Story Created: Sep 11, 2008 at 4:03 PM CDT
One Auburn restaurant is using 9/11 to thank firefighters, police officers, and military personnel for their service. Philly Connection is giving them free food all day long.
For Sunel Merchant the nightmare began with an interrupted joke…
“We were sharing a joke and I finished the joke, I turned around, and something happened,” he remembered.
The first tower was hit. Going down the stairs from the 49th floor, Merchant says his life changed forever once he hit the 25th floor.
“That is why I do what I do with the safety department. Because when I reached the 25th floor I saw the first firefighter coming up. Even today when I think about it… it brings tears to my eyes,” he said.
“9/11 represents sacrifice as far as our service goes,” said Auburn Fire Chief Lee Lamar.
The place has been full all day. But Merchant says no matter how many firefighters, police officers and military personnel come in, it just doesn’t seem like enough.
“For them to reach the building, organize and then come up 25 floors in the same amount of time as it took me to come down 25 floors… if that is not superhuman, I do not know what super humans are. And that’s why I say and that’s why i say they are my superheroes,” said Merchant.
And for these superheroes, Merchant’s gesture means a lot.
“That a local business man would take the time to put in the effort to sponsor something like this and recognize the people in uniform are serving day in and day out not only locally but also nationwide,” said Captain Tom Stofer with the Auburn Police Department.
“And I’m pretty sure that some of the people that I saw going up never made it down,” said Merchant.
In addition to the free food and blood drive in honor or service men and women on 9/11, Merchant is starting a bicycle ride, this year. It will be in Auburn on Saturday, starting at fire station one and ending at fire station five.
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