Campus - Southern Maine Community College
Campus - Southern Maine Community College
Campus - Southern Maine Community College
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<strong>Campus</strong> Connection<br />
SMCC’s <strong>Maine</strong> Fire Service<br />
Institute Dedicates 9/11<br />
Memorial at Midcoast<br />
<strong>Campus</strong><br />
Firefighters from around the state gathered at the<br />
new home of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Maine</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong>’s<br />
<strong>Maine</strong> Fire Service Institute (MFSI) on September 15<br />
for the dedication of the 9/11 Memorial.<br />
Guindon noted that the memorial had particular<br />
relevance in its new home at the college.“This 9/11<br />
Memorial is a symbolic monument to motivate and<br />
inspire learning for firefighters that come through the<br />
door of the <strong>Maine</strong> Fire Service Institute. While silent,<br />
the memorial remains an active tool for reflection on the<br />
actions and events of a tragic day, but more importantly,<br />
to also reinforce the lessons learned from a dreadful time<br />
that will help in the future,” Guindon said.<br />
The memorial, which now has a permanent home<br />
at the institute’s Midcoast <strong>Campus</strong> headquarters,<br />
features a section of girder from the World Trade<br />
Center that the New York City Fire Department had<br />
gifted to the Bath Fire Department. Two members<br />
of the Bath Fire Department were part of the initial<br />
FEMA response team that assisted operations at the<br />
World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001.<br />
A procession consisting of 20 fire departments from<br />
around the state, honor guards and public safety<br />
pipe and drum corps began the ceremony at 11 a.m.,<br />
leading to the MFSI’s new home at SMCC’s Midcoast<br />
<strong>Campus</strong> on the former Naval air base.<br />
Speakers included SMCC President Ron Cantor, Bath<br />
Fire Capt. Mike Clarke, Freeport Fire Chief Darrel<br />
Fournier (chair of the <strong>Maine</strong> Fire Protection Services<br />
Commission), Wells Fire Chief Dan Moore (vice<br />
president of the <strong>Maine</strong> Fire Chiefs’ Association) and<br />
MFSI Director William Guindon.<br />
“Memorials like this are so important for our<br />
communities. They ensure that new generations of<br />
Americans never forget, that we always remember the<br />
sacrifice and dedication of our first responders,” said<br />
Cantor. “We see that dedication so clearly at SMCC,<br />
in our Fire Science, Criminal Justice and Emergency<br />
Medical Services students, and the distinguished<br />
experts who teach them. We also see it in the working<br />
professionals who are trained through the <strong>Maine</strong> Fire<br />
Service Institute. We see it, we’re proud of them and<br />
of all of you, and we thank you.”<br />
7 September 2012 • <strong>Campus</strong> Connection • Your connection to the SMCC community