This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Branford's Pre-Recorded 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Airs Friday Sept. 11, 2020

Due to the pandemic, Branford's 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony has been pre-recorded and will air throughout the day on local access BCTV and on Facebook pages for the Town of Branford and BCTV beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.

The ceremony was taped with COVID-19 safety protocols, according to a notice issued by the office of the First Selectman.

Branford has become known through the years as one of a handful of Connecticut towns which gathers annually for a significant 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony with music, prayers, assembly and speeches. The past ceremonies at Branford Fire Headquarters were gathered with significant support from former Branford Selectman Joe Higgins, who passed away in June, 2020. Higgins was a retired veteran of the New York Fire Department (NYFD). He was NYFD deputy director of dispatch operations in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001 and on the scene of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Among 343 NYFD first responders who died that day, Higgins lost 79 of his personal friends.

The Branford ceremony recognizes all of the lives lost, the bravery and sacrifice of the first responders who laid down their lives on the day of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; as well as those who have been sickened or have since succumbed due the dangerous health conditions created by collapse of the towers.

As it does every year, the ceremony also provides an opportunity for a grateful community to thank its firefighters, police and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs).