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The sculpture incorporates remnants of
steel from ground zero and a piece of ladder 10, from the first
ladder company to arrive on scene that day, which was crushed and
buried by the collapse of the twin towers.
The sculpture is brought to the state
fair courtesy of Sal Banchitta, CEO of Akemi North America and a
retired NYC firefighter.
The history of the artist's tribute to
firefighters began in February 1998, when two Chicago firefighters
lost their life in the line of duty. Alaniz was struck by such
emotion that he wanted to incorporate his art with his firefighting
career to do something that would to memorialize these firefighters.
He decided to bronze cast two fire helmets with the names and fire
companies of the fallen members.
After Sept. 11, 2001, Alaniz began a
separate memorial work of art to pay tribute to the brave 343 New
York City firefighters who lost their life on that tragic day.
Sal Banchitta was an active New York
City firefighter on Sept. 11, 2001, and met Alaniz while on duty.
Engine Company 316, Banchitta's firehouse, welcomed Alaniz as a
"guest of honor" during his stay in New York, and Banchitta assisted
Alaniz in the storage and shipping of the memorial. Every piece of
the memorial is authentic, according to Banchitta and Alaniz.
Many individuals and companies worked
diligently to acquire materials and offered time and services of
storage, shipping and handling, according to Banchitta.
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"We are so grateful to Mr. Banchitta
for his generosity to ship the piece to us. The sculpture is such a
powerful display, and his offer to share this with us is an awesome
tribute to his fellow firefighters," says Juliann Heminghous, public
information officer for the state fire marshal.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal
organized the delivery of the sculpture to share with the fire
services of Illinois as well as the public and to bring recognition
to the Chicago firefighter and artist who created this powerful
structure.
While the final resting stop for the
sculpture is unknown, it is on loan to Illinois until the Illinois
Firefighting Medal of Honor and Memorial Awards ceremonies, which
will take place May 13, 2004.
For more
information, please contact the Illinois state fire marshal's public
information office, (217) 785-1021.
[News release from the
Office of the Illinois State Fire
Marshal]
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