Signal 55, Box 8087, 5-5-5-5

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In the language of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), Signal 55 means a five-alarm response. Box 8087 was the fire alarm box assigned to the World Trade Center.

At a FDNY firefighter's funeral, at the moment the casket is consigned to the earth, all fire stations in the city ring 5-5-5-5, to honor the firefighter who gave his or her life in the line of duty. Many living firefighters honor the memory of their fallen comrades by wearing a tattoo with these numbers.

5-5-5-5 was rung 343 times over the past two years. Let us remember the firefighters, paramedics, police and others who gave their lives in this modern 'day of infamy.'

In our hearts, in our minds,
In our affections – constantly.
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning, we will remember.*

* Inscription on a memorial plaque left by the families of the lost crew of the M/V Derbyshire, which sank off the coast of Japan in 1980. The shipwreck was located in 1994.