Members of the Whitehouse Rescue Squad were among the nearly 150 emergency service personnel lining bridges and entrance ramps of Route 78 this morning as the "Iron and Steel, NYC to Shanksville" WTC memorial was transported through the County.  The Motorcade, which left from Brooklyn this morning at 7:00am, entered Hunterdon County just before 9:00am with a 2-mile long motorcycle escort.  Led by the NJ Division of Fire Safety and the roadway being cleared by the NJ State Police, the procession included several hundred motorcycles, a refurbished antique fire engine, FDNY Engine 343, followed by a dump-truck towing the twisted cross of steel mounted to a pentagon shaped base and finally by several support vehicles.

Along the route, fire trucks and ladders lined the bridges in Hunterdon, all deploying American Flags lined with firefighters in turnout gear, helmets or uniforms.  Meanwhile, EMS units were staged along the route in case of any issues, which luckily there where none reported.  The caravan was met at the first stop along the route by the Bloomsbury Rescue Squad & Fire Company at the Truck Stops in Bloomsbury, where all the motorcycles were refueled and the public got its first look at the memorial.  After a short stop over at the weigh station just west of the truck stops, the procession moved on to its final destination of Shanksville, PA, where the memorial will be erected overnight with a public memorial tomorrow morning.

Assisting at for the event included 4 BLS Ambulances along the route, the first being from Whitehouse Rescue Squad as the procession entered from Somerset County.  In addition, fire units from Mercer & Sussex counties where deployed across Hunterdon County covering those fire stations deployed along the highway.

More information on the memorial can be found at http://www.ironandsteelnyctoshanksville.com/ 

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Raritan Township Fire Company awaits the arrival of the procession on the Blossom Hill Rd overpass

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Procession arrives in Hunterdon County headed towards Shanksville PA

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Readington Vol Fire Company (Station 32) and Oldwick Fire Company (Station 24) stationed on the Taylors Mill Rd bridge in Readington

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The memorial makes a quick stop at Bloomsbury Truck Stops as the procession refuels, giving the public a quick few of the twisted steel cross

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