World Trade Center girder arrives in Bakersfield

By The Bakersfield Californian
Apr 6, 2016
Apr 6, 2016 Updated Sep 12, 2016

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Steel from the World Trade Center rests on a flatbed truck after being brought to Bakersfield as part of a memorial to 9/11.

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian

People take photos of a piece of steel from the World Trade Center at Bakersfield Fire Department Station 1.

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian

Bakersfield fighters salute as a piece of steel from the World Trade Center is driven at the underpass at Chester Avenue north of California Avenue en route to Bakersfield Fire Department Station 1. The steel is brought to Bakersfield as part of a memorial to 9/11.

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian

Retired Bakersfield Fire Department firefighter Dennis Hall is the first to touch a piece of steel from the World Trade Center brought to Bakersfield as part of a memorial to 9/11. The steel had a Bakersfield Fire Department escort down Chester Avenue to BCFD Station 1.

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian

A six-and-a-half-ton steel girder from the World Trade Center made its way into downtown Bakersfield Wednesday and is scheduled to be part of a 9-11 memorial.

The piece made its way on a flatbed truck from Highway 58 north on Chester Avenue, and then to Bakersfield Fire Department headquarters at 2101 H St.

Firefighters traveled to New York last month to retrieve the girder. They were accompanied by New York City firefighters as they accepted the girder from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

The piece was then transported across the country, arriving Wednesday morning.

Firefighters propose placing it at a memorial centered between Bakersfield Fire Department Station 15 and the Bakersfield Police Department substation at 1315 Buena Vista Road.

Bakersfield Fire Department nonprofit groups will fund the project at no cost to taxpayers, according to a fire department news release.

Money is also being raised through www.bfd911memorial.com.