After eight months of red tape, Warren Motts, owner of Motts Military Museum brought a New York City fire truck destroyed during the terrorist attack on 911 to Groveport.

"It has been such a chore, but such a privilege to have this piece of equipment. When all this came about I didn't think it was going to happen," said Mott. "It took eight months, but to have it here now I can't tell you what it means. This is a treasure that is going to be protected forever for future generations to be able to come in and understand what happened that day," he said.

The fire truck was so severely damaged it had to be hauled from New York on a flatbed semi trailer. A group of 25 members of The Patriot Guard, along with fire and police units, escorted the fire truck from Delaware County to Motts Museum.

When the tarps were removed, a veteran survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor was introduced. "This is my home state in New York and this fire engine brings back a lot of memories and what happened there that day," said 91-year-old Milton Mapou. Mapou said those folks in the twin towers were no different than the sailors on board the USS Arizona sunk on December 7, 1941. "They died in an unprovoked attack before we were at war," he said.

US Congress Steve Stivers was instrumental in cutting through the red tape and getting the fire truck for Motts Museum. Stivers said during his office's research on ladder 18 he was told some of the fire company's history.

He said ladder 18's crew were on the 5th floor of tower two and had to leave when the first tower collapsed. "When they made it to the ground they immediately headed away from the towers and as they were heading out, the top of the second tower started to crumble and they hid under their fire trucks like this one behind me and that's what saved their lives," Stivers said.

"When you look at this truck and touch it and realize what this thing has been through, what a story," said Motts. He said he is planning an interpretation center so young people will be able to learn what happened on 911.

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