Firefighters honored at meeting

INDIANAPOLIS -- Firefighters gazed in silence at a slowly scrolling list of names Wednesday as they gathered for a solemn tribute to colleagues who died Sept. 11.\nThe names, projected onto television screens in a candlelit ballroom, were those of firefighters lost during the terrorist attacks, as well other firefighters who died last year while trying to rescue people from flames.\nMore than 8,000 firefighters opened a national training conference with a two-hour ceremony to remember the 343 New York firefighters who died while trying to rescue people from the World Trade Center.\nOrganizers say the week-long Fire Department Instructors Conference is the largest gathering of firefighters since the terrorist attacks. More than 25,000 firefighters were expected to attend.\nSpeakers choked back tears as they described friends who were killed when the twin towers collapsed after being hit by two hijacked jetliners. They pledged to continue saving lives amid the war on terrorism.\nSeveral urged colleagues to find meaning in the loss by stepping up efforts to learn new rescue techniques.\n"It's a tragic way to change," said Al Brunacini of the Phoenix Fire Department. "But if we miss those lessons…we are being disrespectful to those persons that were lost."\nOthers lashed out in anger against terrorists.\n"God does not will tragedy like this," said Billy Goldfeder of the New York City Fire Department. "On 9-11-01, we all cried and so did God, as he saw once again how a few sorry bastards using his name in vain murdered some of the most wonderful people God ever created."\nFirefighters sat in somber silence while listening to eulogies and songs. Some wept as they watched a menagerie of photographs taken during and after the attacks.\nFirefighters at the conference will participate in workshops throughout the week on how to improve rescue efforts and respond to catastrophic events. Many firefighters from New York are scheduled to share their experiences.