Hundreds of first responders climbed City Stadium’s steps on Saturday for the annual September 11 Memorial Stair Climb. The stair climb commemorates the 343 New York City firemen who died that day while rescuing those trapped within the Twin Towers. The atmosphere at the stadium was solemn as hundreds of people remembered the events of 9/11. Many of the first responders who responded to the call on that awful day 21 years ago died in the towers. People walking in the event carried tags with the names of those killed in the attacks.
“Those who sacrificed their lives, may we never forget,” said one speaker at the event’s opening ceremony.
The World Trade Center was 110 storeys tall, with nearly 2000 steps up to the summit. Participants walked around the City Stadium bleachers seven times. The same number of steps first responders would have had to climb to save individuals trapped inside the towers.
“I remember last year there were a lot of great jokes, laughing, and picking each other up and pushing each other to make sure that you could reach the finish line,” added another speaker.
The ceremony’s first responders were able to empathise to the anguish the emergency crews would have felt on that day. They share a brotherhood and sisterhood and understand the sacrifice that comes with the work. That similar sacrifice was the price so many paid on that day, which will live on in our memory forever.
“Aren’t we all just one phone call away from making the ultimate sacrifice?” “And we go to work, and we do it with dignity, with honor, and with respect,” one of the speakers explained.
The registration costs for the event will help the Metro Richmond Flying Squad, which offers relief and recuperation to fire departments when they react to calls.