September 11th, 3:43 am

A message from the SVFC president written a few years ago for the members of the SVFC, but worth sharing (again) here:

Today is the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. As we all watch the various ceremonies on television, see the flags flying at half-mast, and listen to the various speeches, I want to take a minute to remind everyone that September 11th happened to the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, too.

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, the SVFC started our day as we do every Tuesday. The Volunteers made the hand off to the day staff and everyone went off to their regular day job. By 9:30 AM, things were different. The news reports were streaming images of a nation under attack with a sense of confusion and uncertainty. Nobody knew what was going to happen next. But we did know that the SVFC was prepared, willing, and able to respond.

By 9:30 AM, SVFC Volunteers were leaving their regular day jobs and reporting for an uncertain duty at Stations 11 and 18. Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Jack Brown was at Fire Station 18. He was fielding telephone calls from the Loudoun County EOC, Fairfax County EOC, and the Arlington County EOC. Loudoun County was requested to move a Task Force forward toward the Pentagon and the SVFC was the most logical starting point. AC Brown assembled a team of Volunteers and LCFR employees staffed on two engines and Quint 11 (now Truck 2 for the Great Cacapon Volunteer Fire Company) and headed eastward. As the morning progressed, this Task Force was moved ever forwarded until it reached the site of the attack at the Pentagon trimmed down to just Quint 11 and all of the staff. This mixed crew of 10 firefighters remained at the Pentagon and was rotated out on 12-hour shifts for a total of 3 shifts and 30 firefighters.

The SVFC response was not limited to just the firefighters at the Pentagon. Several crews were assembled to staff various units to include cross staffing Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad's Rescue 615 and relocating it to Arlington and moving other units to include the HazMat trailer to stations in Fairfax and Arlington.

The response was not just limited to the operational firefighters. Many SVFC associate members reported to our stations to staff the constantly ringing telephones, help prepare meals, and provide other much needed administrative support.

By the end of the day, Station 18 had become the Eastern rally point for staff and resources for Loudoun County. At the peak, there were over 200 Volunteers from various stations standing by at Station 18.

In the days to follow, two SVFC members (Andrew Holt and Berl Jones) had the opportunity to travel to New York City and assist with support activities at one of the affected fire houses. The loss of the 343 firefighters in New York was felt by us all and was witnessed firsthand by these two members.

One of the things that I took away from those days in September was that while being a Volunteer in the SVFC starts with mundane tasks such as showing up to duty and resetting fire alarms, we have the capability to do so much more and to make a real difference - even on a national scale. Along with this comes an enormous responsibility, not only to the citizens of Loudoun County but to a nation that depends on its first responders and to the brotherhood we share with all firefighters.

Below is the roll call list of all SVFC members that were part of the September 11th response. While some of the names have come and gone, there are many that remain. I recommend that you reach out to these folks to learn more about the details and varied missions of that day.

Purvis (Agnolet), Deborah
Banman, Jeffrey
Banner, Frank
Benham, Brett
Bischoff, Johnny
Brown, Jeff
Bucy, Mike
Cahill, Dan
Carter, Dave
Clements, Randy
Davis, Geoff
Featherstone, Mark
Fierstien, David
Firmin, Keith
Gillespie, Randall
Gingras, Steve
Grant, Charles
Graves, Eric
Haddad, Julian
Jones, Berl
Ketcham, Dan
Kiser, Jim
Knoel, Roger
Lam, Gary
Lindstrom, Jeffrey
Loraine, Charles
Loraine, Karen
Lusk, Tom
Maffett, Fletcher
Makowski, Kevin
Mason, Kip
Might, Eric
Miller, Seaver
Munsey, Melissa
Nehls, Ren
O'Brien, Mike
Opett, Rick
Pye, Robert
Radcliffe, Scott
Robertson, Troy
Roman, Bill
Schwiesthal (Bischoff), Danielle
Short, David
Short, George
Starling, Jonathan
Taylor, Beverly
Todd, Patrick
Trevarrow, Jim
Tucker, David
Valetti, Jon-Erik
Weber, Bob
Wilder, West ... See MoreSee Less