South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Firefighters lead largest Tunnel to Towers event
FORT LAUDERDALE – Regis Smeltz was the first firefighter in full gear to cross the finish line in the annual Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk, which saw the largest-ever crowd in the event’s eight years in Fort Lauderdale.
Organizers said about 1,000 participants — including an estimated 200 firefighters, each wearing up to 65 pounds of gear — dashed from Huizenga Park through the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel and through the downtown canyon of high-rise towers back to Huizenga Park Saturday morning.
They did it, in 88-degree heat and humidity, to raise money for members of the military and first responders injured or killed in the line of duty.
“I’ve done this event before but this is the first time I’ve won it,” said Smeltz, a 20-year veteran firefighter. “I didn’t know I was going to win, no, but now I have bragging rights.”
He was one of more than 20 on the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue team that also finished first to defend its title for a fourth straight year and keep the coveted trophy composed of steel from the ruins of the World Trade Center.
“We do it for camaraderie,
to be together, and for Stephen Siller,” he said. “It means a lot for 9⁄11.”
The event honors New York City firefighter Stephen Siller who was on his way home from a shift on Sept. 11, 2001, when the call came in that the World Trade Center was on fire.
Siller, 34, turned around and, in full gear, ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers where
he died with 342 other firefighters striving to save lives.
Many in the Fort Lauderdale crowd were not born when the terrorist attacks happened, so participants said events like this were important to teach the next generation of the sacrifices made that day.
Plantation firefighter Alejandro Castillo had his family with him, including three nieces who were too young to remember.
“It’s cool to see them learning about it in school,” he said. “It’s something we saw first hand, so we won’t forget.”
Zechariah Cartledge, 10, from the Orlando area, wasn’t around then either but that hasn’t stopped him from establishing his own non-profit organization, running in similar events, and raising more than $50,000 for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“When I found out what Stephen Siller did on that tragic day I wanted to start raising money for them,” he said in a speech at the event’s finale. “I was inspired.”
Cartledge also travels within and outside the state to participate in fund-raising runs and to meet the families of first responders who have been injured or killed.
Money raised goes to build mortgage-free, smart homes for catastrophically injured service members, the organization states. Each home is custom designed to address the unique needs of each individual.