As the nation prepares to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks next month, some of the largest corporations in trucking and transportation have banded together to support a unique memorial effort for firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Continental Tire the Americas LLC’s Commercial Vehicle Tire group, Detroit Diesel Corp., Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products, and Snider Fleet Solutions announced a cooperative sponsorship of the Remembrance Rescue Project.

This non-profit firefighter support organization has restored the only two surviving heavy rescue trucks to respond to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. On Sept. 11, 2001, the entire unit of nine firefighters with the Fire Department, City of New York Rescue 4 unit and 11 firefighters with the Rescue 5 unit lost their lives trying to save others at the World Trade Center complex.

The Remembrance Rescue Project acquired Rescue 4 after its removal from service and completely restored it in September 2011. It now operates from Texas. The Project acquired the last of the surviving FDNY rescues, Rescue 5, in December 2011 and operates it from Chicago.

The Remembrance Rescue Project’s volunteers are all firefighters who arrange events and travel the country with the restored engines, which serve as memorials to the fallen and help raise funds for family support. The Project’s vehicles appear at public events, auto shows, fire industry events and schools to promote fire education and support other firefighter charities.

Under the sponsorship announced today:

• Continental is continuing to provide replacement truck tires for the Remembrance Rescue Project. Continental began the sponsorship in 2012 and has provided sets of HTC1 steer and HDR2 drive tires for the rescues. Due to the Project’s touring schedule, the new tires are needed to ensure safe operation of the trucks over long distances.

• Detroit, the manufacturer of the original Series 60 engines in the Project’s two rescue trucks, is providing a multi-year donation of engine maintenance funds for the Project. The Project will be able to access funds for all of the routine engine maintenance to keep up with the demands of the appearance schedule.

• Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products is joining the sponsorship by providing new heavy-duty forged aluminum wheels with their patented Dura-Bright surface treatment. The addition of the new wheels reduces the amount of maintenance needed for the Project and offers a needed replacement for the aging wheels of the rescue engines.

• Snider Fleet Solutions, headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., has also joined the sponsorship by offering installation of the new Alcoa wheels as well as mounting and balancing of the new Continental truck tires. An authorized Continental truck tire dealer, Snider Fleet Solutions will perform the service at its Charlotte commercial truck center in October.

To commemorate the kickoff of the sponsorship, Detroit employees will be able to see the Project’s Rescue 5 during a special visit to the Detroit headquarters in Redford, Mich. today.

In September, Rescue 5 is slated to visit the Daimler Trucks North America headquarters and the Continental Tire the Americas headquarters, both in Fort Mill, S.C., and will also appear at the Charlotte Firefighters 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Challenge along with other local events.

For more information, a schedule of upcoming events or to donate to the Remembrance Rescue Project, visit http://remembrance.com.