PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of runners and walkers hit the streets in Old City Thursday morning in honor of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
About 300 people set up at the starting line for the FBI’s eighth annual 9/11 Run to Remember.
Before the run, Wayne Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office, read the names of 35 FBI members who died on 9/11 and years later from exposure to toxic air while responding to the attacks.
With the signal from a police siren, the first group of runners took off at 8:46 a.m., the minute the first plane hit the North Tower.
The run began on the lawn of the National Constitution Center, bringing participants across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge before finishing back at the starting line.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel thanked participants and said those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in 2001 will not be forgotten.
“Every time we hold an event like this, we keep the memory of all of those people who tragically lost their lives that day. We keep their memory alive,” he said.
Fire Commissioner Jeffery Thompson said firefighters everywhere answer the call on a daily basis, and it’s important for the Philadelphia Fire Department to honor those who gave their lives.
“With each call, we have no idea exactly what we are responding to until we get there,” he said. “I’m so proud of the men and women of the Philadelphia Fire Department who do that every day. They show up and they do their best regardless of the circumstances. That’s what happened [on] Sept. 11.”
“A quarter-century has passed,” added Jacobs. “Our responsibility is to make sure time never becomes distance, and the passing of years never separates us from the sacrifice, courage and lessons from Sept. 11.”
