About two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Arbutus came together for a candlelight vigil.
Norman Simpkins recalls thousands marching down East Drive to the back of the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department to take part in the tribute to those who lost their lives.
At the time, he had just been certified to be a firefighter in Arbutus and Baltimore County.
"I know what the objective and the goals were supposed to be for the men and women who passed that day," he said. "For them to be going into a burning building when everyone else is going out, it was new to me and it's a huge remembrance that I'll never forget."
The following year, another ceremony was held in the fire department's back parking lot, Simpkins said. But then there was a lull.
Last year, when Simpkins was captain of the fire department, he decided it was important for him to bring the ceremony back.
He teamed up with Dan Simons, a fellow firefighter and the funeral director of Hubbard Funeral Home, to create a remembrance that had 343 full-sized American flags on the firehouse grounds, one for each firefighter killed in the terror attacks.
The funeral home and its Raise a Flag Foundation helps organize the Charlestown retirement community's annual Field of Honor, in which 1,000 American flags are placed on its campus in commemoration of Memorial Day.
This year, on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Simpkins, who is no longer the captain but chairs the fire department's Sept. 11 Remembrance Committee, wanted to do something bigger. The ceremony is returning, featuring several guest speakers, including politicians and a resident who worked at the Pentagon in 2001.
The 343 flags will return to the fire department grounds Friday, Sept. 9, and come down Monday, Sept. 12.
This year, each flag will have tags featuring information on a fallen firefighter, including the name, rank, age, the piece of apparatus they were on and their assignments.
The fire department will host a candlelight vigil at the firehouse, 5200 Southwestern Blvd., at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11.
"The fear has been that people have kind of lost touch with the need to continue to remember not just these firefighters but the police officers and the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the World Trade Center, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon," Simons said.
The fire department continues to offer sponsorships for each flag on display to support Tuesday's Children, a nonprofit that helps the children of fallen heroes. Two types of sponsorship options are available.
A donation of $20 will recognize the sponsor by displaying their name and a fallen firefighter's name and rank, which will be displayed on a flag. A donation of $40 will recognize the sponsor by displaying their name and a fallen firefighter's name and rank. The sponsor will be able to keep the flag they sponsor.
To become a sponsor, visit arbutusvfd.org and click on the "9/11 Flag Sponsorship" button, or speak to an AVFD member.