Air Force fire service honors Americans who lost their lives in 9/11 with ‘last alarm’

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam paid tribute on Friday to the Americans who tragically lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

Anderson AFB marked the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a ceremony called “the last alarm,” or the “striking of the four fives.”

The “last alarm” is a fire service tradition used since the 1800s to let a firehouse know when a firefighter died in the line of duty.

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The footage, posted on Anderson AFB’s Facebook page Friday, showed the striking of four rounds of five strikes on a bell.

“Today we want to honor our fallen brothers and sisters with a small ceremony known as ‘striking the four fives,’” Tech Sgt. Jordan Salas, a firefighter assigned to the 36th Civial Engineer Squadron, said.

In the Facebook post, Barbara Barrett, Secretary of the Air Force, wrote, "Our Nation was attacked on 11 September 2001, by terrorists who endeavored to sow fear and despair into American hearts and minds. These efforts failed because our country is defined by its resiliency and the ability to persevere through the darkest of times, overcoming adversity."

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Nineteen years ago, passenger airline jets, hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists, crashed into New York City's iconic World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks.

According to Air Force Fire and Emergency Services, "343 New York City firefighters, 37 port authority police officers, 23 New York City police officers, eight EMT paramedics and one fire patrolman lost their lives.

Fox News and Storyful contributed to this story.