The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
REMEMBERING SEPT. 11
First responders climb in memory of those who died
Firefighters, EMTs and police from all over New York climb 110 stories every year for one reason: to honor those who paid the ultimate price on September 11, 2001, and ensure they are never forgotten.
“We’re not here for us. We’re not here for the photographs. We’re here because we’re honoring these people,” event director Jeff Burkhart said. “‘Never Forget’ is not just a bumper sticker.”
More than 500 firefighters, EMTs, and police from all across the state all came to the Utica State Office Building to participate in the 5th annual Central New York Memorial Stair Climb. There, firefighters donned their gear and made the climb their fellow firefighters had to make to battle the blazes of September 11.
Each person climbing does so in the memory of someone who died saving others and their sacrifice is remembered and honored. Climbers carry a tag around their neck with the name and picture of someone who died on September 11. At the end of the climb, a card is placed on awall with their name and face. Their name is read aloud, and a bell is rung.
Timothy Hartley, a firefighter at the Oneida Fire Department, said this was his first year climbing with Oneida but had climbed once before while he was a member of the Verona Volunteer Fire Department in 2107.
“We’re not here for us. We’re not here for the photographs. We’re here because we’re honoring these people. ‘Never Forget’ is not just a bumper sticker.”
— Jeff Burkhart, event director
“I’ll be doing this every year,” Hartley said. “This climb is about the heart and spirit put in during 9/11 by first responders and the thousands of people that showed up to find their brothers and sisters afterward. We’re here to help honor them.”
On September 11, 343 firefighters lost their lives in the World Trade Center, all while trying to save the lives of those inside. Firefighters had to climb 110 stories, all in full gear. So while police and EMTs will wear their uniforms and climb, firefighters don all their turnout gear.
Added all up, a firefighter’s full kit can weigh anywhere from40 to 70pounds. Water and ice packs are offered to firefighters making the climb to ease the difficulty, but it’s still hard on firefighters.
“You just got to keep breathing in and out,” Hartley said, adding he couldn’t imaginewhat it was actually like for first responders on September 11 and what was going through their heads.
Durhamville Fire Chief Eric Wilcox said the climb is nothing compared to what firefighters in New York City did and is “...just a taste.”
For Hartley, it’s important to not just honor the memory of those who died on September 11 but teach the next generation as well.
“I was in kindergarten during September 11,” Hartley said. “Something like this, the stair climb, teaches the history and lets the next generation get involved with it.”
Hartley climbed for Hector Tirado Jr, a 23-year-old firefighter for Engine 23. Tirado was the sole guardian to his sister.
Wilcox said this his fifth year doing the stair climb and echoed Hartley’s sentiments about the importance of teaching the next generation.
“This is our generation’s Pearl Harbor,” Wilcox said. “There’s a generation out there that wasn’t alive during September 11. Events like this bring awareness and if you don’t do anything, you’ll forget.”
Wilcox climbed this year for Lt. John Ginley of Engine 40.
“Ginley was 13 years in at the fire department and worked at Engine 37 before,” Wilcox said. “He left behind a young family theday of the collapse.”
To learn more about the stair climb, visit www.cnys-tairclimb.com/
To donate to the Don Premo Foundat i on , visit https://climb.me-morialstairclimb.com/team/181739
To donate to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, visit www.firehero.org/