The annual 9-11 Community Moment of Silence and Prayer will be staged this week in Escalon.

Hosted by the Escalon Fire Department in remembrance of those lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Fire Chief Rick Mello instituted the annual observance when he took over the chief’s role. This year, it will be observed on Friday, Sept. 9, as the actual anniversary of Sept. 11 falls on a Sunday.

The ceremony will begin at 9:11 a.m., outside the Escalon Fire District Station 1, at 1749 Coley Ave., Escalon.

All are welcome to attend; some seating is provided. Escalon firefighters, police officers and ambulance personnel are typically in attendance, along with some first responders from neighboring communities. The program includes a detailing of the events as they unfolded that day in 2001, when terrorists who had hijacked planes struck the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon and a fourth plane that went down in rural Pennsylvania, short of its intended target, after passengers fought back against the hijackers.

Also remembered during the ceremony are James R. Layton, a Navy Corpsman from the area who died in service to this country in Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009 in the War on Terror, and former Escalon Fire Department Chaplain Jim Davis.