Cities unite in silence

Standing in silence, Newport Beach Fire Chief Steve Lewis remembered what it was like at Ground Zero in the weeks after the attacks, seeing people’s items and papers from their offices scattered on the ground and imagining firefighters like him making their way up the towers to save others.

“It really brings to light that it’s not just numbers — it’s people. It hit me for a second, it was a very, very surreal moment in history for me to be there. And to see that town, that place change like that, it was very moving,” he said. “I thought about the first responders, when they walked those stairs, they didn’t know it was going to collapse. They had a job to do. There’s never a thought, ‘You can’t do that.’ ”

On Thursday, the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Newport-Mesa city and public safety officials joined millions around the country in various moments of silence honoring those who died.

Both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa firefighters stepped out of their stations Thursday morning and joined in a moment of silence at their respective stations.

Firefighters throughout Orange County gathered in Santa Ana and honored the fallen firefighters in New York and their own who have died in the past year.

Motorcycle-riding firefighters from around the county also joined others in a huge congregation of bikes riding up the coast donning American flags on the backs.

For some, 9/11 serves as an annual reminder to tell the ones they love how much they mean to them. For others, it’s a time to pray for those who died and for the families of the survivors.

For many, and as the Sept. 11, 2001, date grows increasingly distant, it’s a time to reflect on not just the events of that day, but also how they’ve changed the world forever.

“It changed the course of history. It’s amazing the ramifications of this one event,” Lewis said.

Costa Mesa Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Broussard considered how 9/11 changed this country’s path.