By Craig Anderson

DOVER — For those old enough, there’s no forgetting 9/11.

And as the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States grew near, Warren Jones could attest to that.

The current executive manager of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, as well as a firefighter and vice president at Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Co., said, “In some respects, it feels like it just happened because of how it’s being talked about lately.

“You remember all the feelings, the emotions. It was a startling moment, and you feel anger, most definitely, that it happened to us on our soil. Then, there’s the realization that it changed our lives.”

Like so many others, Mr. Jones remembers exactly where he was when learning that the twin towers had been struck in 2001. He had left the DVFA annual conference in Dover and headed north, with plans to attend a dedication ceremony for a 911 call center in New Castle.

“I didn’t realize the extent of it,” he said. “I arrived at the center and saw that police cars had blocked off the entire area.”

From there, Mr. Jones headed to the Elsmere Fire Co., where he was a member.

“That’s when it all became clear how serious it was,” he said.

Scott Bundek was part of the caravan of area first responders that traveled to New York City to assist in emergency efforts on 9/11. The current Little Creek fire chief and chief of emergency medical services for St. Frances Healthcare drives by the city toward Maine up to six times annually.

“The towers not being there still to today strikes me as strange,” he said.

A few hours before departing for NYC that fateful day, Chief Bundek sat with other firefighters watching events unfold on a projector screen. They also were attending the DVFA meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Dover, eating lunch after the towers had collapsed.

“Seeing the aftermath and knowing firefighters were trapped or had perished with so many other people, it was very difficult for me to get a good grasp of my emotions.”

Jeff Eisenbrey, DVFA president at the time, witnessed the early events while he was at work. He described his initial experience as “being in shock.”

“When the first plane hit, I saw it at work and didn’t know what was happening. When the second one hit, I pretty much knew what was happening,” he recalls.

“Everyone was not wanting to believe it was happening, especially on our soil.”

Two decades later, Mr. Eisenbrey said, “It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. Unfortunately, some people are forgetting what happened that day and why. People should remember that a lot of heroes died that day.”

Responding quickly to a call for assistance, Cheswold Volunteer Fire Co. members jumped into an ambulance and headed north, as well.

“I got a message asking for help and, still to this day, I don’t know where it came from,” said Cheswold Chief Tucker Dempsey. “Our people began responding in a matter of seconds.”

The crew made it to New Castle before being called back to the Delaware State Fire School in Dover, where officials were organizing a line of ambulances to travel together to the New York City area.

Additionally, Chief Dempsey said, “We had other groups ready to go up because they weren’t sure it would be enough.”