The Story Behind: “C-40” at First Responders Park

You know it by sight, but are you aware of its name and history? The 2.3-ton piece of twisted steel has stood at Westerville’s First Responders Park since 2009. It fell at least 100 stories to the ground at 10:28 a.m. on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

If you’re close, you can see an increasingly fading spraypainted “C-40” on the side of the steel. As excavation began after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City, the marking showed where the steel was installed on the North Tower, between its 98th-101st floors.

“C-40” was obtained from the New York-New Jersey Port Authority from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where it was studied as part of the federal investigation into the collapse of the towers. Westerville was one of the first communities in the state of Ohio to make a request for a piece of steel to become part of a memorial that would be dedicated to first responders.

Retired Westerville firefighter Tom Ullom led the effort to secure the steel for Westerville, along with Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi and former Parks & Recreation Administrator Michael Hooper. In 2008, the trio traveled to the East Coast to find “C-40,” learning later it was located just above the impact site of American Airlines Flight 11. That flight, a Boeing 767, was the first hijacked terrorist plane that crashed into the tower that day, carrying 76 passengers, 11 crew members and five terrorists.

“I remember it had an eerie feeling to it,” said Cocuzzi. “It was as if we were drawn to that piece over all the other twisted pieces. It had a sense of sadness to it when we first noticed it that tells its own story about the magnitude of what happened.” Ullom arranged to have the steel escorted into Westerville in September 2009, led by first responders to its final destination as centerpiece to First Responders Park on W. Main Street. The steel was treated and mounted to stand vertically in the park, then dedicated in 2010 to honor the service and sacrifice of all first responders at the park’s first opening. In 2019, the park was renovated and expanded around “C-40.”

More than 12 years ago, an entire public space was designed around “C-40.” To this day, Westerville gathers around it each year on special occasions, not the least of which will be the upcoming 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks and the day it fell to Earth. You will see it adorned with flowers, cards and memories of a patriotic community honoring the idea to “Never Forget” the sacrifice of first responders who lost their lives to save others that terrible day.

You’re invited to stand close to “C-40,” touch the steel and honor the lives lost that day while experiencing messages of hope through the eyes of a new generation on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m.