09/01/2026
On the morning of Friday, September 11, 2026, The Colony Fire Department will hold a remembrance ceremony honoring those who lost their lives and those who served 25 years ago during the events of September 11, 2001.
The ceremony will be held at Firehouse 4, 3400 Plano Parkway, near Nebraska Furniture Mart. The ceremony is open to the public and will begin at 7:30 a.m.
This solemn ceremony will include several moments that correspond with the events of September 11, 2001. The program will include dispatch tones marking the times the North and South Towers were struck, a tolling of the bells using an FDNY bell salvaged from an engine, and multiple Changing of the Guards.
The 5-5-5 bell signal will honor the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as the many other lives lost that day.
The Colony Fire Honor Guard and Police Honor Guard will stand watch beside a piece of World Trade Center steel throughout the ceremony.
Community members are welcome to attend for the entire ceremony or for any portion of the morning. You may bring a lawn chair, although a limited number of chairs will also be available.
Throughout the morning, visitors are welcome to walk through the memorial area, view and touch the World Trade Center steel, and learn more about its history and the memorial site. This memorial is always open to the citizens of The Colony and the general public.
Ceremony Schedule:
6:30 a.m. – Honor Guard members lower the flag at sunrise in remembrance.
7:30 a.m. – The remembrance ceremony begins. Six members of The Colony Pipes & Drums take their places in front of the flags.
7:32 a.m. – The band performs the “American Set,” including Shenandoah, America the Beautiful, and the Marine Corps Hymn. The performance will last approximately three minutes while three TCFD Honor Guard members post.
7:35 a.m. – The TCFD Honor Guard Commander and Pipes & Drums move to the staging area inside. Two Honor Guard members remain on watch.
7:36 a.m. – Firefighter and Chaplain John Crowe delivers the invocation.
7:41 a.m. – Chief Stephens gives opening remarks as United Flight 93 takes off. A Changing of the Guard will accompany this portion of the ceremony.
7:46 a.m. – Dispatch tones sound to mark the impact of American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
7:51 a.m. – Changing of the Guard, followed by remarks about the remainder of the ceremony.
8:01 a.m. – Changing of the Guard.
8:03 a.m. – Dispatch tones sound to mark the impact of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower.
8:05 a.m. – AO Steven Southard tolls the FDNY bell with the 5-5-5 signal in honor of the firefighters who lost their lives.
8:07 a.m. – The Colony Firefighters Pipes & Drums and Honor Guard Commander march to the memorial site.
8:09 a.m. – Firefighter Wardlaw performs Amazing Grace. The band joins after the first round, followed by a second performance as the musicians depart. The Honor Guard Commander then pulls the final watch.
8:12 a.m. – Chief Stephens delivers closing remarks, remembering those lost at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, as well as the countless first responders, military members, and civilians who have died in the years since as a result of the events of September 11.
We respectfully invite the community to join us as we pause to remember, honor, and reflect on the lives lost and the courage shown on September 11, 2001.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
