Austin firefighters, their families and people passing by Buford Tower Sunday morning paused to remember first responders lost their lives in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

For the past decade, members of the Austin Firefighters Association have come together to mark the sacrifice 343 fellow firefighters made after the terrorists struck.

The first memorial happened three months after 9/11 when firefighters joined the governor at the capitol.

"We are a better country. We have a stronger sense of community. We have a better sense of how to be together," AFD Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr said.

More than a dozen members of the Austin Fire Department took turns reading the name, rank and department affiliation of each firefighter who died in the attacks 10 years ago. It took 15 minutes to finish the list.

"We lost firefighters and it's never an acceptable loss, but you understand it when you're able to save,” Andre DeLaRaza with the Austin Fire Department said. “And we were able to save a lot of people, but we still lost a lot of people. And that's the hardest thing is that we sacrificed so much and we were still not able to save everyone."

The events of the past week have only emphasized the importance of sacrifice, which gave this year's memorial greater meaning. The devastating wildfires across the region have strapped departments, and some firefighters themselves have lost their property.

"It's important for people to come together and it's important people continue to thank firefighters," Austinite Sylvia Camarillo said.

The Austin Firefighters Association raised $500,000 the first year of the memorial, and in turn created a nonprofit to benefit local firefighters. This year, the group plans to give money to those firefighters who lost everything in the recent fires.

YNN's Alana Rocha reports on the ceremony in the video above.

Despite battling devastating wildfires for one week straight, people in the Bastrop community came together Sunday to remember Sept. 11, 2001.

Bastrop resident Sharon Davenport was spared nothing by the fire. She came to the service looking for peace and comfort through her faith.

"It was a natural disaster, not enemy-caused, but it's destroyed so much," Davenport said. "The sense of peace felt here today was just indescribable."

This ceremony was planned well before the fires hit Bastrop. Neighbors held onto neighbors and tears fell, but the congregation focused on the good of the situation.

"We've really stood together as a church and a family and we've had a lot of support from friends, family, people we don't even know," Bastrop resident Michelle Salazar said.

YNN’s Bonnie Gonzalez has more on the ceremony. Watch the video above to check it out.