- Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department
InfoboxFireDepartment
name = Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department
motto =
established =
annual calls = 69 (2006) 78 (2007)
staffing = 38
strength =
stations = 1
engines = 1
trucks = 1
squads =
rescues = 1
bulldozers =
airplanes =
helicopters =
fireboats =
EMSunits =
FirstResponderBLSorALS =
chief = Terry Shaffer
commissioner =
district supervisor =
website = [http://www.shanksvillefirecompany.org Shanksville Vol. Fire Dept.]The Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department is a
volunteer fire department in ruralPennsylvania . It is best known for its response to the crash ofUnited Airlines Flight 93 during theSeptember 11 attacks .Call Area
The Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department provides fire,
emergency medical services (EMS), and various types of rescue, including SCUBA, to the borough of Shanksville, the borough of Indian Lake, and Stonycreek Township. All are located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The fire district is approximately convert|65|mi2 with an approximate population of 3,000. It also provides emergency services for convert|15|mi of thePennsylvania Turnpike .History
The fire company was formed in February 1951. In September 1951 the company purchased a vacant building to meet and store equipment. The company built a new truck garage and meeting place in 1989.
eptember 11 attacks
On September 11, 2001, the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department responded to the
United Airlines Flight 93 crash scene to search for survivors. [cite web |title=Pennsylvania Disaster Workers Respond to Flight 93 Tragedy |last=Long |first=Cindy |url=http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/0109wtc/010913penn.html |date=September 13, 2001 |publisher=Red Cross |accessdate=2008-09-07] They found a smoking crater convert|8|ft to convert|10|ft deep, and convert|30|ft to convert|50|ft wide surrounded by burning wreckage of the aircraft. [cite web |title='None of us will ever forget' |url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/attack/38647_main12.shtml |date=2001-09-12 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |accessdate=2008-08-24] None of the 44 people on board survived. [cite news |last=Sara |first=Rimer |title=A Nation Challenged: The Pennsylvania Crash; 44 Victims Are Remembered, and Lauded |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE5D6143BF93BA2575AC0A9679C8B63 |date=2001-09-18 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2008-08-24] Flight 93 was one of four airliners hijacked that day as part of theal-Qaeda terror attack on theUnited States . It is widely held that the Flight 93 hijackers intended to use the aircraft to attack theUnited States Capitol building inWashington, D.C. An assistant chief was one of the first on the scene, within seven or eight minutes. Firefighters from seven other local companies also came to the crash site. [cite news |title=Gathering in Song and Honor
url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s_ANAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gnADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3626,9078859&dq=shanksville+volunteer+fire+company+rick+king+
date=2001-11-20 |work= Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |accessdate=2008-09-10]hanksville Firehouse memorial
New York City fire fighters donated a memorial made from a steel cross from the
World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped likethe Pentagon . [cite news |last=Ganassi |first=Michelle |title=NY firefighter donating steel to Shanksville |url=http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/08/22/news/news/news808.txt |date=2008-08-25
work=Daily American |accessdate=2008-08-22] Hundreds of firefighters riding motorcycles escorted the beams fromNew York City to Shanksville. It was installed outside the firehouse on August 25, 2008. [cite news |last=Gaskell |first=Stephanie
title=Pa. site of 9/11 crash gets WTC beam |date=2008-08-25 |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/08/24/2008-08-24_pa_site_of_911_crash_gets_wtc_beam.html |accessdate=2008-08-25]See also
*
United Airlines Flight 93 References
External links
* [http://www.shanksvillefirecompany.org/ Shanksville's Volunteer Fire-Rescue Department]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.