Kiwi firefighters remember 9/11

Published: 7:05PM Friday September 11, 2009 Source: ONE News

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  Source: Reuters

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Firefighters across New Zealand have paid tribute to their fallen New York colleagues on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

A dole of doves was released at the Christchurch ceremony.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker says he won't forget the price of freedom.

"We honour those who gave their lives in the service of others," says Parker.

Scarred steel girders salvaged from the Twin Towers were a silent witness at the ceremony.

A lone protester added a lone note of dissent to the occassion and had to be escorted away by police.

In Auckland, heads hung low as firefighters prayed, then 60 embarked on a symbolic climb up the stairs of high-rise office building.

"It's a small bit of pain to remember the others. It's worth it," says Natasha Thompson from the Silverdale volunteer fire brigade.

Eight years ago, courageous New York firefighters climbed up the stairs of the Twin Towers to their deaths. On Friday, each step up the stairs by their Auckland counterparts marked that courage.