The 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs aren’t timed race events, rather a way for firefighters and the community to honor and remember the FDNY firefighters, EMS and Police Officers who selflessly gave their lives so that others might live.
There are approximately 43 stair climbs that occur during the months of Sept. and Oct. across the United States. Dallas will play host to the event in Texas this year on Sept. 7 at the Renaissance Tower.
Lamar County will be represented by three climbers this year, two from Paris Fire Department and one from the Reno Volunteer Fire Department.
Representing Paris FD is Tyler Jeffery and Logan Lane, while Erin Jusseaume with Reno VFD will join them. All three climbers have been training over the past few months, in between calls, shifts, and the workday.
“Not only are we remembering those that fell on the day, those that got sick after the response and are now falling from things like cancer, but their names are also getting added to the lists,” Jefferey said.
Jeffery is climbing for Michael J Lyons a firefighter on Squad 41. Lane will climb for Gregory R Sikorsky a firefighter from Squad 40, and Jusseaume is climbing for Michael J Cawley a firefighter on Ladder 136.
“They climb for 343, the number of FDNY FireFighters who paid the ultimate sacrifice so others could live. Tyler and Logan will wear the name of a Fallen Brother, what an honor. May we never forget,” Paris Fire Chief Mike Vogel said.
“It’s kind of cool once you actually attach a name to it, you get to know a little more about the person you’re climbing for. Instead of just getting an accountability tag,” Lane said.
“Climbing up there to them was just another job; they had no idea it was an attack. You’re standing there – even though it’s not the twin towers, and you’re looking at that tall structure and listening to the family members before it begins – it makes it all that more real for what those guys did not know,” Jeffery said.
As they begin to gather in groups before the climb, Jeffery said that there is a tradition of touching a piece of the twin towers as climbers start the hard slog of ascending 110 flights.
In understanding the significance more, the boys watched a documentary called ‘FDNY Rescue 1 & Rescue 2 – Still Riding’, which was originally about showcasing the elite crews of the NYFD but turned into a recount of how those firehouses lost men in the towers.
“That call was one of those that they knew they would be talking about for a while, but they still didn’t know just how bad it was. Everybody who was in the stations started jumping on a truck to respond. It’s hard to understand what was going on in their minds because living here we just don’t have anything of that size or magnitude that we would respond to,” Lane said.
The documentary, they said, gives an accurate and in-depth look into the firefighter’s mind and drive as those brave men responded to the 8:48 a.m. call on Sept. 11, 2001.
“The mindset in a firefighter himself is ‘what can I do to stop what’s going on and make the situation better,’” said Jeffrey. “that’s instilled in every firefighter from being a rookie to the very top.”
“I’ve been going up there for a while now as a buddy has been climbing, it’s a remembrance. The benefits of going with this program is that the money and benefits go back to the victims and their families. It’s a great organization to go and climb for. The money raised is going for the sole purpose of making the program work. Then there’s the brotherhood and sisterhood of it as people come from all over the country to do this climb, firefighters, EMS and police are doing it together to make to the top,” Jeffery said.
“I have never actually heard much about the memorial stair climbs before I was hired on here. The brotherhood aspect of it has always been a big attraction to doing this. It doesn’t matter where you are; you are a brother, firefighter. It’s really cool to be able to think about what we can do. It’s people taking that extra step to honor that memory because of the catastrophic event it was, and I really like how this is one way to put some action to those words of ‘never forget’, is unique to be able to show the families that we truly will never forget,” Lane said.
For Jusseaume, she said that it was an opportunity for her to pay her respects to the men and women that perished on the day.
“When Tyler had told me about the stair climb, I was immediately interested, but then asked if I could actually participate. That’s when he told me that volunteer firefighters are also able to register for the climb alongside career firefighters, EMS and police officers. This for me is simply a way to show respect and to let the families know I will never forget,” she explained.
Training is one aspect of this climb that is very important but also a little difficult to comprehend. Jeffery and Lane both said that firefighters in New York City are very used to climbing stairs due to how the city is constructed. For the boys here, there aren’t many high rises or large buildings to which they are used to climbing when responding to a call. So they’ve been taking every opportunity to train in between calls, and shifts. Setting a treadmill to a high incline or walking up and down the stairs in the firehouse.
The first known 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb event occurred on Sept. 11, 2003, during “Operation Enduring Freedom” in Parwan Province, Afghanistan.
Eventually, word got out and not only did climb events grow but so did the participation to which now see’s firefighters, police, and paramedics all vie for the honor to climb as the numbers are represented.
By Sept. 11, 2011, fifty-five 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs occurred across the world with at least three were outside the US and held in Paris, London; Auckland, New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia.
And although the three climbers set their goals a few months back when they registered, it is now less than two weeks away before they take on the massive task of gearing up and remembering those fallen on 9/11.
“The 9/11 stair climb is a way for us to remember our brothers and sisters that made the ultimate sacrifice that day. This is one way we can remind ourselves of what our fellow Americans and others did that day,” Reno Fire Chief Chad Graves said.
