With ceremonies in Greenfield and Turners Falls, first responders and community members gathered on Monday morning to remember the lives lost during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“As a country, as a state, as a county and as a local … city, we have not forgotten,” said Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan. “Police and fire and EMS, to this day, stand side by side, as brothers and sisters, to do a common job to protect the public. That’s a lesson we should have taken away as a country on Sept 11.”

On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia and a Pennsylvania field. Monday marked the 22nd anniversary of the attack.

Speaking from the temporary fire station on Hope Street in Greenfield, Strahan said the sacrifice continues to this day, as the list of firefighters added to the Fire Department of New York’s memorial wall grows with each passing year. This year, 43 names were added — the second largest group of names to be added since the wall was created in 2011 — according to the city of New York’s website.

Many of these deaths are the result of illnesses that resulted from exposure to toxins in the days and months after the attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The sacrifice our police, fire and EMS personnel made on that day will never be forgotten,” Strahan said. “It certainly will never be forgotten by the uniform personnel in this city.”

In honor of the lives lost, Greenfield Fire Capt. Peter McIver tolled the bell five times, in four rounds.

“This is one of those days that, 22 years later, probably feels to many of you like it was yesterday,” said Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner. “We gather in all of their honor and sacrifice … made that day.”

To commemorate the emergency personnel who responded on 9/11, members of the Greenfield Fire and Police departments, along with members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, also climbed 110 flights of stairs on the stair climber machines at Planet Fitness on Monday.

Police and fire personnel in Montague expressed similar sentiments during their brief ceremony, held Monday morning at the Montague Public Safety Complex. Speaking on behalf of the Police Department was Lt. Christopher Bonnett, who took to the podium after Turners Falls Fire Capt. Luke Hartnett tolled the bell on his department’s fire engine.

“We have all gathered here today for the same reason: to remember the 2,996 civilians and first responders who lost their lives 22 years ago from this very day on Sept. 11, 2001,” Bonnett recited as his peers stood at attention. “As everyone was running away from the danger, public safety responders were running toward the danger to save lives. Because of the heroic sacrifices made by those brave public safety officials on that September morning, we have made a vow that we will never forget those fallen heroes and innocent victims.”

After Bonnett said a prayer, Turners Falls Fire Chief Todd Brunelle stepped forward. He started by recognizing not only the 2,996 civilians killed on 9/11, but the more than 7,000 service members killed and the more than 53,000 wounded in the War on Terror that followed.

“So when we talk about never forgetting and always remembering, please never forget and always remember that the effects of that day continue,” Brunelle said before delivering the Firefighter’s Prayer. “People are still paying the ultimate price.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne. Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.