Firefighting was always part of the plan for Jeff Gillies. The son of a firefighter, he enjoyed his time volunteering with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue as a high schooler.

In 2001, Gillies enrolled in Chemeketa Community College’s firefighting program. He was in just his second week of the program on Sept. 11.

“That Tuesday morning I was getting ready to go to school actually and my dad called and said ‘Turn on the TV.’”

Gillies turned on his TV as a plane hit the south tower of the World Trade Center.

That morning, hijackers flew two commercial planes into New York’s twin towers and a third into the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, including 343 New York City firefighters.

“As the towers went down I had the chills just running down my spine,” he recalled. “It was super emotionally charged just knowing those were my Dad’s brothers and sisters because the fire service were just all a big family no matter what coast you’re on.”

Gillies said the moment solidified his resolve to become a firefighter and marked the beginning of his career. He said watching the men and women of the New York City Fire Department charge into those buildings — never to come out — “put a stamp” on his career decision.

Twenty-five years later, now a battalion chief at the tail end of his career, Gillies is traveling with 40 of his fellow Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue firefighters to New York to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The firefighters plan to take part in a flag ceremony and meet with firefighters from across the country, including from FDNY.

Communities around Oregon have been gearing up to host commemorative events, as Gillies and other Tualatin Valley firefighters fly east.

For Gillies, honoring those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in its aftermath grows even more important as firefighters who were born after the attacks or were too young to remember join the ranks at TVF&R.

“It’s kind of an obligation for me to carry on that legacy and tradition,” he said. “Never forget our lost brothers and sisters.”

He also hopes to convey the depth of the bond that runs through the fire service.

“We always continue to take care of each other and our families,” he said. “Even here at home, the people suffering from cancer they developed on the job, we take care of them.”

These feelings of support and connection, Gillies says, are important not just for firefighters and their families, but for everyone across America.

“Our country is kind of divided and this might be a good time to shake someone’s hand on the other side of the aisle and band together,” he said. “It’s important that we reflect on these moments and keep them as part of our history and legacy and carry that forward.”

Across the state, Oregonians will mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks with ceremonies, honor guards, blood drives and community service:

• Portland Fire & Rescue will host an honor ceremony at Waterfront Park at 10 a.m. Friday. PF&R is holding a blood drive at Station 1 near the park from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Also in Portland, volunteers will pack meals for local food banks as part of a 9/11 day of service.
• At Willamette Park in West Linn, local officials and first responders will lay a wreath in the Willamette River at 5 p.m.
• The city of Lebanon will hold a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Lebanon Fire Department at 10 a.m.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/10/tualatin-valley-firefighters-9-11-anniversary-new-york/