Local firefighters raising funds

By Charles Sowell  

SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 11:15 a.m. (0)

Firefighters at the Boiling Springs main station hoped to have a monument erected by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on America, but the economic downturn got in their way.

They have the centerpiece, a 16-by-16-by-80 I-beam from one of the World Trade Center towers that weighs 1,361 pounds.

It is one of four such relics in the state, said Jeff Nelson, fire marshal for the district that stretches from the city limits of Greer down Pelham Road and on across Interstate 85.

“There are two in the Lowcountry and I believe Columbia just got one,” he said. “This is the kind of thing that means a great deal to a firefighter and to the public at large.”

Firefighters from Boiling Springs went to New York last April and hauled the piece back to South Carolina in the back of a dually pickup truck.

The hunk of steel rests in a trailer in front of the main fire station on Pelham, just east of the intersection with I-85.

Plans are, eventually, to have a little park centered around the I-beam, which is to be mounted on a pedestal in a fenced in area that is now a small parking lot, Nelson said.

“We hope the fundraising will pick up soon,” he said. “When we first got it back, and had some plans that we liked, the estimated cost was $100,000.

They’ve raised about $5,000 so far.

The beam rolled into town with a police escort back in April with lots of media attention. The TV cameras were rolling, but the firefighters who went to get the beam were subdued.

“That trip for us was quite an experience,” Nelson said. “We rode up in a day and spent the night in New Jersey. The next morning we rode the subway over to the site of the attack. Let me tell you coming up the escalators to the scene was an experience.”

The site isn’t as big as Nelson expected. “TV makes it look at lot bigger than it is.”

If you’re interested in making a donation, contact Nelson at 268-3617 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .