9/11 Firehouse Foundation Concert

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The Firehouse Foundation

The Firehouse Foundation is a charitable organization established by the Firehouse Brewing Company with a mission of raising funds for families of injured and fallen firefighters and underfunded fire departments in need of safety equipment.

Michelle Brubaker, a spokesperson for the Firehouse Foundation, explains, "The Firehouse Brewing Company was established after 9/11 and out of that came the Firehouse Foundation, so we are raising money for families of firefighters who have been seriously injured in the line of duty or have lost their lives in the line of duty."

9/11 Firehouse Foundation Concert

One annual fundraising event that the Mission Valley, California organization hosts is the 9/11 Firehouse Foundation Concert.  For the past three years, the group has put together the music benefit, which has quickly grown from a few hundred attendees to nearly 1300.  The event always takes place around the anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, and its dual purpose is to honor the memory of those lost on September 11th and to raise funds for local heroes.

Money is raised through ticket sales to the event, and everything including food and entertainment are donated by those involved.  Attendees are treated to live music, with this year's featured bands being Intransit Audio, Phil Bellante, Lexington Field, and Rare Form Live.  Bellante explained the reason why he and the other performers enjoy being a part of the event, saying, "We really like to be involved in things that are meaningful and we can give back to the community, so we thought it'd be just a great fit for us to come out and support what you guys are doing here."

Food and beverages were donated by several companies, including the Firehouse Brewing Company, the organizer and main sponsor of the event, who provided attendees with a full scale Beer Garden.  Other contributors included Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, Kings Seafood, McGregor's Bar & Grill, Firehouse American Eatery, and the El Comal restaurants.

Remembering September 11, 2001

The Emcee for the concert was San Diego 10 News reporter Joe Little, who was the first reporter to arrive at the scene of the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  Remembering the day, he says, "I looked down in the hole, and I was like, 'There's nothing here.  This had to be a small plane.' And that plane crashed at such an unbelievable angle of velocity that it buried itself and literally evaporated."

Explaining the importance of the 9/11 Firehouse Foundation Concert and other similar gatherings across the United States, Little says, "Everyone was affected by it in some way and having this here in San Diego 3,000 miles away is one of the small things we can do to remember that day."

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