Just as they were for many throughout the world, the terrorist attacks five years ago were a life-changing event for Earl Bierman.

Bierman, a Sorrento volunteer firefighter and member of the Legislature, was at ground zero Monday to take part in the ceremony honoring those who were lost in the attack on the World Trade Center. He walked the same ground he did five years ago when he dropped everything and rushed to New York to help with the rescue operation.

“It definitely changed my life,” Rep. Bierman recalled of Sept. 11, 2001. “I came home, quit two jobs and ran for the Legislature. I’m serving in the Legislature because of it. I didn’t know if I would win, but I felt I had to do something to serve.”

Bierman and his former brother-in-law, Scott Van Patten, left for New York the day after the attacks and spent four days crawling through the rubble. They went there with the hope of saving lives only to encounter total devastation. There was no one to save, only fragments to recover.

“It was really well done,” Bierman said of Monday’s ceremony. “As far as the memorial aspect of it and the reading of the names, it was very, very moving. It brought back a lot of memories, some of them bad ones. I kept seeing a lot of things I had put out of my head. Being down here this morning brought them back.”

Bierman, who represents the towns of Gouldsboro, Hancock, Lamoine, Sorrento, Sullivan, Waltham and Winter Harbor as a Republican from House District 34, said he had wanted to return to New York every year on Sept. 11, but kept putting it off until this year. He said he found the tribute inspiring even though it brought back vivid memories of that terrible time.

“I went into the pit and stood where the North Tower was and where the South Tower was. It was not a pleasant memory,” he said. “It was no easier to go this year. It was the same tugging I felt when I went the first time. It was pretty hellacious. But it was good to be back. It’s kind of like hallowed ground.”

Bierman said he was surprised to see the buildings near the 16-acre site looking completely different from the days after the towers collapsed. He said he was disappointed in how some parts of the city around the site had evolved into a commercial “circus” with souvenirs and people selling “conspiracy theories” about the attacks.

“It just seems to take away from what really happened,” he said. “I do feel like it’s hallowed ground.”

Bierman said he was able to speak to many firefighters and that they welcomed him as a compatriot. He said there was a “real bond” among firefighters, and all he came in contact with thanked him for rushing to the aid of the city.

“For all the horrible stuff we went through, there was this great camaraderie,” he said.

Bierman said he couldn’t help thinking about his wife, Jenny, and his children Miles, 7, Hadley, 6, and Emmaline, 4, throughout the ceremony. He said Hadley had just taken her first steps the day the planes hit the towers.

“I was really moved when one of the family members talked about praying that her grandchildren would live in a world where they wouldn’t have to stand on that site or worry about people willing to kill themselves for political change. I thought of my family. It puts things in perspective.”

Bierman planned to spend the night at Engine No. 6, a firehouse at Beekman and Golden streets, with his University of Maine roommate Al Cicianno, a member of FDNY.

“He was one of the big reasons I headed down when I did. I didn’t know if he made it or not,” he said. “Who knows, maybe I’ll get to go on a few calls. It is a true brotherhood with them. If you’re a fireman, you’re welcomed with open arms.”