On September 11, 2001, almost 3,000 people were killed as a result of the terrorist attacks. In the days that followed, the Deposit Fire Department Emergency Squad was deployed as part of an E.M.S. strike team through the New York State Mutual Aid Plan to assist with the recovery efforts at Ground Zero in New York City. The crew from Deposit consisted of 6 Emergency Medical Technicians who were deployed for a 3 day period from September 20, 2001 through September 22, 2001 with Deposit Ambulance 103.

In the fall of 2012, the Deposit Fire Department Emergency Squad reached out to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in reference to their W.T.C. Artifact Give-Away Program. Our department expressed interest in an artifact from the former World Trade Center to be used in a public memorial to pay tribute to the heroes of September 11, 2001. 

We remained optimistic for the next four years that we may be chosen to take part in this program. In March of 2016, we received confirmation from the Project Manager and Archivist that an artifact had been identified for our department. We were honored to have been chosen to be part of the program. Over the next several months we worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to complete the needed paperwork and arrange for transferring the artifact over to our department.

Artifact N-085 which was identified for our department and community is a full panel of the exterior aluminum cladding from one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. The panel measures 152 inches in length, 20 inches in height and 18 inches in width. The exterior aluminum cladding gave the buildings their infamous golden sheen at sunrise and sunset and enhanced their soaring appearance with the closely spaced exterior steel columns.

In June of 2016, members from our department made the trip down to the J.F.K. Airport in Queens N.Y. to pick up the artifact and transport it back to Deposit. All of the artifacts that had been saved by the Port Authority for this program were being stored in Hanger 17 at J.F.K. The Deposit Fire Department received one of the last artifacts distributed by the Port Authority through the program. The Project Manager and Archivist, Amy Passiak commented on the uniqueness of the artifact that had been identified to us. She stated that there were not many full pieces of the exterior aluminum cladding that were still completely in tacked following the collapse of the towers making our artifact very unique.

Once back in Deposit, the artifact went into storage while work on a permanent memorial began.  September 11, 2017 was the first time we proudly displayed the artifact from the former World Trade Center.  Today, the artifact is permanently on display as the center piece of the Deposit Memorial Park located at 147 Front Street in the Village of Deposit. 

Over 2,500 artifacts from the former World Trade Center have been distributed to over 1,440 municipalities, schools, fire departments and other groups spanning all 50 states and several foreign countries.