Residents and officials surround the flag pole at the Live Oak Fire Department at a previous year’s 9-11 memorial service.

LIVE OAK — The Live Oak Fire Department’s annual 9-11 memorial service is set for Tuesday morning.

The public is invited to attend the memorial, which will begin at 8:15 a.m. at the flag pole outside the firehouse, located at 200 Duval St. NE.

Will Starling, the LOFD’s training and safety officer, said a prayer will be held to open the ceremony and then around 8:30 a.m., either he or Fire Chief Chad Croft will make a short statement on the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the affects of the terrorist attacks on the public as well as first responders.

“What we do is we just honor those who lost their lives in 9-11,” Starling said, noting that 343 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel were among those killed.

The ceremony will last around two hours as the LOFD’s air raid siren will sound four times throughout the morning. The first will sound at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It will sound again at 9:03 a.m. for when the plane hit the South Tower, 9:37 a.m. for when the Pentagon was hit and finally at 10:03 a.m. when the final plane crashed in the field in Pennsylvania.

The ceremony will conclude with the playing of taps by the American Legion.

“It’s a tradition of the Live Oak Fire Department, the City of Live Oak and the surrounding community has taken part of every year since,” Starling said. “It’s a significant event.

“It affected the country as a whole just due to the realization that terrorism can affect us on a large-scale basis.”