Climbing in Honor of the Fallen: 9/11 Stair Climb at Holston Valley Medical Center

On Saturday, September 7, firefighters, first responders and community members came together for the Tri-Cities 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb to honor the brave firefighters and first responders who gave their lives to save others on September 11, 2001.

Participants in this annual event pay tribute to the fallen New York firefighters killed in the World Trade Center towers by climbing the equivalent of 110 floors — the number of floors in the tower — to symbolically complete each firefighter’s journey. This year’s event was held at the Holston Valley Medical Center parking garage in Kingsport.

Money raised from the event goes to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to assist the surviving family members and co-workers of the 343 firefighters who were killed on 9/11.

HOW IT BEGAN

The 9/11 Stair Climb is a national event with a number of cities participating each year, but it wasn’t always that way.

The first climb was on Sept 11, 2005 when five Colorado firefighters, in full firefighter gear, climbed a high-rise building in downtown Denver. The firefighters climbed 110 flights of stairs in memory of FDNY firefighters killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

When the event was held the following year, 12 firefighters participated. The event grew every year until the participation was capped in 2018 to 343 (the number of FDNY firefighters killed in the towers that day). As word of the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb spread, other firefighters wanted to know how they could hold their own stair climb events.

In 2010, the original five Denver firefighters partnered with the National Fallen Firefighters Association to create a template to enable coordinators of other 9/11 events to replicate the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

Today, the 9/11 Stair Climb is held in several cities across the country. The stair climb events are usually held around the 9/11 anniversary date with some cities holding events in October and November.

The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb event official motto is:

“We climb to ensure that the fallen firefighters of September 11 are never forgotten; we complete their journey through dedication, training, and physical fitness.”