Months of planning for the celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the Norwood Park Fire Protection District will culminate this month with the unveiling of a towering granite monument that encases a piece of the World Trade Center wreckage from the 9/11 attacks.
Retired fire officials will gather with current firefighters, the mayors of Harwood Heights and Norridge and community members for the Aug. 27 unveiling at 7:30 p.m. at the firehouse at 7447 W. Lawrence Ave.
Two days earlier, new and retired firefighters will meet for a barbecue, where they’ll get a sneak preview of the statue on the fire department’s actual 75th anniversary, which is Aug. 25, according to Deputy Fire Chief Dan Johnson.
“It will be a time for some of the retired guys to meet the new firemen,” Johnson said. “We thought it would be nice for the old guys to see the new ones are doing well.”
A committee organized by the fire department started planning the anniversary festivities earlier this year, with the main attraction being the statue, which Johnson said encapsulates the memory of New York City firefighters and police officers who died during the 9/11 attacks. As the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, Norwood Park firefighters want to ensure future generations remember the 343 first responders who gave their lives in attempts to save others.
Firefighters raised the full $29,000 fundraising goal to pay for the monument, and Johnson said it took three full years to secure a piece of the World Trade metal from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the departments that oversee an artifact program that distributes pieces of the metal to worthy groups to memorialize the attack.
Receiving the twisted piece of steel in time for the 9/11 anniversary was made even more important to Norwood Park firefighters because it was one of the last five pieces remaining, Johnson said.
The statue depicts a baby being held by a firefighter, who is standing atop an inscription of the fireman’s prayer on one side and the World Trade Center steel encased in glass on the opposite end. The statue hasn’t been delivered to the firehouse yet, but Johnson and Fire Chief Kevin Stenson recently previewed it during a visit to the company hired to create it.
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“We thought it was breathtaking,” Johnson said.
Following the unveiling, the monument will become a permanent fixture in the front lawn of the firehouse.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.