OTTAWA — The Ottawa Fire Department has received an I-beam that was part piece of the World Trade Center. The I-beam, approximately 30 inches long and weighing 80 pounds, is on temporary display in the lobby of the fire station but Fire Chief Jeff Carner said the artifact will be put on permanent display. The beam will remain in its present condition and won’t be cleaned or modified in any way, he said. “We’re honored to preserve a piece of history,” Carner said. The display is a tribute to the firefighters, police and emergency medical service personnel and private citizens who died that day, he said. Carner said he requested the beam when he heard the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, which owned the World Trade Center, would give pieces of the towers to other fire departments. He said the process took several years, he said. The port authority released the piece to Ottawa after the court system determined the beam was not a piece of evidence, he said.
Monday, Sept. 12, noon
