” Hughes said. “We took the steps that were necessary to obtain this piece of history so that the generations after us will have a tangible, visceral part of Ground Zero to observe. Within this object lie the emotions of a nation, of the state of New Jersey, and of the residents of Mercer County.”

Hughes noted that Mercer County was home to 27 victims killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and many first responders from Mercer County worked at Ground Zero in the weeks following the attacks.

In June 2010, Hughes said, Mercer County became aware of the opportunity to obtain a section of recovered steel. A formal request was made by Hughes to the Port Authority in November 2010, and the request was reviewed and approved by the Port Authority in December 2010.

Once the permanent memorial is completed, Hughes said the county will hold a “solemn ceremony” to commemorate the new memorial and to remember the victims of the attacks, including the firefighters and police officers who gave their lives that day to save others.

“The victims, the firefighters and the first responders are heroes, and this piece of steel represents their sacrifice. We hope that the new memorial site will be a fitting place in which to honor and remember them,” Hughes said.

In addition to Lawrence Township firefighters, firefighters from West Windsor and Hopewell attended the ceremony on Monday, along with acting Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler and  personnel from the county’s emergency communications center and Bristol-Myers Squibb Emergency Services.