Significance of firefighters carrying hats in parade?

Don’t know what town you’re in. But I’m sure the source can be traced back to your local news paper website.

Maybe it was the hat they wore during 9/11? Just guessing.

There is a display somewhere (in the downtown NYC area) of the hard hats worn by the firefighters who were killed on 9/11.

@gailcalled Not sure if you are addressing me? I meant they are holding the hats they wore themselves on that day. There were firefighters who were at the scene who survived of course,

@JLeslie; I understood what you were saying; the hard hats seem to have a very powerful symbolic meaning, both for the survivors and the victims.

Oh, I see.

More info – the parade was in downtown Boston. While it was held on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, it was a parade for Massachusetts firefighters—and I am not sure how many of them would have been directly involved in the events of that tragic day.

Oh. I was thinking NYC firefighters.

Ok, I took @dreamwolf ‘s advice and did some snooping around online and here is what I found: http://www.mafirememorial.org/index.html
The parade was memorializing 9/11 firefighters who lost their lives, but the helmets they carried were their own.

Have you ever seen the black tape that police officers wear on their badges, when an officer has died in action?

The same principle applies here, only their helmets are used.

And, they have to be ready for the next fire alarm, even in a parade.

@john65pennington The next fire alarm? They would need to put on their coat, boots, oxygen, the hat is only a small part of the firefighting uniform.