LOUISVILLE, Kyt. — 21 years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Louisville Fire Department is honoring the first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 

On Sunday morning, the flag outside the Louisville Fire Department Headquarters was lowered to half-mast, and a radio message broadcasted to each firefighter in the city. 

“Attention all companies, attention all companies, today we lower our flags to half staff, and pause for a moment of silence to honor the memory of all of the fallen firefighters and first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice responding to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001,” the message said. “Your legacy and your standard you established is our greatest inheritance. We will never forget.”

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville firefighter recruits were all in attendance. 

Like many, firefighter recruit Stephanie Hood remembers exactly where she was on that day.

“I was 9 years old. I knew that everything was about to change. We were on bases overseas and they kind of got locked down. In my adult years, I learned what that meant to communities everywhere, especially stateside and now within the Louisville department,” Hood said.

In this moment of reflection, Hood took that time to think about what it means to do something that’s greater than herself. 

“I think about those lives that were lost that day and just the families that were impacted, the nation and the way it was impacted, and that we can continue to grow and move to only be stronger,” Hood said. 

More than two decades later, the actions of those brave first responders are at the front of everyone’s minds here. 

“Those firefighters did not hesitate to go into those burning towers. So they gave their lives to save others, and it’s important to remember them and also to give thanks for all of our public servants,” Mayor Fischer said. 

343 firefighters were killed responding to the World Trade Center. In total, nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks.