Firefighters at Stonestown Fire Station and the 41 other fire stations across San Francisco paused this morning to remember their New York counterparts who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center five years ago.

“This brings back memories of the New York incident,” said Lt. Ed Ghilardi of the San Francisco Fire Department. “It brings you the reality of how dangerous this job is.”

“I still feel sad about it after five years,” said firefighter Carl Barnes. “I’ve moved on since then, but I’ve decided to keep it in the back of my memory.”

At 6:58 a.m., the moment when the south Trade Center tower collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, 11 members of the Station 19 Company gathered in front of the station on Buckingham Way. The bells of a fire engine rang five times at three different intervals. The American flag was lowered to half-staff, as firefighters observed a moment of silence.

The 11 firefighters then spent the next 15 minutes reading off the names of the 343 New York firefighters who perished in the attacks, saluting the flag once the last name was read.

“It definitely makes you humble,” said Station 19 Capt. Denise Newman. “It makes you realize it could happen here.”

“It affected us, not only as firefighters,” Newman said, “but as Americans.”