search for our extended family and the citizens who were taken from us so cruelly at the New York City World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

During the long vigil for the Worcester fire, someone suggested a visible symbol of our concern and respect for those who had been taken from us in that incident. Because it was the Christmas season, this person proposed each household leave a single red light bulb blazing in a window to symbolize grief and respect for our fallen heroes. Many of you will remember seeing the red candles in homes throughout the country as the idea took hold.

It has been proposed that we, as a nation, rekindle those candles of sympathy. Please consider going to your attic or garage - wherever you keep your holiday lights - and place an electric candle in a window of your home to commemorate those lost in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

Use a red light to memorialize the firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. Use a blue light to memorialize the police officers. And finally, use a white light to memorialize the innocent civilians killed by these cowardly acts.

These lights would stay lit 24 hours a day, 7 days week, until the last person has been recovered. Of course, you could leave the candles lit longer than that time if, perhaps, you feel a permanent reminder is necessary.

I appreciate your consideration of this memorial symbol, as we here on Cape Cod and in Massachusetts are doing to show the world our resolve as a public safety community and nation. If you are inclined to, pass this message your family members and friends. Let's light up the world with this gesture.

Thank you so much,
Joe McNeil, Captain (retired), Harwich (Mass.) Fire Department
Past President, APCO International
Courtesy of National APCO