Boston firefighters and a group of motorcyclists joined former New York City firefighters Wednesday as they rode through the state on their way to Newfoundland, where they planned to deliver a small piece of steel from the collapsed World Trade Center.

The relic is being taken to Gander, a small town in Newfoundland that housed thousands of plane passengers who were stranded when flights were grounded after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

During the attacks, a total of 2,973 people were killed, according to the US National Commission on Terror Attacks. It was the largest loss of life from a foreign attack on American soil in the country’s history. The Fire Department of the City of New York suffered 343 deaths, the Port Authority Police Department 37, and the New York Police Department 23.

Boston firefighters held a small ceremony at Florian Hall before escorting the firefighters to the New Hampshire border, MacDonald said. The steel will serve as a small token of gratitude for Gander residents.

“We had the opportunity, the real pleasure, to house 7,000 people for five days,’’ said Gander Mayor Claude Elliott, who took office in 1996. “We clothed and fed them, and showed them some compassion while their country was going through something so tragic.’’

Over the course of those days, the town of 10,000 nearly doubled in population as it shut down all schools and organizations with any kind of large building to house the passengers, Elliott said.

A ceremony will be held when the steel arrives Sunday at Gander International Airport.

For Elliott, the recognition is appreciated, though unsought.

“We’ve been well recognized for what we’ve done,’’ said Elliott. “But after those five days, when we saw the smiles on people’s faces and the tears, we knew we were paid in full.’’

Dylan McGuinness can be reached at dylan.mcguinness@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DylMcGuinness.