VIDEO: On the day of September 11, 2001, hundreds of heroic first responders responded to the tragedy at the Twin Towers. Among these were 343 firefighters who gave their lives.
“And we are able to continue this honor and tradition of doing the stair climb in remembrance of the 343 firefighters that perished,” said University Fire Department Captain David Mattox.
Here in Fairbanks, local firefighters remember these fallen heroes by climbing in their footsteps—the equivalent of the 110 stories of stairs in the world trade center.
“A couple years ago a couple of firefighters from a couple of departments got together and decided that we needed to have some kind of memorial stair climb like is held in most states,” Mattox explained. “Something that gives us an opportunity to remember our fallen brothers and sisters from that horrible day on 9/11.”