x
Breaking News
More () »

First Responders' Bell commemorates bravery, sacrifice on 9/11

The nation's eyes have been in New York at Ground Zero on Monday , where survivors, first responders and relatives of those lost gather to commemorate the 16th anniversary of 9/11. However, there's a way to pay tribute to those 9/11 first responders right here in our area.

TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The nation's eyes have been in New York at Ground Zero on Monday , where survivors, first responders and relatives of those lost gather to commemorate the sixteenth anniversary of 9/11.

However, there's a way to pay tribute to those 9/11 first responders right here in our area.

In Toledo Memorial Park, there is a bell. But not just any bell.

"It's a first responders' new memorial that they are putting in the park and casting it right here with the finishing touches," said Tim Verdin of Verdin Bell Foundry.

Those finishing touches included loading the ingots of bronze into the world's only mobile foundry on Saturday.

"We heated the metal to 2100 degrees and actually cast the bell," Verdin said.

Then on Sunday, it was time for the husk of the mold to be chipped away for the big reveal.

One after another, first responders took turns taking swings at the clay molding around the bell until their memorial came into view.

The bell is 24 inches in diameter and weighs 250 pounds, and was mounted on a framework in time for September 11.

The First Responders Memorial Bell was rung at 9 a.m. on Monday, to honor those first responders who ran into danger to help anyone they could on that fateful day 16 years ago.

The bell will be heard every year on that day for years to come, so the sacrifice of these brave men and women will never be forgotten.

Before You Leave, Check This Out