May 30, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 7 Upper Saddle River World Trade Center I-beam to be part of monument Chief Shawn Sweeney, Assistant Chief Larry Rauch, Company President Erik Vierheilig, firefighter Justin Moore, firefighter Erin McGuire, firefighter James Redmond, Lt. John Schianchi, firefighter Chris Younes and Ex-Chief Terry Ferber. Last week, representatives from the Upper Saddle River Fire Department, accompanied by Lieutenant David Lally of the Upper Saddle River Police Department, traveled to New York City’s JFK Airport to receive a steel I-beam that was part of the World Trade Center. The beam, which is 7.5 feet long, 30 inches wide, 15 inches thick, weighs in at 1,400 pounds. It will ultimately be part of a fire monument outside the firehouse at 375 West Saddle River Road. The steel beam was loaded onto a trailer, covered with an American flag, and transported back to the Upper Saddle River Fire Department in a convoy of vehicles. Plans are in place to completely renovate the existing fire department monument, which honors deceased members. Once renovated, the monument will also honor those who perished on Sept. 11, 2001. USRFD firefighter Chris Younes, who owns Uniscape Landscaping, is donating his time and energy toward the project, and donations for this cause are welcome. “It’s quite an honor to have this piece of steel to incorporate into our fire department’s monument” said Erik Vierheilig, president of the Upper Saddle River Fire Department. “This will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the firefighters during and after the attack on the World Trade Center.” The department was one of thousands of entities to request a piece of the World Trade Center since the Port Authority began taking requests in 2009. “We are very fortunate that the piece of steel we got is large enough to be featured prominently in the new monument,” Vierheilig added. USR Fire Chief Shawn Sweeney said, “We are very honored to bring this steel to rest at our department’s monument in Upper Saddle River. It is of great significance in a town such as ours who lost residents on 9/11 and is also a testament to some of my firefighters who worked on the pile in the days after the towers fell.” Chief Sweeney also said that this notable event which he called “solemn, touching, and memorable” also marks the end of his 21-year fire service career. Sweeney will be relocating out of state. (continued on page 21)