A two-block section at the west end of Howard Avenue, near Porter Avenue, will be closed for about an hour Wednesday morning to accommodate the crowd expected for the city’s 9-11 observance at the Firefighters Museum.
Police will close the section of Howard from Porter Avenue to near Benachi Street from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. Motorists are advised to use an alternate route. Area businesses were notified Monday. Those attending the 9-11 ceremony at the museum should arrive before 8:45 a.m. and should park in the lot off Howard Avenue behind the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center.
Biloxi’s 9-11 observance, which is part of a nationwide effort coordinated by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, will mark the exact times of the collapse of the twin towers with tolling of a fire bell. The ceremony, which will be broadcast live on WQYZ-FM 92.5, also will include the playing of “Taps,” a 21-gun salute and brief remarks by Mayor A.J. Holloway, Fire Chief David Roberts and Police Chief Bruce Dunagan.
Throughout the city, firefighters will stand at attention outside their respective stations for simultaneous observances.
“We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from the public on this observance,” said organizer Joe Boney, battalion chief for the Biloxi Fire Department. “There’s no way to tell how many people will attend, but we’re hoping that they will either come by the museum or attend an observance at their neighborhood fire station.”
Besides the Firefighters Museum, Biloxi sites are Kurt Jacquet Fire Station at East End, 270 Howard Ave.; Carl Ohr Fire Station at Back Bay, 784 Elder St.; Lee Chinn Fire Station, 168 Veterans Ave.; Bay Vista Fire Station, 2499 Pass Road; Popp’s Ferry Fire Station at Margaret Sherry Library, 2139 Popp’s Ferry Road; Police and Fire Communications Center, 1654 Popp’s Ferry Road; and Woolmarket Fire Station, 8479 Woolmarket Road.
The museum’s observance will end with a Beau Rivage-sponsored reception where the public will be invited inside the Firefighters Museum, which is scheduled to open in October.
