The Cy-Fair Fire Department will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this Saturday with a ceremony at Station 11, located at 18132 West Road, Cypress.
This anniversary is a special one for Denise Corliss, who has served with the fire department and as a member of Texas A&M Task Force 1 for more than 20 years. Corliss helped search for missing individuals in New York following the 9/11 attacks alongside her dog Bretagne.
“Having an opportunity for Bretagne and I to go and search for survivors was something I felt very blessed to be able to do,” Corliss said.
Corliss adopted Bretagne at about 8 weeks old and said she had hopes of her becoming a disaster dog to help with search and rescue. Corliss and Bretagne had a tight bond, and she describes her as a “once-in-a-lifetime dog.”
Corliss is a K9 search specialist for the fire department and said her tight bond with Bretagne paved the way for her to do that work.
Bretagne passed away in 2016, and a statue located in Fairfield at Mason Road and Cypresswood Drive honors her service. Corliss said the statue represents all the first responders and the services they provide to the community.
“I think it's important to support our community in whatever way that we can,” she said. “And for me, this is how I do that.”
The Sept. 11 memorial service is open to the public for community members to remember the first responders who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks. The ceremony will start at 7:30 a.m., and it will conclude with a moment of silence and a radio dispatch broadcast message at 8:03 a.m.