Vashon Island Fire and Rescue (VIFR) is moving forward on plans to construct a 9-11 memorial that will include an actual piece of the World Trade Center.

Fire Chief Hank Lipe said about a year ago the The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey offered to ship pieces of steel recovered from the Twin Towers to fire departments across the country to be incorporated into local 9-11 memorials.

The department accepted the offer, and recently the 29-inch long, 95-pound piece of steel arrived on Vashon.

Lipe said that just the sight of the twisted steel sent from New York was a powerful reminder of the attack on the World Trade Center a decade ago.

“It really brought back some emotions,” he said.

Al Bradley, a stone artist who has been a volunteer firefighter on Vashon for over 30 years, has already volunteered to create the memorial, which will be installed outside VIFR’s main station on Bank Road.

“I thought it was only fitting to have him come up with something,” Lipe said.

The department will soon organize a committee to give imput and guide the creation of the stone monument.

Lipe hopes to see the memorial finished in time for an unveiling ceremony on the 10th anniversary of the attack this September.

“That doesn’t leave a lot of time,” he said.

Lipe said that although Vashon is not geographically close to the location of the attack, he believes everyone in the country was affected by the event, and he hopes that the memorial with the piece of steel incorporated will serve as a permanent reminder of those who died in the tragic event.

“What it symbolizes is enough to stop you in your tracks,” he said.